In some cases, Apple seems to have home field advantage in the USA, where many of its products remain wildly popular. But can Apple dominate China? Lenovo’s chairman seems to doubt it. Here’s why, plus a look at rising competition between Apple and Lenovo on a global scale.

In a Financial Times article, Lenovo Chairman Liu Chuanzhi noted that Apple was missing out on a huge chance to capitalize in China:

“We are lucky that Steve Jobs has such a bad temper and doesn’t care about China. If Apple were to spend the same effort on the Chinese consumer as we do, we would be in trouble.”

The Financial Times also reports that Lenovo holds 30% of the PC market in China and that — no surprise here — Apple declined to comment regarding Mr. Lui’s comments.

What Apple Has In Store

Meanwhile, Apple is expected to unveil an Apple Store in Shanghai this Saturday, July 10 (2010). A giant steel and glass cylinder is set to be the top piece of another subterranean store like the New York City flagship cube-shaped store. Apple’s time, money, placement and design of this store all seem to indicate that Apple will make deeper investments in the region.

It comes at no surprise Apple products are wanted in China, but there are few ‘official’ channels (Apple Stores along with authorized resellers) for buying Apple products, and only one provider (China’s Unicom) has been set to legally sell the iPhone.

Mr. Liu told FT the LePhone — Lenovo’s mobile Android handset — is set to compete with the iPhone since it has been “Customized for Chinese users” with both apps and style. Instead of focusing on thousands of apps, Lenovo will focus on apps that are simple, and ” very practical” for the user.

Meanwhile, Liu has some more thoughts on Steve Jobs’ brilliance:

“Steve Jobs is a genius. He is the exception to my rule. My theory is that a manager needs to be the string on which he puts one pearl after another. But Jobs himself is a big pearl.”

Back In North America…

No doubt, Apple, Lenovo and other PC giants are engaged in a global battle. As Apple moves into China, Lenovo continues to invest in North America. Lenovo’s latest moves include a naming anew U.S. channel chief, launching new services opportunities for North American partners, and launching a server specifically designed for managed services providers (MSPs).

Lenovo signaled a return to growth when the company announced its most recent quarterly results in May 2010.

No doubt, Apple continues to enjoy rapid growth and strong success across multiple product lines. But the company’s handling of an iPhone 4 software bug certainly has raised some red flags among some users.

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