The Covid-19 fiasco at Foxconn’s plant in Zhengzhou provided fresh impetus to the argument that China was becoming too risky to rely on for hi-tech manufacturing, amid increasing calls for “reshoring”, “friend shoring” and even “ABC” – anywhere-but-China. New investments by Apple’s own suppliers in countries such as Vietnam and India seemed to provide further evidence that China was dismantling its own advantages by sticking to the zero-Covid-19 approach.
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Regardless, the contrast could not have been more stark; from 8,000 workers willing to do an extra 12-hour shift after an offer of tea and biscuits, to today’s situation where thousands have fled assembly lines despite the offer of cash bonuses. China’s manufacturing miracle, facilitated by an immense supply of cheap but skilled labour, favourable local government incentives and foreign capital, is quickly being undone by three years of Covid-19 controls.
Despite weirdly having "iWatch" in the name, this one-inch metal and plastic Apple Watch charger does what it says it will do, does it pretty well, and does it on the cheap.
Living near the equator means I don't get to mark the passage of time through the changing of seasons, but rather by the changing of music piped in at my local supermarket.
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