While production remains unaffected for now, insiders warn that prolonged delays could jeopardise Apple’s ambitious manufacturing expansion plans in India.
“Currently, the equipment and manpower are not allowed to go over [to India],” one of the sources told Rest of World.
This isn’t the only covert move China is making to hinder India’s industrial progress.
“Let’s be clear: imported solar modules and cells are being dumped from China, and this anti-competitive behavior has distorted market pricing.
"China wants India to be an integral part of its own supply chain rather than a substitute for it.
Kyle Chan, a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University specialising in industrial policies in China and India, echoes this sentiment.
China, therefore, may be wary of India scaling up its domestic manufacturing too quickly, particularly in sectors of strategic importance. »