Google reportedly plans to move its smartphone supply chain outside of China by next year, the latest sign of a deepening tech decoupling as tensions mount between Washington and Beijing. The Silicon Valley giant has told suppliers it will shift manufacturing largely to India and Vietnam, Nikkei reported, and is far from alone in reducing its reliance on China: Rival Big Tech firm Microsoft has shut at least 15 joint ventures and branch offices over the past five years, according to Reuters.
The direction of travel is hardly one way, either, with Chinese authorities reportedly removing Microsoft’s Windows operating system from a host of government computers earlier than scheduled as part of efforts to reduce reliance on foreign tech providers.
