Apple, Facebook praise China's digital economy amid social media ban

Cook has made frequent trips to China over the past year, as the firm has looked to revive sales in the market and make a push into services that require working with local partners on data storage

Top executives at Apple Inc and Facebook Inc managed to find something to praise Beijing for at an internet conference in China this week, even as its Communist Party rulers ban Western social media and stamp on online dissent.

China’s World Internet Conference attracted the heads of Google and Apple for the first time to hear China vow to open up its internet - just as long as it can guard cyberspace in the same way it guards its borders.

The tacit endorsement of the event by top U.S. tech executives comes as China introduces strict new rules on censorship and data