Foxconn, maker of the Apple iPhone, is taking the unusual step of switching part of its production to making surgical masks.
The firm is also pushing to be allowed to reopen its regular production lines making electronics, which have been closed due to the coronavirus.
The outbreak has seen demand for masks soar and caused a shortage of supplies around the world.
Foxconn aims to produce two million masks a day by the end of the month.
“In this war against the epidemic, every second counts,” the firm said on the social media platform WeChat.
The company said it had already started test production of masks at its flagship manufacturing plant in Shenzhen in southern China.
