Apple supplier Moves Manufacturing Back to China from India
For Chinese people, table tennis finals are usually a time to settle down in front of the TV and grab a can of ice-cold beer. It doesn’t demand our undivided attention because, let’s be honest, we all know a Chinese player is going to win. The fact that this year’s table tennis final, featuring two Chinese players, has generated such an uproar on the Chinese internet is both unexpected and frustrating. Young fans of the two players, Sun Yingsha and Chen Meng, have divided into two loyal camps, with Sun’s fans even booing Chen in the Olympic stadium. The problem seems especially acute when conspiracy theories start to circulate on the Chinese internet, questioning the legitimacy of Chen’s victory.
Sun YinSha（left）and Chen Meng
It would be foolish to place the entire blame on the youth who reign the internet, but a fandom culture, typically associated with K-pop and popular among young people, is sneaking into the world of sports. If you are familiar with how fans obsessively sacrifice everything for their idols, you wouldn’t be surprised by the protests against Chen’s victory on the Chinese internet.
In the swimming arena, Chinese sports fans are once again united, thanks to Australian coach Brett Hawke. The American-born former competitor growled at Pan Zhanle’s record-breaking win in the 100-meter freestyle, where Pan surpassed the world record he already held and defeated Australian swimmer Kyle Chalmers. Hawke posted on Instagram that “it’s not humanly possible to beat that field.” Is he publicly saying that it’s humanly impossible for an Asian to beat a white person in that field? Is this his truth or dare？
Pan Zhanle
Moving on to industry news:
A Chinese state-backed enterprise has launched the initial batch of 18 satellites as part of its Qianfan megaconstellation project, or G60, aimed at competing with Elon Musk’s Starlink. Upon completion, G60 is expected to establish a network of over 15,000 low Earth orbit (LEO) wide-band satellites, providing extensive telecommunication services globally. In essence, its users will be reachable from the peaks of the Himalayas to the center of the Pacific.
On August 6th, China launched the Qianfan Polar-Orbit 01 group of satellites using the Long March 6A carrier rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.
As China advances up the supply chain, media speculations continue that the country has been dethroned as the world’s manufacturing hub. Foxconn begs to differ. The world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics has recently announced plans to invest 1 billion yuan in building a new headquarters in Zhengzhou, China. The company is also hiring aggressively. Insiders attribute Foxconn’s return from India and Vietnam to better infrastructure, such as stable electricity provision, and a more experienced workforce, despite the latter countries’ lower labor costs. It remains to be seen if the bridesmaids can eventually replace the bride.
Cook at Apple’s China factory.
