China resists relocation of iPhone production base to India, with export application for iPhone 17 production equipment rejected
Apple used to produce many of its iPhones in China, but due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and trade friction between the United States and China, it has been diversifying its production bases, and as of 2024, it will produce 40 million units, or one-fifth of its annual production, in India. Apple plans to further expand production in India, but China, which would lose market share, has taken various measures to prevent further relocation, and there have been cases where it has rejected applications to export production machinery to India without reason.
Apple's India Manufacturing Push Faces Spoilers, Including China — The Information
Apple's trying to build more iPhones in India, but China isn't cooperating: report - 9to5Mac
https://9to5mac.com/2025/04/24/apples-trying-to-build-more-iphones-in-india-but-china-isnt-cooperating-report/
Apple's Efforts To Shift iPhone Production Out Of China Are Being Met With Massive Obstacles; Authorities Are Blocking Supplier's Equipment Shipments To Other Countries
https://wccftech.com/chinese-authorities-preventing-apple-iphone-equipment-to-move-overseas/
Chinese tensions hold back Apple's India supply chain growth
https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/04/24/apples-india-supply-chain-expansion-held-back-by-chinese-tensions
The iPhone is manufactured by Taiwan-based supplier Foxconn, which is contracted by Apple. The fact that many of the manufacturing factories are in China has been a major advantage for Apple.
However, with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the intensification of trade friction between the United States and China, the disadvantages of leaving production bases in China became apparent, and companies gradually began to move their bases to India and Vietnam.
Apple plans to expand production bases outside China - GIGAZINE
Apple first began moving production of AirPods and Apple Watch to Vietnam. China did not respond much at first, perhaps because Vietnam has a small population of just 100 million and is not considered a rival.
Apple wants to increase iPhone production in India by 10% by 2025, and ultimately have half of all iPhones made in India.
However, China, which has border issues with India, is not happy about this, and Apple and its suppliers' employees are having difficulty obtaining work visas in India. Chinese authorities are also asking suppliers not to move production lines outside the country, and are taking measures to obstruct the export of production machinery. According to some suppliers, the approval period for equipment exports from China to India is taking two weeks to four months, and some machines are being rejected without reason.
The rejected equipment is needed for iPhone 17 prototypes, and the Indian factory is apparently asking suppliers to find their own solutions. To get around this, anonymous Apple partner companies are setting up front companies in Southeast Asia, and when the machines arrive, they are being sent straight to Foxconn's Indian factories, according to news site 9to5Mac.
Meanwhile, Indian authorities have reportedly also instructed potential collaborators to avoid Chinese companies.
Incidentally, labor laws differ between China and India, and while China operates on two 12-hour shifts, India requires three 8-hour shifts, which means more workers are needed. For this reason, Apple is lobbying to have 12-hour shifts in India, but this has not been realized. Also, even if production machines are simply brought to India, there are stories of Indian workers having difficulty using the machines because the menus are written in Chinese, and the yield rate of parts is not very high, so it is unclear whether the relocation plan can be completed.
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