For subscribers
The iPhone and China’s addiction to exports
Once a stabilising force, Chinese “overcapacity” is now a flashpoint for trade and US-China relations that requires ginger management.
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
While trade interdependence was a stabilising force in US-China relations, it is now a key source of friction.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
The iPhone today is a symbol of US technological prowess. But a month before the first model was launched in 2007, founder Steve Jobs found a major flaw: its easily grazed plastic screen. He demanded a fix.
The material would come from US firm Corning. But Apple struggled to locate a skilled precision manufacturer who could quickly figure out how to cut Gorilla glass – until they went to Shenzhen.
