Beijing (EFE).- Apple’s CEO Tim Cook told Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Lecheng on Wednesday that the tech company will increase its investment in China and raise the level of bilateral cooperation with the goal of achieving mutually beneficial development.
During a meeting in Beijing, Cook and Li discussed the US company’s situation in the country and the possibilities for cooperation in the fields of electronics and information technology, the ministry announced.
Li said that China had a vast market and a comprehensive industrial system, which offered immense potential for investment and consumption.
The industry minister added that the country will continue to promote high-level opening-up and promote “intelligent industrialization” and “industrial intellectualization” to create a favorable business environment for foreign companies, including Apple.
The minister hoped that the American company will continue to deepen its presence in the Chinese market, collaborating with local companies in innovation and development throughout the supply chain and actively participating in the new industrialization process.
Apple, which has operated in China for two decades, maintains an extensive network of suppliers and assembly partners in the country, where a substantial part of its global production chain is concentrated.
In recent years, the firm has partially diversified its manufacturing to other Asian countries, although China remains its main production base.
On Monday, Cook announced that the new iPhone Air will go on sale in mainland China on Oct. 22, coinciding with the launch of eSIM services offered by the country’s three major carriers.
Greater China, which includes mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, is Apple’s third-largest market after the Americas and Europe.
Despite growing local competition from brands like Huawei and Xiaomi and trade tensions between Beijing and Washington, Cook has reiterated his commitment to continue expanding investment and technological development in the country during his visits to the Asian giant. EFE
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