In a strategic balancing act, Apple is simultaneously increasing ties in China while also expanding in India and Southeast Asia and India.
Anusuya Lahiri for Benzinga :
In 2023, Apple increased its number of China-based suppliers and manufacturing sites, reducing its reliance on suppliers from Taiwan, the U.S., Japan, and South Korea…
Apple publishes an official list of its suppliers nearly every year. The most recent list includes 187 companies, accounting for 98% of the company’s procurement for fiscal 2023.
Since 2020, Chinese suppliers have become the largest group within Apple’s supplier network, growing to 52 in the last year from 48 in 2022. The number of manufacturing or development facilities in China, including those owned by domestic and foreign companies, increased by 10 to 286.
As Apple accelerates its supply chain shift to Southeast Asia amid the ongoing U.S.-China tech conflict, its ties with China continue to deepen.
The number of Apple suppliers in Vietnam surged by 40% to 35 last year, while the number in Thailand increased by about a third to 24. The number of suppliers in India remained stable at 14.
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MacDailyNews Take: This is one long term way out of the China miasma: grow everything to the point where, if one had to go quickly, the others would be in a position to absorb the production requirements.
This way, China doesn’t retaliate (too much), since they’re still seeing growth in investments into the country.
It’s a simple plan that could work long term: Grow China 1% annually while pumping substantial investment into the other countries until production is better diversified, more balanced, and Apple’s risk is mitigated by no longer being so dependent on China and its authoritarian whims. Of course, this would take many years, the luxury of which Apple may not have.
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Apple’s strategy of diversifying its supply chain across China, India, and Southeast Asia is a pragmatic approach to mitigate risks associated with geopolitical tensions. By increasing investments in these regions, Apple not only safeguards its production capabilities but also taps into new markets. This balanced expansion could indeed be a sustainable way to navigate the complex international trade environment.
It could be, but as MDN notes, Apple may be too late. They’re still heavily investing in China, more than before. They’ll be lucky to reach this nimble international balance by the end of the decade. There’s a lot of potential international turmoil to come before then.
Apple is increasing product production outside of CCP China but at the same time their investment inside of China has recently accelerated and is at an all time high. Apple is having their cake and eating it too moment. Kinda like how apple bows the knee to the CCP demand for app censorship in china but Apple’s continue to promote and showcase TikTok as an essential app for USA iOS users. Even though they know that the Biden Administration has declared TikTok as dangerous threat to the security/personal safety of individuals. It funny how Apple defends the CCP censorship while working behind the scenes to promote CCP control assets to work against the American people. Whose team is apple really on ? If anyone thinks Apple is pulling out of China, then they ignorant or willfully blind.
Ten bucks says if the USA government bans TikTok, then apple will lead and fund the legal defensive on TikTok’s behalf. A far different response than how Apple acts to CCP app bans.
Maybe I’m wrong, time will tell