Production disrupted at world's biggest iPhone factory. Here's why

A Covid outbreak was reported at a factory in the central city of Zhengzhou that employs around 300,000 people and is known as the largest producer of iPhones in the world. (Representative image)

World's largest iPhone factory experienced disruption as millions of people in China are put under tight Covid restrictions on Wednesday with sporadic outbreaks across the country prompting business closures.

China is the last major economy welded to a zero-Covid strategy, persisting with snap lockdowns, mass testing and lengthy quarantines in a bid to keep infections to a minimum.

But fast-spreading virus variants have challenged that approach in recent months, with shutdowns and an ever-shifting patchwork of curbs sparking public exasperation and rare pockets of protest.

The world's most populous nation recorded just 1,241 new local cases on Wednesday, the majority of which displayed no symptoms, according to the National Health Commission.

But they include an outbreak at a factory in the central city of Zhengzhou that employs around 300,000 people and is known as the largest producer of iPhones in the world.

Foxconn Technology Group, which runs the facility, acknowledged the flare-up on Wednesday but said "operation and production... is relatively stable".

"Health and safety measures for employees (are) being maintained," the Taiwanese electronics maker said, adding that it was "providing the necessary guarantees for livelihoods, including material supplies, psychological comfort and responsive feedback".

The company did not specify how many staff were affected by the outbreak but said it was a "small number" and that unsubstantiated online rumours of tens of thousands of infections were "patently false".

"At present, the epidemic prevention work in Zhengzhou is progressing steadily, and the impact... is controllable," the statement said.

"The operating outlook for this quarter remains unchanged," it added.

Read more: iPhone supplier warns smartphone demand will continue to fall

There were signs of further tightening in Beijing, with the capital's Universal Resort theme park saying on Wednesday that it had "closed temporarily... to implement epidemic control requirements".

"We will continue to evaluate the impact on operations and work hard to restore them as soon as possible", the resort said on its official Weibo social media account, without giving a timeline for reopening.

Meanwhile, a recently released report stated that Apple Inc is cutting back production of iPhone 14 Plus and is increasing the output of the more expensive iPhone 14 Pro due to lukewarm demand.

According to market research firm TrendForce, the share of more expensive iPhone 14 Pro series has increased to 60 per cent of the total output from the initially planned 50 per cent, and it could rise to 65 per cent in the future, the report said.

(With inputs from agencies)