How China’s reputation as the world’s smartphone manufacturing hub is being shaken by plunging confidence at home

A prolonged cooling of China’s smartphone market is sending shivers across supply chains as factories face cutbacks in production orders. Analysts say makers of display and camera modules are under particular pressure, as smartphone clients clear inventory. — SCMP

Few industries more exemplify China’s central role in global supply chains than smartphone manufacturing: in 2021, for every three smartphones produced in the world, two were made in China.

China is also the world’s single largest smartphone market – one out of every four phones sold last year was bought by a consumer in China, giving local brands such as Xiaomi, Huawei Technologies Co, Oppo and Vivo a big home market in which to grow first before venturing overseas to take on the likes of Apple and Samsung Electronics.