Apple CEO, Chinese commerce minister discuss Apple's future in China

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
27 Mar 2023 15:35

Wang affirms China's preparedness to offer adequate and good services to companies like Apple that hold foreign capital in China.

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook at the China Development Forum 2023, in Beijing, China, on March 25, 2023. (Reuters)

Apple's CEO Tim Cook convened with the Asian country's commerce minister Wang Wentao in Beijing on Monday to discuss and plan for developing Apple's future and presence in China, according to the Chinese Commerce Ministry.

Wang assured China's preparedness to offer adequate and good services to companies like Apple that hold foreign capital in China. Furthermore, the statement by the ministry added that production stabilization and supply chain conditions were also discussed as relevant to Apple's operations in the country.

Apple announced in January that it intends to have approximately 25% of all of its products assembled outside of China by 2025, and asked suppliers to plan product assembly in other Asian countries, like India and Vietnam.

Foxconn, the largest electronics manufacturer subcontractor company and Apple's primary assembler has become notorious for its forced, cheap labor and sweatshop-like working conditions. Based in China, the factory is Apple’s right hand in assembling the parts together. This factory breaks every rule in the book, including Chinese labor laws.

The increased market regulation policies by the Chinese Communist Party especially after the COVID pandemic and the increased hostilities between China and the west have prompted big corporates to relocate to other countries.