If proof were needed of the importance of China to mobile phone makers, follow the chief executives. Both Apple’s Tim Cook and Nokia’s Stephen Elop have been in the country in the last few days – Cook to put Apple’s case in trademark disputes, Elop to launch a new smartphone.

Both companies need China – but they are coming from very different positions.

For a company trading at $619 a share and with the world’s biggest market capitalisation at $572bn, it might seem odd to suggest that Apple has problems. But as recent results showed, the company is under-represented in China and has “barely scratched the surface”, as Cook said recently. The company admitted to underestimating Chinese demand and has made some PR missteps, one being the botched launch of a flagship Apple store in Beijing.