Apple chief executive Tim Cook lauded the "huge contribution" that Chinese suppliers have made to the iPhone maker's carbon-neutral goals, at a high-profile summit hosted by the Chinese government and attended by Premier Li Qiang.
At the China Development Forum, which kicked off in Beijing
on Sunday and runs through Monday, Cook took to the stage to address
high-profile attendees that include top-level Chinese government officials and
more than 80 foreign business executives.
Chinese suppliers "are not just receptive to the
[carbon neutrality] goal, they've been innovating and figuring out new ways of
doing things", he said.
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Cook's appearance at the forum, Beijing's answer to the
World Economic Forum's summit in Davos, Switzerland, was the latest stop of the
CEO's jam-packed trip in China, where the US giant has been struggling with
declining sales while trying to diversify the geographic footprint of its
supply chain.
On Friday, Cook met China's commerce minister Wang Wentao to
discuss Apple's operations in the country and Sino-US economic and trade ties,
according to a statement from the Ministry of Commerce.
"China has a massive market ... highly-qualified talent
and a stable and open business environment ... this means huge opportunities
for global companies, including Apple," the statement read. "China
welcomes Apple to deepen its foothold in the country."
Apple has been shifting some of its production to countries
such as India and Vietnam amid rising US-China tensions, and after stringent
pandemic restrictions in late 2022 triggered workers' unrest and delayed
shipments at the world's largest iPhone plant, located in Zhengzhou, China.
During his meeting with Wang, Cook said Apple is committed
to long-term development in the country and will keep investing in research and
development and the supply chain there, according to the statement.
"There's no supply chain in the world that's more
critical to us than China," Cook was quoted as saying in an interview with
state media China Daily published on Wednesday.
Apple said earlier this month that it plans to expand its
research centre in Shanghai. It also said it will open a new lab in Shenzhen
later this year, which is expected to boost its testing and research
capabilities for key products, including the iPhone, iPad and Vision Pro
mixed-reality headset, according to a company statement.
The company is also exploring a tie-up with Chinese internet
search and artificial intelligence giant Baidu to install its Ernie chatbot on
iPhones sold in the country, according to a report on Friday by The Wall Street
Journal.
Apple is under mounting pressure in the world's largest
smartphone market, where the iPhone faces" stiff competition at the high
end from a resurgent Huawei [Technologies], while getting squeezed in the
middle on aggressive pricing by the likes of Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi",
according to market consultancy Counterpoint.
iPhone sales on the mainland fell 24 per cent year on year
in the first six weeks of 2024, Counterpoint said.
Apple reported a nearly 13 per cent drop in December-quarter
revenue from Greater China, which comprises the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and
Taiwan.
In addition to Cook, foreign executives attending this
year's China Development Forum include Amin Nasser, president and CEO at Saudi
Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco, Darren Woods, chairman and CEO of US
energy giant ExxonMobil, and HSBC group CEO Noel Quinn.
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