This weekend, Tim Cook participated in the Development Forum in Beijing, China.
Tim Cook recently attended the Development forum in Beijing, China, as one of the few American business leaders attending the conference. During his presentation, the CEO of Apple said that his company and China had “a symbiotic relationship”despite the tensions generated between the two countries following the economic sanctions imposed by Donald Trump during his presidency.
The CEO of the company with the bitten apple logo took the stage China Development Forum last Saturday to talk about the relationship between Apple and the Asian country, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Apple depends on China in a relationship hanging by a thread due to US sanctions
Tim Cook assured that “Apple and China have a kind of symbiotic relationship that both parties have benefited from”. A symbiosis in which China manufactures a large part of the hardware components of the iPhone and in which Apple is dedicated to marketing its products in the country, in addition to helping boost the economy of the region through its supply chain.
Consumers in China play a key role in Apple’s plans. Remember that the country is one of the most gigantic markets internationally. China has spent around $24 billion on Apple productsonly in the last quarter of 2022.
Despite this “symbiotic relationship” that Tim Cook talks about, Apple is focusing its efforts on reducing its dependence on Chinese suppliers.
On the other hand, Tim Cook also met with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao
The meeting reportedly focused on discussing Apple’s strategy in its hardware component development in China. Both parties seem to agree on “stabilize the industry and the supply chain”. For his part, Wang Wentao assured that “China plans to provide a good environment and services to foreign companies” like Apple.
This is Tim Cook’s first visit to China since the start of the calamitous pandemic. He was also recently on a business trip to Japan, where he visited the facilities and studios of various vendors, including Sony, Konami and other companies in Apple’s supply chain.