Foxconn says trade war means China can no longer be 'the world's factory'

Tim Cook visiting a Foxconn assembly line in China

Foxconn, which has just reported second quarter profits 34% up from last year, is now said to believe China's manufacturing supremacy is over.

According to Bloomberg, the chair of Foxconn's parent Hon Hai Precision Industry Company, says that the company is planning to move ever more manufacturing away from China. Young Liu said it was specifically to avoid the escalating tariffs on Chinese-made goods intended for the US.

"No matter if it's India, Southeast Asia or the Americas, there will be a manufacturing ecosystem in each," he Liu said. Reuters reports that he added that China will still remain a key part of its production, but the country's "days as the world's factory are done."

Reportedly, the current proportion of Foxconn manufacturing made outside China is now 30%. In June 2019, it was 25%.

Foxconn is Apple's largest manufacturing partner and will be chiefly responsible for the production of the forthcoming "iPhone 12" range. While it has not announced moving that production away from its Chinese bases, Foxconn has previously claimed that it could produce iPhones entirely away from the country.