To avoid the US’ $200 billion tariff slapped on Chinese goods, smartphone giant Apple’s manufacturers are looking to shift business from China to Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries. Apple manufacturers are looking to avoid US tariffs by moving away from China. Source: Shutterstock GoerJek—a Chinese firm assembling Apple’s non-cable earphones (AirPods)—has just notified its suppliers about its plan to transfer production and business operations to Vietnam. Nikkei stated that despite already running an iPhone earphone manufacturing facility in northern Vietnam, the firm still intends to run away from China due to the risk of suffering damage from the US-China trade war. In addition to GoerJek, other Apple assembly manufacturers also have similar intentions. Specifically, Cheng Uei, a Taiwanese firm specialised in manufacturing connecting wires and charger equipment for iPhones, and Petragon, the second largest iPhone assembly firm only … [Read more...] about Apple manufacturers looking to shift business from China to Vietnam
China
China expels two top former generals from Communist Party for corruption
By Reuters  October 17, 2018 | 09:42 am GMT+7 Former chief of the general staff of China's People's Liberation Army Fang Fenghui. Photo by Reuters China expelled two disgraced former generals from the Communist Party for corruption, one of them posthumously. The information was announced by state media on Tuesday. In two brief and near-identical dispatches, the official Xinhua news agency said the investigation into Fang Fenghui, a senior general who sat on China’s top military body, had concluded and his case passed on to prosecutors. The other general, Zhang Yang, who sat alongside Fang on the Central Military Commission until both stood down last year, committed suicide in November while being investigated for corruption. Xinhua said central party and military authorities had sanctioned the recovery of Zhang’s proceeds of corruption. It said the two men were suspected of giving and receiving bribes and held huge amounts of unexplained financial … [Read more...] about China expels two top former generals from Communist Party for corruption
China boosts imports of Vietnamese products
China boosts imports of Vietnamese products By Hung Le Smartphones displayed at an exhibition in HCMC. Vietnam’s smartphone and parts shipments to China saw a 2.4-fold rise, generating US$5.78 billion in value - PHOTO: HUNG LE HCMC – Vietnam enjoyed a strong increase in January-September exports, particularly to China, which raised imports from Vietnam, such as smartphones, computers, electronics and components, according to the latest data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs. The data shows that the export value of smartphones and accessories amounted to US$5.09 billion in September, taking the figure in the nine-month period to a record high of US$36.69 billion, up 16.4% year-on-year. In the January-September period this year, smartphone and phone components exports to major markets rose strongly. The EU market spent US$10.14 billion on these imports from Vietnam, edging up 10.9% year-on-year. Vietnam’s smartphone and phone parts shipments to … [Read more...] about China boosts imports of Vietnamese products
Foreign manufacturers rush to relocate production from China to Vietnam
The Hanoitimes - Many foreign manufacturers in China are speeding up plans to move their factories from China to Vietnam in a move to take advantages here and avoid impacts of the US-China trade conflict. Vietnam is establishing itself as the industrial powerhouse in Southeast Asia According to Frederick Burke, general director of law firm Baker McKenzie Vietnam, in recent months, his firm has received many Chinese business delegations, who want to promote the opening of factories in Vietnam to shift their production from China to the Southeast Asian nation as soon as possible in a move to avoid a 25 percent tax rate imposed by the US on Chinese goods. Explaining why the manufacturers choose Vietnam, Burke said that Vietnam is not only a garment outsourcing address for the world but is stepping up its position in the global supply chain now. In fact, the outsourcing cost in Vietnam has increased, so investors here are looking for more value-added forms, such as supply chain … [Read more...] about Foreign manufacturers rush to relocate production from China to Vietnam
African swine fever hits China farm with 20,000 pigs as risks rise
Pigs are seen on a family farm in Xiaoxinzhuang village, Hebei province, China, January 25, 2018. Photo by Reuters/Dominique Patton The new case, one of numerous to be reported in northeast Liaoning province in recent days, underlines the escalating threat to the country’s $1 trillion pig industry from the disease despite a slew of initial measures imposed to curb its spread. Pig prices have plunged in China’s northeast after farmers were unable to transport their herds out of infected provinces, while prices in the south have surged. Farms owned by large companies typically have stronger biosecurity, or measures to guard against the spread of the disease, than China’s hundreds of thousands of small farms, and have until now not reported any outbreaks. But one of three new cases confirmed in Liaoning on Monday occurred on a 19,938-head farm, according to a statement published on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. “The fact that the … [Read more...] about African swine fever hits China farm with 20,000 pigs as risks rise