US curbs on China’s access to advanced technology are killing its viability as a manufacturing base for exports, according to the head of Japan’s Kyocera, as one of the world’s largest makers of chip components shifts its production elsewhere and invests heavily in facilities at home.
Hideo Tanimoto, president of a company that is an important part of the chip supply chain, made his stark assessment as he leads an aggressive investment strategy for Kyocera that includes construction of its first factory in Japan in nearly two decades.
“It works as long as [products are] made in China and sold in China, but the business model of producing in China and exporting abroad is no longer viable,” Tanimoto told the Financial Times. “Not only have wages gone up, but obviously, with all that’s happening between the US and China, it’s difficult to export from China to some regions.”