Lenovo could move production out of China to avoid tariff hikes, say company executives

Senior executives at Lenovo, the world’s largest PC maker, said today that the companies could mitigate tariff risks by moving its production out of China.

“We have definitely the ability to shift some of the production … from the impacted countries like China to the countries where we can continue to without, I think, without having the impact of the tariffs,” Wai Ming Wong, Lenovo’s CFO, said in an interview with CNBC.

The Beijing-based company is “well-prepared” for the tariffs hike because the company has manufacturing footprints in countries outside China, such as Mexico and the United States, according to Wong.

Wong’s remark echos Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing’s recent remark on the potential adjustments the company needs to make should the trade war further escalate and tariff hikes hit PCs.

Lenovo has booked USD 597 million in profit for its fiscal year which ended on March 31, making a big turnaround from a loss of USD 189 million in the previous fiscal year. The company’s full-year global revenue has also reached more than USD 50 billion from the first time.