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Apr 14, 2025 12:43 PM IST
Apple CEO Tim Cook says China’s skilled workforce and advanced infrastructure, not cheap labour, are the real reasons behind Apple’s manufacturing decisions.
As global discussions on shifting manufacturing away from China continue, a resurfaced video of Apple CEO Tim Cook has shed new light on why the tech giant remains committed to the country’s production network.
Also read: US-China tariff tussle gives India chance to rewire global tech manufacturing
The video, which has been circulating on social media, features Cook countering a popular belief that companies manufacture in China due to cheap labour. Instead, he explains that the real advantage lies in China’s vast and deeply developed industrial ecosystem.
“There is confusion about China. And let me at least give you my opinion. The popular conception is that companies come to China because of low labour costs. I am not sure what part of China they go to, but the truth is China stopped being a low labour cost country many years ago,” Cook says in the clip.
He goes on to praise the country’s tooling expertise and concentration of skilled labour—factors critical to the precision manufacturing that Apple products require.
“The reason is because of the skill, the quantity of skill in one location, and the type of skill it is. It is like the products we do require really advanced tooling and the precision that you have to have in tooling and working with materials that we do are state-of-the-art,” Cook adds.
In a light-hearted comparison, he notes the difference in available expertise between China and the U.S.
“If you look at the U.S., you could have a meeting of tooling engineers and I’m not sure we could fill a room. In China, you could fill multiple football fields,” he remarks.
Take a look at the video:
The video has prompted a wave of online reactions, with many users supporting Cook’s viewpoint.
Also read: Goldman Sachs cuts targets on China stocks for 2nd time in a month over trade tensions
A user noted, “Any manufacturing job requires tremendous discipline. About 20 years back, I interned with a global tyre manufacturer. The level of precision, physical rigour and discipline needed to do that job was simply crazy.”
“True, it’s about scale, speed, and precision. China has a massive pool of highly skilled tooling and manufacturing engineers. It’s not just labour; it’s a full ecosystem built over decades, with deep supply chains and rapid turnaround that’s hard to replicate elsewhere,” one user said.
Another added, “Totally agree with Tim. Companies exploited China’s cheap labour earlier, but it was China’s rapid development of manufacturing tech that took it so ahead of the US and Germany’s of the world.”
Trade war
The video resurfaced during heightened tensions between the United States and China over trade. Amid an escalating trade war, US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese imports, prompting China to retaliate with tariffs of up to 125% on American goods.
In addition, Trump introduced a 10% tax on imports from all other countries, though he temporarily delayed higher rates for several nations for a 90-day period.
While the US administration maintains that these measures are aimed at revitalising domestic manufacturing and protecting American jobs, the global economy has been rattled, with rising prices looming for consumers.
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