Many of you by now, may have heard of the protest at the Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou China
Here's a thread discussing the cause and deeper implications of the protest
No whitewashing, no sensationalism just pure hard facts...🧵 https://t.co/q2jhnoFi1Y
Let's set the record straight, the protest is not about pandemic control policies, though it's one of the contributing factors
The main problem here, is Foxconn is accused of changing their temporary employment contracts, and not honoring their advertised pay
Several weeks ago, Zhengzhou saw a COVlD spike, and workers started to leave the industrial area where Foxconn was located
Foxconn would usually hire seasonal workers to meet the iPhone release cycle
So workers would come here and work for several months and move on
With the COVlD policy causing a shortage of workers, the company advertised 15,000 RMB per month pay, for temporary employment
Being accused of not meeting the bonuses were the direct cause
Now Foxconn is offering 10,000 RMB payout for temp workers that want to leave
It's an alright deal, since most of them didn't work the whole month, they get some money. Now the workers can move on to other jobs
Which is why any problem that can be solved by money, is no problem at all https://t.co/2mlfPmco7I
This is pretty much it, a labor dispute, nothing to sensationalize about
HOWEVER, there is a deeper layer to it, keep reading and go down the rabbit hole if you wish https://t.co/94hBjngxR3
What is Foxconn?
I look at Foxconn, an exploitative Taiwanese company, as a carton of milk
It will provide nourishment for your city when you need that low-end manufacturing employment
but please throw it in the bin once you moved up the economic ladder
Foxconn provides little benefit to your economy once all of your provinces have moved up the economic ladder
If you trace the map of Foxconn moving their manufacturing hub
You'll find the majority of its operations have shifted from Southern China around Shenzhen
To Zhengzhou
The suicide net story from 10 years ago came from Foxconn's plant in Shenzhen
Henan, being a uniquely poor province, will be their last base of operation in China
Once Henan is sufficiently developed, they'll move to South East Asia and India to exploit their workers https://t.co/ZJbLkH45Iw
So why is Henan "uniquely poor"?
If you look at the distribution of Chinese manufacturing hubs, it's mostly located near the coast
This is because water-based transport, is the most cost-efficient https://t.co/GBKtnKhNHp
Here, I mapped the top 25 manufacturing cities in China, BLUE circles are cities with access to sea/ river port facilities
RED circled cities are inland cities without water-based transport https://t.co/wQnQ2FBXiK
Zhengzhou, here circled in green, is the capital of Henan province
This particular cluster of cities, are the inland manufacturing hubs of the top 25 manufacturing centers in China
With the exception of Zhengzhou, every other inland hubs are located on or near the Yangtze river https://t.co/sfxRMi0ORl
The Yangtze acts like a water highway system, that allows cargo ships to sail all the way from Chongqing to Shanghai, then to the rest of the world
This is the river port in Wuhan, 800km away from the sea: https://t.co/du6DMHK6wy
Henan being a landlocked province, does have the Yellow river flowing through it, but it's not navigable by big ships
Henan does have a lot of rivers, but none are navigable all year round
The river system and flat plain gave Henan it's own "resource curse" https://t.co/zKyggYabfW
That curse is the land used for farming, which in turn supports a large population
With 99 million people, Henan is the 3rd most populous province, and the most populous Landlocked province
So the farmland per capita in Henan is very low, causing it being rather poor...
At the same time, the farming in Henan is very mechanized
Which is why Foxconn chose Henan, large population with flexible work hours
Henan will also be the last province where Foxconn can set their major hubs in, because the labor cost in coastal provinces are already too high https://t.co/zceyS2oBWy
And no other landlocked/ interior province in China is comparable to Henan
This also means, Henan is the last bastion of poverty in China
The way forward for Henan is to keep a core sector of manufacturing, and move to a service economy
Urbanize the population, giving more land per capita to farmers
+
An unique culture based service economy
+
mid to high-end manufacturing (manufacturing hubs around ZhengZhou and Luoyang)
= A prosperous Henan https://t.co/mC2cPkTAX8
