A recent Bloomberg report revealed that Foxconn, Apple’s major manufacturing partner, has asked hundreds of Chinese engineers working in India to return home. This move comes as a setback to Apple’s growing ambitions of shifting iPhone production to India. Currently, nearly 15% of iPhones are made in India, with Apple targeting to increase this to 25% in the coming years. The expansion has been hailed as a major success of India’s 'Make in India' campaign, launched in 2014 to turn the country into a global manufacturing hub. Interestingly, just a year after India rolled out 'Make in India', China introduced its own plan — Made in China 2025 — a bold and structured attempt to upgrade its manufacturing industry. While India continues to promote its initiative, the Chinese government has remained relatively quiet about its own over the years. Despite this silence, Made in China 2025has reshaped China’s industrial landscape — a development that offers valuable lessons for India.
Launched in 2015, Made in China 2025 was China’s 10-year roadmap to move beyond basic manufacturing and dominate high-tech industries. It identified 10 priority sectors including electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, next-generation IT, biotech, aerospace, high-speed rail, and advanced maritime engineering. The plan’s goal was clear: to reduce dependency on foreign technology and build a self-sufficient, innovation-led industrial base. As the World Economic Forum (WEF) recently noted, the policy is now evolving into an AI-driven, green-energy-powered, self-reliant model of industrial transformation.
Though ambitious, Made in China 2025 drew international criticism, particularly from Western nations. Many viewed it as a protectionist strategy that gave Chinese companies an unfair advantage through subsidies, easy credit, and restricted access for foreign firms unless they shared critical technologies. Due to the backlash — and fears of sanctions or retaliatory trade measures — Chinese authorities largely stopped publicly promoting the term. As The Economist put it, the phrase became something akin to Voldemort from Harry Potter — too controversial to be spoken aloud.
Despite public silence, the results are striking. According to WEF, China now leads globally in several critical green technologies:
Over 75% of lithium-ion battery production
Nearly 80% of solar panel manufacturing
The majority of the world’s electric vehicle output
China has also become a global leader in high-speed rail and made impressive strides in robotics and sensor technology. The focus on manufacturing has helped China build resilient supply chains, invest heavily in R&D, and upskill its workforce. However, two major goals remain elusive: domestic semiconductor production and passenger aircraft manufacturing. There has also been criticism that China’s heavy manufacturing push came at the cost of developing its services sector and domestic demand — a lesson relevant for India, which has a strong services sector but a still-growing manufacturing base.
While Made in China 2025 and Make in India differ in tone and transparency, both reflect their respective governments’ ambitions to reshape the economy. As India continues its push to become a global manufacturing hub, especially in electronics, EVs, and defence, China’s experience offers valuable insights — in both strategy and caution.