Global Times – global network report] US Republican lawmakers recently warned apple that if the company purchased memory chips for the new iPhone 14 from a Chinese semiconductor manufacturer, it would face strict scrutiny by Congress.
The “Anti China vanguard”, Marco Rubio, vice chairman of the US Senate Intelligence Committee and Republican, and Michael McCall, chief Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, made this stern statement. Earlier, according to businesskorea, the Korean media, Apple would add China Changjiang Storage Technology Co., Ltd. to its list of NAND flash memory chip suppliers. The Financial Times reported that Rubio and others were shocked.
Marco Rubio information map
Michael McCall profile
“Apple is playing with fire.” Rubio told the financial times that “it is aware of the security risks posed by Changjiang storage. If it continues to move forward, it will be subject to unprecedented scrutiny by the US federal government.” Michael McCall also claimed to the newspaper that Apple’s move would effectively transfer knowledge and technology to Changjiang storage, thereby enhancing its technological capacity and helping China achieve its national goals.
In response to the accusations made by US Congressmen, apple said that it did not use Changjiang storage chips in any products, but said that it was “evaluating the procurement of NAND chips from Changjiang storage for some iPhones sold in China”. Apple said it would not consider using Changjiang memory chips in mobile phones sold outside China. All user data stored on the NAND chip used by the company is “fully encrypted”.
In fact, businesskorea made it clear in its previous reports that Apple’s consideration of using Changjiang storage chips is more economic. The media quoted industry observers as saying that the intention of Apple’s cooperation with Changjiang storage is to reduce the price of NAND flash memory through the diversification of suppliers. Most importantly, Apple needs to show a friendly gesture to the Chinese government to promote the sales of its products in the Chinese market.
In addition, businesskorea said that Apple once again selected China’s BOE as one of the display suppliers of the iPhone 14. Apple is also doing this out of the need to reduce its dependence on Samsung. According to the report, from 2019 to 2021, apple paid Samsung about 1 trillion won (about 5 billion yuan) in compensation every year because it failed to purchase the amount specified in the contract. Businesskorea believes that it is unusual for apple to pay compensation to suppliers. This shows that apple is highly dependent on Samsung’s display screen.
Apple has a huge supply chain system in China. According to Forbes, as of 2021, there were 51 Chinese companies supplying parts to apple. Chinese Mainland has overtaken Taiwan as Apple’s largest supplier. Third party data show that more than a decade ago, Chinese suppliers only contributed 3.6% of the value of iPhones; Now, the contribution of Chinese suppliers to the value of iPhone has increased significantly, reaching more than 25%.
Post time: Sep-12-2022