New Foxconn deal shows how Chinese provinces are stepping up to entice overseas firms

Foxconn will splash out on EV projects and set up robotics industrial bases in mainland China amid geopolitical risks and supply-chain disruptions

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Foxconn Technology chairman Young Liu and Henan governor Wang Kai appear this week at a deal-signing ceremony in the provincial capital, Zhengzhou. Photo: Handout

Published: 8:30pm, 25 Jul 2024Updated: 4:06pm, 16 Aug 2024

In the latest bid by local governments across China to retain overseas businesses, authorities in Henan province have humbly appealed to Foxconn, urging the electronics manufacturer to maintain its investment confidence in the region.

The exhortation comes amid a growing trend of supply chains shifting away from China, while the world’s second-largest economy is also grappling with weak investor confidence both at home and abroad amid geopolitical risks and limited growth prospects.

“[I] hope that Foxconn will remain confident in its investment in the region, focusing on the cultivation of new industries and the development of new technologies ... Together, we will build a high-end manufacturing industrial chain and an ecosystem for strategic emerging industries,” Henan governor Wang Kai said on Tuesday.

“We aim to accelerate the construction and effectiveness of signed projects and the early signing and commencement of projects under negotiation,” Wang said during a signing ceremony in the provincial capital, Zhengzhou, for a strategic cooperation agreement between Henan and Foxconn Technology, which is formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry.

He also vowed to establish a regular communication mechanism and to strengthen comprehensive service guarantees to create a better environment for the development of Taiwanese enterprises in Henan.