Advertisement

Terry Gou, head of iPhone assembler Foxconn, downplays risk of US-China trade war

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
Terry Gou Tai-ming, the billionaire founder and CEO of Foxconn, said he does not think there will be a US-China trade war. Photo: Simon Song
Celia Chenin ShenzhenandHe Huifengin Guangdong

Terry Gou, chairman of the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer – which makes most of the world’s iPhones at giant factories in mainland China – has a lot to lose if a trade war breaks out between Washington and Beijing.

On Thursday Gou downplayed such a possibility, simply saying “I do not think a trade war [between the US and China] will start,” without elaborating.

Gou, who has a net worth of US$6 billion according to Bloomberg data, had agreed to speak with a small group of reporters in Tianjin, China, ahead of plans for a Foxconn unit to launch an IPO in Shanghai. However, he arrived late to the meeting and left after 10 minutes, without answering many questions.

A Chinese delegation led by vice-premier Liu arrived in Washington this week for talks with the Trump administration on ways to avoid a costly trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.

Advertisement