You need to watch the news more. China and Japan are currently having a hot staring contest over a bunch of islets near Okinawa. And of course China has already claimed Taiwan. And now they claim the entire South China Sea.
I am aware of the current situation, I doubt it will go into armed conflict in the next 5 years, 10-15 years? Maybe. But at least for the near future, China can't compete with the US in Military power.
Actually China only needs to slow down shipments from its docks, and not revert to a full blockade. Inspecting every export for a customs compliance inspection would have a massive negative effect on the western world - which relies on 'Just in time' deliveries...and it would be perfectly legal. A massive slow down would affect people's lives in a myriad of ways, none good.
Affect peoples lifes yes, would it kill them? no. And China depends on the consumers in the west.
No... besides just about every computer that runs just about every business in the world. And just about every cell phone that connects businesses and world leaders. And a lot things that some of the largest corporations need to sell to survive. But besides that, not much. Can you imagine the turmoil if 30% of the Fortune 500 started bankruptcy proceedings because they had nothing to sell? The shear numbers of people hitting the dole lines?
Not every computer is made in China, lots aren't. Not every smart phone is made in China ( Lots of Samsungs, Blackberries, HTCs and some Nokias are not made in China ).
And I doubt the US would leave Taiwan and Japan out in the cold over some electronics. It would suck for a little bit, but eventually other countries could pick up the slack. China depends on the west far more than than the west depends on china.
China would a) Do without. They have a marvellous capacity for doing without. Being poor does that. Most Chinese already live in a non-industrialized agricultural society that does without oil. And b) Any nation who sided with China could do the same with American oil....Say, Iran? I could see Russia providing fuel as well, perhaps.
Lots of chinese oil comes from the Middle east, some comes from Russia, my point is, in the event of a large conflict. The US Navy will most likely block tankers from going to China, no military in the world is in a position to stop them, certainly not China's floating junk yard.
Russia might provide fuel, but Russia cannot provide close to enough fuel to power China. And its not a matter of the civvies, without massive oil imports, their military can't work either.
The quality is fine. You get what you pay for. Apple pays for top-notch quality and they get it. If you want cheap and shoddy, China will make that for you to. Just because it's American is not a guarantee it is better made. I've bought plenty of American made crap too. It's all about what you want to pay for. And to be fair... I've bought Canadian made crap too.
Of course, but China still mostly makes the cheap stuff. There are good American products, and good chinese products. But I generally find American products to be better ( Compare a Viking Appliance to a Chinese one ). But you are right.
Canada makes some awesome stuff, my 2011 Crown Vic, an " American" ford was actually built in Canada, great car.
I'm going to say it again. I'm convince Apple is diversifying its plants to spread the risk out. It could be that they don't want to be hit by floods or another natural disaster that affects a large swath of China in the same way that Thailand and its HDD plants got hit by floods.
There are been some pretty bad quality control problems with the iPhone 5, and Dust under iMac screens for example.
I think Apple and other companies are starting to build outside of China due to its economic depression that will occur in 20 or so years.
Also, with automation really starting to take off, it will be cheaper to build plants in say South America, the USA, Canada, Europe, and parts of Asia. Build things slightly more locally, automate it and save on shipping costs.
PS: I do think China will enter a massive depression in the next 20-30 years, with well over 60% of the population unable to work due to age, they will have problems supporting all the people who can't work. It will hurt them.
. I'd suggest that Apple has already derived what they really wanted from thunderbolt. It meant they could push larger ports onto dongles and build docking station functionality into the existing mini displayports.
