Apple is straddling a geopolitical tightrope. President Donald Trump is urging the iPhone maker to manufacture more of its electronics in the United States — and threatening it with tariffs if it does not. Chief executive Tim Cook has agreed, but has committed just a fraction of the $600 billion he has pledged to invest in the U.S. toward manufacturing. Last month he also said Apple would increase its presence in China, which has become integral to its supply chain.
“China’s world leading superiority in manufacturing is just totally dominant,” says Patrick McGee, author of Apple In China. “I don’t see evidence that it’s being diminished, even by Trump tariffs.”
This week, The Wire breaks down the suppliers that keep Apple’s production in China humming. They are concentrated in two provinces, Guangdong and Jiangsu, and subsidiaries of foreign companies outnumber Chinese-owned rivals.
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Noah Berman is a staff writer for The Wire based in New York. He previously wrote about economics and technology at the Council on Foreign Relations. His work has appeared in the Boston Globe and PBS News. He graduated from Georgetown University.
