A key supplier to Apple Inc. and a dozen other tech giants plans to split its supply chain between the Chinese market and the U.S., declaring that China’s time as factory to the world is finished because of the trade war.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Chairman Young Liu said it’s gradually adding more capacity outside of China, the main base of production for gadgets from iPhones to Dell desktops and Nintendo Switches. The proportion outside the country is now at 30%, up from 25% last June.
That ratio will rise as the company -- known also as Foxconn -- moves more manufacturing to Southeast Asia and other regions to avoid escalating tariffs on Chinese-made goods headed to U.S. markets, Liu told reporters after his company reported financial results.
“No matter if it’s India, Southeast Asia or the Americas, there will be a manufacturing ecosystem in each,” Liu said, adding that while China will still play a key role in Foxconn’s manufacturing empire, the country’s “days as the world’s factory are done.”
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Update #1: China's days as 'the world's factory' are over says iPhone manufacturer (The Telegraph)
Update #2: Foxconn says trade war means China can no longer be 'the world's factory' (Apple Insider)
WNU Editor: I disagree. China's manufacturing sector is very resilient, and it is bouncing back very quickly from the impact of the pandemic. And if the Democrats win the White House, they have already signalled to China that many of the restrictive trade measures that President Trump has imposed will be rescinded or scaled back.
