China is making it harder for employees and specialised equipment needed for high-tech manufacturing in India and Southeast Asia to leave its borders, according to people familiar with the matter, a possible attempt to prevent companies from shifting production in anticipation of higher tariffs under US President-elect Donald Trump.
Officials in Beijing have verbally encouraged regulatory agencies and local govts to curb technology transfers and equipment exports to the regions, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. The aim is to shore up China’s own production, reduce any potential job cuts, and prevent foreign investors from fleeing the country if the US imposes new trade barriers, the person said.
Apple’s main assembly partner Foxconn hasn’t been able to dispatch its Chinese staff to India and its factory in the country hasn’t been able to receive additional specialised machinery from China, some of the people said. There’s been no immediate impact on production though, they said.
China’s ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement on Friday the nation “treats all countries equally and is open to enterprises” from everywhere. “China has never done anything that harms interests of other nations to the detriment of itself,” according to the statement. India’s ministry of electronics and information technology and Foxconn didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
India has been crucial to Apple’s strategy to lessen its reliance on China amid trade tensions between Washington and Beijing that could escalate further when Trump returns to the White House next week. Foxconn’s assembly plant in Chennai accounts for about half of the country’s iPhone exports, although the company still makes the bulk of Apple handsets in central China.

Beijing doesn’t want Foxconn to further diversify its production away to other regions, one of the people said. Foxconn employs hundreds of thousands of workers at its Chinese factories, and its large operations are key to local electronics supply chain as well as employment.
Rest of World and Nikkei Asia had earlier reported on the Chinese curbs. While the trend of foreign companies shifting away from China started already several years ago, during Trump’s first term, the exodus is set to intensify now and could include more technology companies, said Woods Chen, chief economist at Yuanta Securities in Taipei.
The restrictions on tech equipment have also had an impact on manufacturing of electric vehicles and solar panels in India, the people said, with the Indian unit of Chinese EV maker BYD and Waaree Energies, India’s largest solar-panel maker, affected.
BYD’s public relations staff and Waaree didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking further information. Bloomberg had previously reported that Beijing wanted to limit the transfer of advanced technology for EV manufacturing, and officials had told carmakers at a meeting in July last year that they shouldn’t make any auto-related investments in India. New Delhi was aware of the Chinese curbs on tech equipment but believed they weren’t meant to single out India, govt officials said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.
The two countries recently eased a four-year border stalemate and have taken gradual steps toward normalising relations. However, India still maintains strict curbs on Chinese investment into the country and limits visas for Chinese nationals, including engineers and technicians employed in high-tech manufacturing.
Apple’s China-based equipment partners, including Justec Shenzhen and Bozhon Precision, started receiving queries in 2024 from govt officials about why they were sending gear to India, according to one of the people. bloomberg