Taiwan defense, Apple supply chains, and more — News Briefing for October 5, 2022

Here’s what else you need to know about China today:

China “destroyed” a tacit agreement in the Taiwan Strait by crossing the median line, the island’s defense minister Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱国正 Qiū Guózhèng) said today, as Taipei dials up its defenses in case of any “reunification” strategies — through use of force, or by a host of other measures — by Beijing.

• Chiu also said that Taiwan would respond to incursions into its airspace by Chinese aircraft or drones, but did not specify any details on what that might be.
• Meanwhile, authorities are guarding its state-of-the-art chip technology from China’s military, while also keeping a watchful eye over Taiwan’s inventory of critical supplies like food and energy in case of a “possible military conflict,” deputy economy minister Chen Chern-chyi said per Reuters.
• The New York Times says “American officials are intensifying efforts to build a giant stockpile of weapons in Taiwan after studying recent naval and air force exercises by the Chinese military.”
• Further reading: Are worsening U.S.-China relations in Taiwan’s interest?

First iPhones, now AirPods and Beats may leave China’s factory lines to India, according to reports that Apple is asking their suppliers to shift some of the production to the South Asian country in a bid to diversify their supply chains away from China.

• American carmaker Ford, on the other hand, is shutting down its operations in India while investing more in China, particularly in the booming electric vehicle segment.

You’ll be able to rent BYD electric cars in Europe soon: The Chinese EV and battery manufacturer signed a cooperation agreement with European rental car company SIXT by which the latter will purchase at least 100,000 EVs from BYD over the next six years. See today’s Business briefs from the Chinese media, with more links and info on:

• Fewer IPOs this year on mainland stock markets.
• Light industry companies grew this year.

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