Cook has visited China several times to express his positionThe Chinese market is important to Apple
As the world's most valuable technology company, Apple is clearly looking for the Chinese market. Tim Cook, who took over as CEO in 2012, has taken over one of his top priorities to visit China frequently and maintain good relations with China** and companies. He made it clear that the importance of the Chinese market to Apple is self-evident and is an important pillar of Apple's performance. China's huge consumer base and strong consumer demand are the key to Apple's rapid growth. Therefore, both for strategic and commercial reasons, Cook attaches great importance to China, the world's largest consumer of smartphones.
During his two visits to China in March and October this year, Cook not only communicated with relevant enterprises and departments, but also generously donated a total of $25 million to support rural education in China. The move earned Cook the goodwill and praise of the Chinese public. As a business leader, Cook pursues business goals while giving back to society, which makes his image more three-dimensional and full-bodied in the minds of Chinese consumers. This is also seen as a good start for Cook to deepen Apple's penetration in the Chinese market.
Through these positive moves, Cook has undoubtedly gained the goodwill of ordinary Chinese consumers. And the support of the Chinese market is crucial for Apple. Chinese consumers will be more inclined to choose brands that truly give back to society and are full of positive energy. Cook's strategic layout has greatly increased the favorability of the Apple brand in China, laying a solid foundation for better exploration of the Chinese market. It is foreseeable that under the leadership of Cook, Apple will maintain closer cooperation with China and jointly develop the world's largest smartphone consumption channel.
iPhone 15** chain data shows Apple's "de-Chinaization".
Recently, Japan** disclosed the value distribution data of the latest generation iPhone 15 in the global ** chain. We were surprised to find that the value of Chinese merchants in the iPhone 15** chain accounted for only 2%, compared with the previous iPhone 13's 45%, a drop of more than double.
In fact, in the iPhone 13 era, China's top merchants have accounted for only 45% share, mainly focused on assembly and production of some simple components. But on the iPhone 15, that share has plummeted by half, to just 2%. In contrast, the value of high value-added components provided by the leading manufacturers in developed countries such as the United States, Japan and South Korea is still as high as 98%.
From this data, it can be seen that Apple's accelerated "de-Chinaization" on the ** chain has achieved initial results. The proportion of China's top merchants is declining rapidly, and it is being marginalized by Apple, intentionally or unintentionally. Although it will take a process to completely get rid of dependence, Apple's strategy of reducing the share of Chinese merchants and moving to other regions has been clearly reflected in the **chain. This shows that Apple is quietly carrying out major changes in the construction of the first chain.
Cook ultimately chose to deepen cooperation with China
In the face of the increasingly obvious de-sinicization of the ** chain, the outside world can't help but speculate whether Apple wants to completely cut off the connection with China's industrial chain. This year, the Apple ** chain foundry factory in India has trial-produced the **iPhone 15 for the first time. However, the first batch of iPhone 15 products produced by the Indian factory has a pass rate of only 50%, which can be said to be miserable. In contrast, the pass rate of the iPhone 15 produced in Chinese factories such as Foxconn can be stable at more than 90%. The pass rate of mass production in Indian factories is only 34%, which is a huge gap with China. In terms of product quality alone, it is indeed difficult for India to completely replace China's position in the iPhone production chain.
The maturity and efficiency of China's industrial chain make it difficult for Apple to completely get rid of its dependence on China in a short period of time. Foxconn and other first-chain partners provide Apple with the world's best production efficiency. Finding an alternative high-quality production base cannot be achieved overnight for Apple. As a result, Cook finally announced that Apple will continue to deepen its win-win cooperation with China, rather than severing ties completely. The Chinese market remains important for Apple. There are many complementarities between the two sides, and it is neither realistic nor in Apple's commercial interests to completely withdraw from China.
Relatively speaking, India's industrial support still needs to be cultivated for a long time. In the short term, it will not be able to completely replace China's production chain. Therefore, Cook said that Apple will abandon its over-reliance on Indian production and will continue to maintain stable cooperation with China in the foreseeable future, which will benefit both the Chinese industry and Apple's global operations. List of high-quality authors