Vietnam has said it welcomes foreign investors who abide by local and international laws amid questions over Apple’s intention to move part of its production to Southeast Asia in order to buffer the effects of the U.S.-China trade war.

“Has Apple made any move to contact Vietnam or has it signed any agreement with the country?” foreign journalists asked Vietnam’s spokesperson at a regular press briefing organized in Hanoi on Thursday, referring to reports that the tech giant is planning to relocate up to 30 percent of its production capacity out of China.   

The external affairs department of the government has yet to receive any information from Apple and this question would be tranferred to relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Le Thi Thu Hang, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, answered cautiously.

She added that Vietnam “welcomes investments by foreign firms that respect Vietnamese regulations and international law.”

Japan’s Nikkei Asian Review reported on Wednesday that Apple has consulted major suppliers on the cost implications of taking 15-30 percent of production from China to Southeast Asia as a restructuring of its supply chain.

This is a move believed to render Apple less dependent on manufacturing in China in the context of the country’s ongoing trade war with the U.S.

Vietnam and India are among the favorite places for smartphones, Nikkei cited its sources as saying.    

The spokesperson also said Vietnam is leaving no stone unturned in detecting and cracking down on trade fraud, addressing cases where Chinese products were relabeled as goods made in Vietnam to be shipped to the U.S. free of the tariffs President Donald Trump imposes on China in the trade war.

“The Vietnamese government resolves to bar and strictly deal with trade fraud and foreign goods camouflaged as Vietnamese products in order to be exported to other markets,” Hang underlined.

“The General Department of Vietnam Customs has been taking particular steps to prevent such behaviors and protect domestic production.”

U.S. tariffs are levied on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese goods and there are no signs that the trade war would end anytime soon.

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