Apple is a Chinese company

Jay Newman was a senior portfolio manager at Elliott Management.

With Apple stock near an all-time high, it’s worth asking how it got there — and how long that can last. The world’s most valuable company makes great products, but it may turn out that the biggest driver of its share price has been the close relationship CEO Tim Cook has cultivated with China.

Entente cordiale with the Chinese Communist party affords Apple a charmed existence when it comes to manufacturing and selling products in China. But scary data points keep popping up.

Just in recent weeks, China has…