The Tycoons Behind China’s Gadget Factories Boom Prepare to Pivot
Facing trade tensions and U.S. tariffs, the four men who spawned companies like Foxconn are reconsidering their commitments.
Thirty years ago, Taiwanese tech entrepreneurs started moving factories to the mainland, kicking off a global economic transformation that’s made China the world’s top manufacturer of electronics. Today, four Taiwan-based companies—Foxconn Technology Group, Inventec, Quanta Computer, and Compal—together account for some 40% of exports from China to the U.S. of computers, phones, and related items. But faced with growing trade tensions and U.S. tariffs, the leaders of those companies are reconsidering their commitment to China. Although any pivot away from the country is just starting, factories that leave won’t come back anytime soon. Here are four men responsible for the shift decades ago who will play a key role in deciding how much longer China will remain the global manufacturing king.
Gou started out making knobs for black-and-white TVs, then connectors for game-console maker Atari, then just about every gadget imaginable. Today, Foxconn is the world’s biggest electronics contract manufacturer, with facilities in more than 30 Chinese cities and in 14 other countries. Gou relinquished his chairmanship this year for a failed bid for Taiwan’s presidency, but company insiders say he remains the ultimate decision-maker at Foxconn. While the company has faced criticism for its treatment of factory workers, Gou has raised wages and improved working conditions. A promised facility in Wisconsin praised by U.S. President Trump hasn’t yet opened, but the company says it will build server components and device screens there.