Today is a public holiday in South Africa – Human Rights Day. There’s a certain irony in spending the day focusing on China’s President Xi Jinping’s visit to Vladimir Putin, knee-deep in a human rights disaster.
What one makes of the Ukraine crisis increasingly maps on where one lives. This is made clear by a remarkable new set of polling data recently published by the European Council on Foreign Relations ...
Category: Manufacturing
Controversial China Square Shopping Mall Re-Opens in Nairobi, Prompting Heated Debate About Chinese Imports
Nearly two weeks after being shuttered due to protests from competing traders, China Square, a Nairobi shop selling inexpensive Chinese imports, is back in business. This follows talks between the Kenyan authorities and the local Chinese chamber of commerce. It seems that ...
Kenyan Merchants and Consumers Face Off Over Chinese Imports
Kenyan traders staged a street protest against Chinese competitors they say are undercutting them. This follows the targeting of China Square by Trade Secretary Moses Kuria. The popular new Chinese-run store offers imported products at prices 50% lower than traders.
In Crafting Special Economic Zones, Ethiopia and Vietnam Learned from China and Taiwan
By Keyi Tang The Taliban administration recently announced plans to convert former US military bases into special economic zones (SEZs) with the aim of promoting economic self-sufficiency through increased trade and investment. The Taliban are not ...
Countries in Asia and the Americas Account For Half of China’s Total Auto Exports
China is on the verge of displacing Germany to become the world's second-largest auto exporting nation (Japan is #1). This is a remarkable accomplishment given the speed that China's automakers have gained international market share, tripling sales to 2.5 million units since 2020.
Apple’s “Out of China” Moves Continue Apace With MacBooks Now Set to Be Produced in Vietnam
Add MacBooks to the growing list of Apple products that the tech giant now plans to produce "Out of China." The Cupertino-based company will reportedly begin manufacturing the laptops in Vietnam in mid-2023, according to Nikkei Asia. Apple ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Xi Bets on Global South in Moscow
Why Vietnam and Other Asian Countries Won’t Replace China as an Electronics Manufacturing Hub Anytime Soon
There's growing excitement in some corners of Washington, D.C., that Apple's drive to shift production to other countries in Asia is a sign of progress in the ongoing effort to decouple U.S. manufacturing from China. While Apple's directives ...
With Apple Reducing Its Manufacturing Dependence on China, Why is So Much Going to Asia and So Little to Latin America?
Apple is reportedly moving faster to relocate more of its production to countries outside China and reduce its longtime dependence on Taiwan-based contract manufacturing giant Foxconn. Eventually, the Cupertino-based electronics giant aims to ship 40-45% of iPhones from ...
New Data Reveals Apple is Steadily Shifting Its Supply Chain Out of China to Other Countries in Asia
China's once-dominant role in Apple's supply chain appears to be ending as the technology giant relocates more and more of its production to other countries in Asia, particularly Vietnam and India. Since 2019, according to data from Reuters, the total share ...
As More Manufacturers Look to Exit China, Many May End Up in Mexico
Disruptions brought on by China's draconian COVID Zero crackdowns, rising wages, and stricter environmental controls are all contributing to an exodus of manufacturers. While many are heading to Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations, Mexico is also well-positioned to benefit. Factory ...
Global South Aids China’s Rise to Number 2 Global Car Exporter
China surpassed Germany to become the world’s second-largest car exporter, after Japan. New numbers from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that China moved up from the number three position it reached last year by displacing South Korea.