Why almost Every Mobile Phone is made in China

“Made in China”, “Assembled in China”, these two set of phrases are arguably the most popular phrases in the world. Why do we say so? Almost every one on earth, owns or has access to a mobile phone, and if you do, then there is a high probability that you have come across the above phrases.

Research shows that about 90% of the world’s electronics are made at least in part (components) in China. How is this even possible? China is a country where the proliferation of manufacturing plants is a norm. Shenzhen is the technological hub of China, where manufacturing plants are centralized, labor costs are cheap, and engineers are readily available to accomplish any task. Mock-ups that may take 2-3 weeks to design elsewhere will only take 2-3 days to design in Shenzhen. There are factories for building prototypes, stores where you can buy any parts you want, and white label companies (companies that design and build products without a name or brand so others can buy and customize the products with their brand or name). Shenzhen is to hardware what Silicon Valley is to software.

All of the above reasons, coupled with the fact that China is the largest producer of Germanium (the element used to make semi-conductors in transistors, micro chips, and integrated circuits) makes China the ideal place for mobile phone brands to set up their production or assembling units. Simply put, China is the world’s factory.