Two of tech giant Apple's main suppliers, Taiwan-based Foxconn and Luxshare Precision Industry, are reportedly in talks to manufacture Apple Watches and Macbooks in Vietnam for the first time.
In the wake of the COVID pandemic and related supply chain interruptions, Apple has been shifting some elements of iPhone production from China to other countries, including India, where it began manufacturing the iPhone 13 this year.
China's Zero-COVID policy, as well as the country's silence on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, highlight Apple's need to shift its primary manufacturing away from the PRC. The company can find other countries with cheap and available labor, so this news is a net positive for the global economy.
For anyone thinking companies like Apple make their manufacturing decisions based on human rights, they should delve a little deeper into the issue. The real reason they're joining Nike and Adidas in moving to Vietnam isn't a reaction to China's alleged human rights abuses, it's because COVID disrupted the supply chain and PRC wages have been on the rise.