China Left Behind as Apple Shifts Production to India Amid US-China Tensions

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — Geopolitical conflict between the United States and China, culminating in threats of exceptionally high tariffs, has had wide-ranging impacts on companies manufacturing goods in Xi Jinping’s domain. Apple has become one of the companies most scrutinised by the Trump administration.

On several occasions, the Trump administration has pressured Apple to relocate iPhone production from China to the United States. This aligns with Trump’s ambition to strengthen local manufacturing.

However, Apple does not appear ready to shift iPhone production to the US. Most recently, CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple will only begin producing Mac Mini at US facilities in 2026.

Nevertheless, Apple continues efforts to relocate iPhone production from China. For some time now, Apple has accelerated the shift of production to India as a diversification strategy.

Apple’s departure from China could be considered a blessing for India’s industry. Bloomberg reported that 55 million iPhone units were produced in India throughout 2025. This figure represents approximately a 53% increase from the previous year, which saw only 36 million iPhone units, according to Bloomberg reporting cited by Investing.com on Tuesday, 10 March 2026.

The volume of iPhone production in India is equivalent to roughly one quarter of global iPhone production. According to Bloomberg’s report, total iPhone production amounts to approximately 220-230 million units annually.

This production increase highlights Apple’s broader strategy to develop India as a major manufacturing hub, as the company seeks to reduce its dependence on China.

Although relations between Trump and Xi Jinping have warmed following their meeting in Busan in October 2025, geopolitical conflict between the two remains unresolved. This creates uncertainty for industries, particularly those selling goods to the US and dependent on supply chains and production in China.

Apple’s expansion in India is also supported by production incentives introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to boost domestic manufacturing and exports.