Foxconn Technology Group is moving some iPad and MacBook assembly to Vietnam from China at the request of Apple , said a person with knowledge of the plan, as the US technology giant diversifies production to minimise the impact of the US-China trade war . The development comes as the outgoing administration of US President Donald Trump encourages American firms to shift manufacturing out of China. During Trump’s tenure, the US has targeted made-in-China electronics for higher import tariffs, and restricted supplies of components produced using US technology to Chinese firms it deems as a national security risk. Taiwanese manufacturers, wary of being caught up in the tit-for-tat trade war, have moved or are considering moving some manufacturing from China to countries such as Vietnam, Mexico and India. Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer, is building assembly lines for Apple’s iPad tablet and MacBook laptop at its plant in Vietnam’s northeastern Bac Giang province, to come online in the first half of next year, the person said, declining to be identified as the plan was private. Inside China’s ‘iPhone City’, it’s full steam ahead to produce Apple’s new 5G handset The lines in Vietnam will also take some production from China, the person said, without elaborating how much production would shift. “The move was requested by Apple,” the person said. “It wants to diversify production, following the trade war.” Foxconn said in statement: “As a matter of company policy, and for reasons of commercial sensitivity, we do not comment on any aspect of our work for any customer or their products.” Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Taiwan’s Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry , on Tuesday announced a US$270 million investment to set up a new subsidiary called FuKang Technology Co – a move the person said was aimed at supporting the Vietnam expansion. The contract manufacturer also plans to make television sets at the Vietnam plant for clients including Japan’s Sony Corp, with the start of such production scheduled later this year to early 2021, the person said. Sony declined to comment. Foxconn, Pegatron among Asian firms considering Mexico factories as China risks grow The factory will also make other electronic products such as computer keyboards, the person said. All iPads are assembled in China and so Foxconn’s move would mark the first time that the iPad has been made outside the country, according to Taipei-based research group TrendForce. Foxconn already plans to spend up to US$1 billion expanding an iPhone assembly plant in India as “strongly requested” by Apple to diversify production beyond China, people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters in July. Foxconn and peers such as Pegatron Corp are also considering building plants in Mexico, people with knowledge of the matter said, as Washington promotes near-shore production. In August, Foxconn chairman Liu Young-way told investors the US-China trade war had split the world into two, saying his firm aimed to provide “two sets of supply chains”. Other iPad assemblers include Taiwan’s Compal Electronics and China’s BYD Electronic International.