Qualcomm is optimistic about its China business. Should it be?
Illustration by Tim Marrs
Last month, Cristiano R. Amon, the amiable young chief executive of Qualcomm, took the stage at the 2023 China Development Forum, an annual gathering of multinational CEOs and government officials in Beijing. The American business community — wary of awkward optics during a time of grim congressional hearings, industrial sanctions and exploding spy balloons — largely kept their heads down at the press-heavy gathering. But Amon, beaming in a sponge-yellow tie, sounded a decidedly upbeat note for his American wireless firm.
“We are proud of the deep relationships we have built over the past 30 years [in China], and the new partnerships we are building today,” he said, before going on to praise China’s “digital transformation.”
Cristiano Amon at the China Development Forum, March 25, 2023. Credit: China Development Forum
The fact that Qualcomm — a $130 billionThe most recent market capitalization of the publicly traded firm. behemoth in the telecom ind
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