China's tech suppliers brace for disruption after COVID protests

TAIPEI/HONG KONG -- Suppliers in China serving Apple, Google and other global brands are bracing for further disruptions amid uncertainty over how Beijing will respond to calls to end the country's strict zero-COVID measures.

Demonstrators across China have demanded an end to the mass testing and widespread lockdowns imposed as part of the country's strategy for battling the pandemic. The central government on Tuesday warned local authorities against "arbitrarily expanding lockdowns" but local governments have so far shown few signs of heeding Beijing's directives. The emergence of an omicron wave of infections is also worrying suppliers.