Apple supplier data suggests the firm has become less reliant on China since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, with component manufacturing locations in the country dropping from 44% to 47% in 2019 to 41% in 2020 and then to 36% for 2021, according to a new analysis by Reuters. Apple’s annually released supplier list shows a clear trend of diversification in recent years as the tech giant turns increasingly to the US and other Asia regions. In addition to China’s Covid curbs and lockdowns, geopolitical pressure is also driving Apple to diversify its supply chains outside of the mainland. Foxconn, the biggest iPhone assembler in the world, is expanding in India while its major facility in Zhengzhou continues to be hit by Covid policy restrictions and worker unrest. [Reuters]