Sources say Apple University’s coming to China. Here’s why that’s great news for the region.

Yesterday, 9to5mac ran a story that, if true, could have massive implications for the development of the technology industry in Asia. Apple, according to an inside source that spoke to 9to5mac, is planning on expanding its Apple University program to China:

Apple is seeking to cement its business position in China for the long-term with an expansion of its Cupertino-based Apple University program to the region, according to a person with knowledge of the plans. Apple Vice President and Dean of Apple University Joel Podolny is currently interviewing candidates for a new Dean of Apple University position for China, according to the source.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed the plans to a small group of employees during a recent meeting with China retail operations staff, the source added. Cook reportedly said that the purpose of an Apple University in China is to teach the growing China base of Apple employees and managers about the corporation’s “heritage and culture.” He added that Apple is a “look forward organization, not a look back one,” and that the company “cannot afford a weak link” between its work in the U.S. and in China.

At first, this might seem like minor news. After all, lots of companies have corporate training programs, and many American companies offer those programs in Asia. But Apple’s Apple University is different.

To begin with Apple University’s primary goal seems to be to train people to think like Steve Jobs. It was Jobs himself who founded the program, and although Apple has never said much about Apple University officially, a profile in The New York Times earlier this year revealed that it features classes that dive in-depth into the company’s highest-level strategic decision making. For example, according to the Times, one class focused on the internally-contentious decision to allow iTunes and the iPod to work with the Windows operating system.

If Apple University classes are teaching in-depth, high-level corporate strategy and design principles – and clearly they are – then it seems fair to say that the program is designed at least in part to create the next generation of Apple’s corporate leadership. And although Apple is an American company, the decision to establish an Apple University program in China is, assuming it goes through, proof that Apple believes its Chinese employees are a major part of that future.

And although 9to5mac’s anonymously-sourced report has not been confirmed – and probably won’t be given how secretive Apple is about Apple University – it certainly seems likely. The New York Times‘s piece from earlier this year reported that Apple has already offered a few Apple University classes in China, flying in its professors to train the company’s China-based employees. If the company is willing to go to that kind of expense, it isn’t much of a stretch to think that it would be interested in establishing a permanent program.

In the strictest sense, this is really just good news for Chinese Apple employees, who it sounds like will soon have access to some top-level management training. But more broadly, it’s great news for the Asian tech ecosystem as a whole, because it’s an indicator of just how far the industry has developed, and how global perceptions of it have changed, over the past couple of decades.

Think about it: just a few years ago, Apple viewed Asia primarily as a manufacturing center. As recently as 2009, Japan and Asia-Pacific were the company’s lowest-earning regions, and they offered Apple a paltry percentage of its global sales revenue. But over the past few years, sales in Asia have grown tremendously, turning Asia into one of Apple’s most important commercial markets. And now, it seems that Apple is finally recognizing the region as not only a source of revenue but also a source of talent. By establishing Apple University in Asia, Apple is essentially saying that its next Steve Jobs could well be Chinese.