Manufacture products outside of its traditional base in China strengthens Appleplanning to “start” their production iPhone 14 in Indiaagainst the background of China’s tough anti-coronavirus policy and quarantine restrictions that have affected business operations, as well as geopolitical tensions in East Asia.

According to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal, Apple is working with manufacturers in India to speed up the manufacturing process by closing the typical time gap between manufacturing its devices in China and India. So far, the company has not commented.

Earlier, Bloomberg News also reported that the US company is working with its suppliers to boost production in India, as well as reduce delays in the production of new iPhone devices, compared with the typical period of between six and nine months for previous models. According to the same report, Apple plans to start manufacturing the iPhone 14 in India about two months after it goes on sale outside of China.

Beyond China’s strict “zero tolerance” policy on the coronavirus, which has caused supply chain disruptions but also reduced demand, analysts believe Apple’s dependence on China poses risks due to ongoing tensions between Washington and Beijing. More than 90% of Apple products are made in China, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In recent years, the Indian government has been trying to convince companies like Apple to move to New Delhi by simplifying the tax system and giving incentives to phone makers.

One of the challenges for Apple, analysts said, was to find in India the amount of skilled and unskilled labor available in China. India’s ports, roads and infrastructure also lag behind China’s.

^{According to WALL STREET JOURNAL, REUTERS, BLOOMBERG.}