Last week, Apple announced that its new iPhone will be manufactured not only in China but also in India, due to reasons ranging from geopolitical tensions with the US to Covid-19 induced lockdowns and supply chain problems.
As Kinamedia’s cartoonist Niklas ”@Kludd-Niklas” Eriksson depicts above, Apple CEO Tim Cook is leading the shift away from China in a similar manner that Kurt Russell fled the Big Apple in the classic science fiction movie Escape from New York (1997).
And as the cartoon shows, Tim Cook is by no means alone in his escape. Jörg Wuttke, director for the European Chamber of Commerce in China, recently again warned its membership companies to ”brace for a worst-case scenario” when planning investments in the country.
This was preceded by a survey from the American Chamber of Commerce, showing that its members are cutting forecasts and scaling down investments in China, due to Covid-19 restrictions and other politically related reasons.
Indeed, as local media reports, foreigners are ”leaving China in droves” because of lockdowns and quarantines, hence the tourists and the students accompanying Tom Cook in this week’s cartoon.
It was not even the first move out of China for Apple this year. Earlier in the summer, parts of the manufacturing line for Apple’s iPad was moved to Vietnam, following encouragements from Apple to its suppliers to place 15-30 percent of its production outside of China.
This week’s cartoon can be viewed in full size via here.
A full collection of Kludd-Niklas’ works for Kinamedia can be seen via this link.
