China Mobile's dumping of Apple

China Business Services gives a decent overview of the latest fallout of China Mobile's refusal to accept Apple's offer to team up on the iPod in China. It seems yet another example of a US giant misjudging the China market:

One assumes Apple was aware of the dominance and success of China Mobile, and of the difference in market structure. But perhaps they felt that, as a global leader, they could play by their own rules in China just like in other markets. Unfortunately that is not a safe assumption to make in China where business models can rarely be successfully cut and pasted into the market.