While foreign media coverage these last two weeks has focused on environmental disasters, over-fishing and emerging forms of the avian flu, the Chinese state media has turned its gaze towards the transgressions of Apple Computer, which found itself excoriated by CCTV on World Consumer Rights Day for its warranty policy and for using refurbished parts in mainland phone repairs.

Considering the enthusiasm of the Chinese market for Apple products, the state media-led hullabaloo has raised questions about whether the Chinese government is targeting Apple as a competitive threat to mainland companies. And what exactly is going on behind the scenes and what does it forebode for Apple? In today's episode of Sinica, we are delighted to welcome David Wolf from Allison + Partners and Laurie Burkitt of the Wall Street Journal to our studio to join hosts Kaiser Kuo and Jeremy Goldkorn for a discussion and analysis of the situation.

As always, we would like to remind you that you can use iTunes to subscribe to Sinica, and get the latest episodes delivered automatically to your iPad or iPhone. To get started, just click on the "File" menu and select the option "Subscribe to Podcast". When prompted, enter the URL http://popupchinese.com/feeds/custom/sinica and let iTunes work its magic. Alternately, you are welcome to download this show and others as a standalone mp3 file. We hope you enjoy it.