The country’s vast, unprecedented production capabilities – the US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that as of 2009 there were 99 million factory workers in China – have helped the nation become the world’s second largest economy. The vast majority of plants that produce the iPhone’s component parts and carry out the device’s final assembly are based here, in the People’s Republic, where low labour costs and a massive, highly skilled workforce have made the nation the ideal place to manufacture iPhones (and just about every other gadget). US law dictates that products manufactured in China must be labelled as such and Apple’s inclusion of the phrase renders the statement uniquely illustrative of one of the planet’s starkest economic divides – the cutting edge is conceived and designed in Silicon Valley, but it is assembled by hand in China. It’s printed on the back of every iPhone: “Designed by Apple in California Assembled in China”. Thanks to a simple twist of fate and some clever perseverance by my fixer, I’d found myself deep inside so-called Foxconn City.
Offenders will be sent to police for prosecution!” – are more aggressive than those outside many Chinese military compounds.īut it turns out that there’s a secret way into the heart of the infamous operation: use the bathroom. The warning signs outside – “This factory area is legally established with state approval.
A Reuters journalist was once dragged out of a car and beaten for taking photos from outside the factory walls. Employees can’t get in without swiping an ID card drivers entering with delivery trucks are subject to fingerprint scans. Security guards man each of the entry points. It might be the best-known factory in the world it might also might be among the most secretive and sealed-off. Foxconn’s enormous Longhua plant is a major manufacturer of Apple products. The sprawling factory compound, all grey dormitories and weather-beaten warehouses, blends seamlessly into the outskirts of the Shenzhen megalopolis.
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