China’s Henan province, home to the world’s largest iPhone factory, pushes US$7 billion digital infrastructure expansion programme

Central China’s Henan province, home to the world’s largest iPhone factory, is investing 50 billion yuan (US$7.39 billion) on a digital infrastructure expansion programme that will help move its industries up the value chain, advancing beyond labour-intensive manufacturing activities.

Under the 2023 Digital Economy Development Work Plan recently released by the Henan Development and Reform Commission, that programme will focus on fostering the development of digital industries that include advanced computing, cybersecurity, satellite communications, integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, digital platforms and 5G.

The initiative comes about three months after the State Council, China’s cabinet, pledged to bolster the country’s digital economy through major new policy commitments.

Its move is in line with China’s 14th five-year plan, from 2021 to 2025, which sets out to accelerate the digital transformation of its supply chain, close the gaps in data between different industries and social groups, better use data resources and improve governance of the digital economy. That would see the output of core industries in China’s digital economy account for 10 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product by 2025, up from 7.8 per cent in 2020.

Protests over Covid-19 measures and employee benefits in November descended into violent clashes between hundreds of workers and security forces at the factory run by Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Group, which had earlier experienced an exodus of tens of thousands of workers from the coronavirus-hit complex.