From 9to5Mac, December 30:
In-depth report details Apple’s shift to Chinese suppliers to ‘cut costs and curry favor with Beijing’
While Apple has long been linked to Foxconn as its primary partner for product assembly, a new report from The Information goes in-depth on Apple’s newfound relationship with Chinese electronics manufacturers. The report explains that Apple has increased its reliance on Chinese partners, both as a way of cutting costs as well as to “curry favor with Beijing.”
Today’s report from The Information comes on the heels of a separate report from the publication earlier this month in which it described a so-called secret deal between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Chinese government officials. Through this deal, Apple reportedly committed to investing more than $275 billion in China over five years.
The report details that Foxconn, which is headquartered in Taiwan, is on the verge of being unseated as Apple’s top supplier by Luxshare, which is headquartered in China:
Luxshare has the potential to unseat Foxconn as Apple’s top supplier. The Chinese company already exceeds Foxconn’s main publicly listed unit in terms of market capitalization, though Foxconn generated roughly $105 billion from Apple in 2020—more than 10 times Luxshare’s haul. But in terms of valuation, Luxshare has also eclipsed major Apple contractors such as Quanta Computer, Pegatron and Wistron, all of which are headquartered in Taiwan. Foxconn has become increasingly concerned about Luxshare’s meteoric rise, including its significantly higher net profit margin, going so far as to form a task force to study the company, Reuters previously reported. (Foxconn denied the report.)
The report explains that Apple’s move to shift more of its business to Chinese companies is part of Tim Cook fulfilling his $275 billion pledge to the Chinese government....
....MUCH MORE
HT to and headline from SlashDot
Apple's Mr. Cook was one of the CEO's yammering away about voting rights last April.
There are no voting rights in China.
According to Axios:
"Apple believes that, thanks in part to the power of technology, it ought to be easier than ever for every eligible citizen to exercise their right to vote. We support efforts to ensure that our democracy’s future is more hopeful and inclusive than its past," CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.
Again, he is cutting deals with a country that does not allow its citizens a say in how they are governed.
