 "Apple CEO Cook says company to increase investment in China: State media")
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook has said that the tech giant plans to increase investment in China, state news agency Xinhua reported on Thursday. Cook said at a meeting held with the Chinese government officials in Beijing.
Cook met with the Chinese Minister for Industry and Information Technology Jin Zhuang Long on Wednesday during his second visit to China this year. The trip comes as Apple faces challenges in maintaining market share against domestic rivals in the world’s biggest smartphone market.
“Apple is keen to seize the opportunities presented by China’s opening up and will continue to increase its investment in the country, thus contributing to the high-quality development of the industrial and supply chains,” Cook was quoted as saying by Xinhua. Besides Apple’s development in China, their meeting also covered topics such as online data security management and cloud services.
Apple’s shipments in China decline
The Chinese minister reportedly told Cook that they expect the US company to boost their investment in innovation and collaborate with Chinese firms. On Tuesday, Cook also met Yang Jie, chairman of telecom giant China Mobile. The two discussed advancing cooperation in 5G applications, building on existing cooperative programs in areas such as digital content, among other things.
In July, Reuters reported a 6.7 per cent decline in Apple’s smartphone shipments in China for the second quarter of 2024, with total shipments reaching 9.7 million units. In contrast, domestic competitor Huawei saw a 41 per cent year-on-year increase, totalling 10.6 million units. Vivo emerged as the top vendor with a share of 19 per cent, while Apple stood at the sixth spot down from the third spot at 14 per cent. Apple has attempted to reverse the trend through efforts like handing out discounts.