Well, top government officials have big ownership interests in national champions; companies have party secretaries on site who can pull rank on management; try

Well, top government officials have big ownership interests in national champions; companies have party secretaries on site who can pull rank on management; trying to compete against companies with ties to government is generally going to be quite difficult...not exactly like every country. The iPhone is a luxury product in big demand, and being out of favor with the government will make it in even greater demand. The people targeted by Apple like their bling, people buy the foreign product because it's higher status and more trusted than the local product; in fact they'll go to Hong Kong to buy foreign products because they're afraid the one they buy locally will be counterfeit or crappy localized version. People trust Apple more than they trust the government or the Xiaomi knockoff.