Apple CEO Tim Cook recently was in India for a week and met the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss possibilites of manufacturing iPhones in the country. The company also plans to open Apple Stores in the country. Apple’s sudden interest in the Indian market seemed to have send shivers to China.
Media houses in China is worried that if Apple starts manufacturing iPhones in Indian then it might mean dip in production in China and also loss of thousand of jobs. The media houses in China seems worried about what might happen in India and how Apple is going to put India in its roadmap in the future.
As reported by Global Times, ”Cook’s words have prompted a heated discussion in China. Wage increase has apparently eroded China’s labour competitiveness, resulting in the departure of a number of manufacturing businesses. And people are wondering if Apple will be the next one.”
The report further mentioned that it in order to lower production costs, Apple would want to move its manufacturing base from China to another Asian nation. In fact, before Cook’s words, some major Apple suppliers such as Foxconn had already announced plans to expand their business in India.
The concern of China seems justified looking at the fact that China has been losing many manufacturers to other Asian nations where labour cost is cheaper.
By Atanu Kumar Das
