Casey Hall, Joe Cash
BEIJING (Reuters) – Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook spoke on Wednesday with Chinese Industry and Information Technology Minister Jin Zhuanglong, who is visiting Beijing this week, the ministry said.
During the meeting, Jin told Cook that Apple would continue to deepen its presence in China, increase investment in innovation, grow with Chinese companies and share the benefits of high-quality development, according to the statement. He said he would like to.
Apple did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
This is Cook’s second visit to China this year. His posts on Weibo social media platforms like X show him visiting organic farms and touring ancient neighborhoods with artists including local photographer Chen Man.
China is the world’s largest smartphone market, and iPhone makers have been losing market share to domestic rivals in recent quarters.
Apple began selling its latest smartphones in China on September 20th, and on the same day local champion Huawei launched a rival device. The new iPhone is off to a strong start, with sales up 20% in the first three weeks of its release compared to the previous year’s model, according to data from researcher Counterpoint.
However, according to Counterpoint, overall iPhone sales in China fell 2% year-on-year in the past three weeks due to declining sales of older models and increased competition from Huawei’s Mate and Pura series.
(Reporting by Joe Cash and Casey Hall; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Christopher Cushing)
