Console makers ‘looking to shift production from China’

Console makers Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are said to be among a host of major tech companies looking to shift substantial production capacity out of China.

That’s according to multiple Nikkei Asian Review sources, who claim leading electronics makers are unconvinced that the trade war truce agreed by US president Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping at June’s G20 summit will last.

The US has already imposed tariffs on more than $250 billion worth of Chinese products and had been planning to target an additional $300 billion following a breakdown in negotiations, before the countries announced plans to resume trade talks last weekend.

In addition to the console makers, Nikkei claims HP, Dell, Amazon and Apple are looking to move significant production capacity out of China, the world’s biggest producer of PCs and smartphones.

A supply chain executive said to be familiar with the situation said: “The industry consensus is to move an average of some 30% of production out of China depending on how important the U.S. market is… Everyone needs to come up with a plan.”

Prior to the recent G20 summit, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony jointly requested that game consoles be removed from a list of products the Trump administration was considering imposing tariffs on.

The companies claimed placing tariffs on consoles “would have a ripple effect of harm that extends throughout the video game ecosystem”.