India, May 23 -- Apple has told some of its contract manufacturers that it is looking to increase its production outside China as it looks to avoid China's strict anti-COVID policies.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Apple has looked at India and Vietnam more closely. The two countries already contribute to Apple's manufacturing and were recently on the list of beneficiaries of Apple's $50 Mn supply chain workers upskilling fund.

Apple was already seeking to diversify its production away from China before the pandemic in early 2020, but the pandemic changed the plans for the iPhone maker. Now, as the pandemic is slowing down, the company is again reviving those diversification plans.

Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, told WSJ, "Our supp...