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C O M M U N I T Y M A G A Z I N E 1 5 S U M M E R 2 0 2 5 B I T S & B Y T E S bling and shipping everything from smartphones to servers. Yet China itself remains deeply dependent on imported inputs to maintain its production capacity. In 2023, China imported approx- imately $630 billion in electron- ics-related components, far sur- passing the input import volumes of any other country. These include semiconductors from Taiwan and South Korea, sensors and memory from Japan, and high-end manufac- turing equipment from the United States and Europe. While China dominates final assembly, its man- ufacturing strength is built on a steady inflow of upstream technol- ogies it does not fully control. This reliance underscores the structural interdependence that defines the sector. Even a country with China's scale and strategic ambition can- not operate independently within today's complex electronics supply network. In 2023, global trade in electronics inputs exceeded trade in finished electronics by more than $400 billion. The rise of Vietnam, Mexico, and India as electronics exporters is often framed as evidence of a major geopolitical and economic shift, a rebalancing away from China. On the surface, these coun- tries appear to be success stories of supply chain diversification, attracting multinational invest- ment and expanding their share of global electronics exports. How- ever, a deeper look reveals a more complex picture: Rather than becoming self-sufficient manufac- turing hubs, these countries are emerging as new nodes in a glob- ally integrated system, and they too are dependent on imported components to fuel their growth. This global interdependence suggests that the electronics supply chain is not becoming less global. It is becoming more geographically distributed, with specialized roles for each country. Vietnam, Mexico, and India are not replacing China. They are extend- ing the chain, sometimes adding complexity rather than reducing it. For policymakers and businesses alike, this raises important ques- tions. What does "supply chain resilience" look like in a world where no country controls the full manufacturing stack? How should trade policy evolve when diversi- fication leads to deeper, not shal- lower, global entanglement? The Decoupling Disconnect There is growing political appetite for reshoring and decoupling, fueled by rising geopolitical tensions, pandemic-era supply disruptions, and concerns about economic security. Policymak- ers across major economies are calling for greater self-sufficiency in strategic sectors, especially in electronics. But the economic structure of global electronics trade tells a more complicated and sobering story. The industry is built on a foundation of deeply integrated supply chains, where inputs routinely cross multiple borders before a product reaches