The trade-related tension between the United States and China has been escalating for some time now, and it seemed to hit its peak when the American government banned Huawei from buying products from American companies. The situation appeared to be somewhat relieved over the weekend, when Huawei was given permission to buy those products - albeit with some limitations.
However, this concession from the U.S. Government doesn't seem to have alleviated the concerns of companies which rely on Chinese facilities for building their products. Due to fears of instability between the two countries, companies such as Microsoft, HP, Dell, and Amazon, are reportedly looking to move some of their production out of China, according to a new report from Nikkei.
Other companies have previously been speculated to be making similar moves, including Nintendo, which has been said to be producing two new Switch models in facilities in southeast Asia. Apple is also said to be evaluating the cost of moving up to 30% of its production out of China. Other companies, including Acer, ASUS, and even the China-based Lenovo are also considering similar plans.
Tech companies have relied on manufacturing facilities in China for many years, and while the move may have some impact on those companies, it could put a dent in China's growth, too. Chinese imports and exports of electronics have skyrocketed from $10 billion to $1.37 trillion between 1991 and 2017, according to data from QianZhan. An exodus of tech companies from the country would likely reverse a lot of the growth that's taken place over the past years.
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