TAIPEI -- Foxconn chairman Terry Gou made a public plea today for Apple to move production to Taiwan from China.

Foxconn is Apple's largest contract assembler and has plants in Shenzhen and elsewhere in mainland China devoted to building iPhones, iMacs, AirBooks and other electronics for the OEM.

In response to a question over whether Apple will shift production away from China, Gou said, “I am urging Apple to move to Taiwan. ... I think it is very possible,” Bloomberg reported.

The US tariffs on Chinese-made goods are affecting supply chains around the globe. Apple is Foxconn's largest individual customer, with reports estimating a relationship worth some $40 billion or more to the ODM.

Foxconn is also the largest private employer in China.

Gou's statement comes as the Foxconn founder contemplates a run for the presidency of Taiwan. His position on China could complicate the rocky relationship between the mainland and the island, which Beijing considers a breakaway province.

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