As geopolitical tensions between the US and China escalate, tech giants Microsoft, Amazon and Google are stepping up efforts to move their product manufacturing and data centers out of China, Nikkei was mentionedciting supply chain sources.
Specifically, Microsoft wants to source up to 80% of the components needed to make its Surface laptops and tablets, as well as its data centers, outside of China by 2026, the report said. The scope of the change is “quite broad” and includes parts and assembly for the company’s future laptops and server products, a supply chain source told Nikkei.
The company is reportedly asking its existing partners to prepare its manufacturing capabilities outside the country from next year, and is also pushing to move some production of Xbox game consoles to other parts of Asia.
Amazon Web Services, meanwhile, is considering buying fewer printed circuit boards for its AI data centers from longtime supplier SYE, and has conducted an assessment of what it might need to do. And Google is pushing its suppliers to increase server production in Thailand, where it has already secured several partners for parts, components and assembly, the report said.
However, moving production out of the country so quickly would prove difficult given the wide range of components involved and the technological and manufacturing prowess of their Chinese partners, Nikkei noted.
The news follows a wave of retaliation from both China and the US, which have taken turns to impose increase in tariffs among them, stricter export controls on critical components and resources and limiting the technology that can be sold.
Microsoft, Google and Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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