Foxconn, the Taiwanese technology giant, targeted by investigations in China

Taiwanese giant Foxconn, Apple's leading supplier for its iPhones, is the subject of regulatory investigations by Beijing, the Global Times, a daily close to Chinese power, reported this weekend. Chinese authorities suspect Foxconn entities in Guang Dong province (south) and Jiangsu (east) of tax evasion, according to the Global Times, while sites in Hunan and Hubei (central) are accused of not having respected real estate law. At the head of around thirty factories and research institutes in China, where around 1 million employees work, Foxconn appears to be one of the pillars of the Chinese economy. In return, the group would depend 70% on Chinese contracts to achieve its turnover.

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Without giving further details on the ongoing case, the world's leading electronics subcontractor confirmed the investigations on Sunday in a press release assuring that “ respect for legislation is a basic principle” for the group worldwide. “ We will actively cooperate with relevant (authorities) for relevant operations,” Foxconn added.

These investigations come in a context of growing tensions between China and Taiwan, while the founder of Foxconn, the billionaire Terry Gou, still the group's largest shareholder, resigned last September from his position as director of the company to present once again in the presidential election of Taiwan, which will be held in January 2024. This billionaire, very close to Beijing, does not really appear as a herald of Taiwanese resistance. Far from it, he has continued to recommend a rapprochement with China, a line opposed to that defended by the current democratic executive. “ I promise to bring peace to the Taiwan Strait for the next fifty years and establish the deepest foundations of mutual trust between the two sides,” he assured when declaring his candidacy.