(Bloomberg) — Apple Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook promised to keep investing in China during a meeting with Beijing’s top technology official, underscoring the country’s vital role in the iPhone maker’s global operations.
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Cook, making his second visit to the country this year, told China’s Minister of Industry and Information Technology Jin Zhuanglong that Apple would “continue to grow its investments in China and help the high-quality development of the supply chain,” according to a ministry post on WeChat.
Jin reportedly urged Cook in their Wednesday meeting to continue investing more in innovation in the country. They talked about Apple’s presence in China, cloud services and the secure management of online data, the agency said, without providing further details.
Chinese officials have been trying to attract investments from global companies to prop up its ailing economy, but foreign investors pulled a record amount of money from China in the second quarter, likely reflecting deep pessimism about the world’s second-largest economy. Apple fosters a significant number of suppliers, including the likes of iPhone assembler Luxshare Precision Industry Co., and supports millions of jobs in China.
China, the world’s largest smartphone arena, remains Apple’s most important market outside the US. Sales of Apple’s newest iPhones in China were up 20% in their first three weeks compared with 2023’s model, according to estimates from Counterpoint Research, lifting investor sentiment after some analysts cast doubt over demand.
Apple is working on offering AI services for Chinese customers as soon as possible, Cook told a reporter from local news outlet Jiemian on Wednesday. But Cook said his company needs to complete a comprehensive regulatory process first, the report said.
Apple has not found a partner for its AI offering in China after it signed a landmark deal with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into its latest phones. The Cupertino, California-based company also says Apple Intelligence will not currently work for iPhone models purchased in mainland China. OpenAI has taken steps to block ChatGPT access in China.
Chinese regulators require companies to obtain approval before they roll out generative AI services in the country, and so far no major US startup has managed to win a nod from Beijing, as emerging technologies become a key battleground for the world’s two largest economies.
