[HenryBemis]

>was to reduce their dependence on China

No, that's the PR spin on why they (moved part of) their production to India. They could have moved OUT of China (citing bad Chinise gov etc.) and IN TO Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy, etc. were countries operate under properly functioning democracies. Buuuuuut they didn't.

They only moved IN TO India for the reduced costs (aka capitalism). And when India salaries outgrow e.g. country XYZ salaries, they will move there (in a decade or so).

The political tensions is BS imho. Capitalism is capitalism, and Apple offers master classes in capitalism.

[read_if_gay_]

They’re not mutually exclusive. Political tensions are clearly also relevant to companies looking for a reliable partner.

[was_boring]

In this case political tension has very little to do with China and very much with India. India is one of the largest markets Apple has yet to penetrate, primarily due to excessive import tax as the Indian government (much like the Chinese) requires manufacturing within the country.

Let’s not fool ourselves into thinking China is not a reliable partner, or that Apple cares much about worker rights here (see wage fixing between FAANG as one example that likely affects many here at HN) or abroad. This was purely about expanding into a new market.