The BBC has conducted an exclusive interview with Young Liu, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Foxconn. The discussion focused mostly on the Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturer having to navigate choppy waters—it is adapting to cooling international relations with China. Foxconn has many production plants in the region—most notably more than half of Apple products (iPhones and iMacs) are made in these facilities, but Liu's firm has already shifted production bases to other countries and continues to do so. Foxconn has done very well for itself from a traditional strategy of manufacturing US-designed products in China—other lucrative contracts have resulted from partnerships with Sony, Microsoft, Amazon and Dell. Liu acknowledges that some of his Western clients have requested that their products be manufactured outside of China due to political pressures: "They get the push from their government about de-risking, and then they will let us know."

The subject matter changes to Foxconn's ambition in the world of electic vehicles—Liu is less guarded about his company's targeted growth in this market. He cites wanting to gain 5% of the global EV market within the next few years, and is reported to confident about his firm's prospects. He demonstrated a prototype SUV model to the BBC reporter, with emphasis on the car's dashboard: "Look at this - this is a big iPhone, so we're very familiar with this." Foxconn had a small number of EV models on display, but it hopes to target middle-class buyers with eventual product launches. Liu explained that his company's expertise in electronics is a great advantage as they delve into a new market segment: "The reason why we think this is a great opportunity for us is that with the traditional gas engine, you have engines which are mostly mechanical. But with EVs, it's batteries and motors." Foxconn has plans for a global set of car manufacturing facilities—Thailand, Indonesia, India and the USA are mentioned. Liu proposes that his firm's future success will hinge on this diversified location model: "It doesn't make sense for you to make [EVs] in one place, so regionalized production for cars is very natural."