Foxconn employees on the assembly line in Longhua, Shenzhen, China. The company reportedly employed students working overtime at its iPhone factory in Zhengzhou.

Foxconn's $7 billion U.S. bet goes beyond politics. Building a huge TV-screen factory in America would fit neatly with President Donald Trump's push to create domestic jobs. Grabbing a share of the U.S. market could also help the Taiwanese iPhone maker revive recently acquired subsidiary Sharp.

On Sunday, Foxconn founder Terry Gou sketched out a project to make display panels in America, building on details revealed accidentally last month by his friend, SoftBank boss Masayoshi Son.

This may not happen: Gou has a history of talking up big investments that do not materialize. But on paper at least, this looks like a big deal. To compare, heavyweight Samsung Electronics spent just over $9 billion in capital expenditure for its display business last year. And Foxconn's new plant could create up to 50,000 jobs.