Apple CEO Tim Cook praises China's innovation, long history of cooperation on Beijing visit

SHANGHAI - Apple CEO Tim Cook on Saturday used his first public remarks on his visit to China to praise the country for its rapid innovation and its

long ties with the US iPhone maker,

according to local media reports.

Mr Cook is in Beijing to attend the China Development Forum, a government-organised event being held again in full force after

the country ended its Covid-19 controls late last year.

Besides Mr Cook, the event is being attended by senior government officials as well as chief executive officers of firms such as Pfizer and BHP.

“Innovation is developing rapidly in China and I believe it will further accelerate,” Mr Cook was quoted by The Paper news outlet as saying.

His visit comes at a time of rising

tensions between Beijing and Washington

and as Apple has been looking to

reduce its supply chain reliance on China

and moving production to new up-and-coming centres such as India.

Last year, production at the world’s largest iPhone factory run by Apple supplier Foxconn was heavily disrupted after China’s zero-Covid policies

fuelled worker unrest.

Mr Cook also visited an Apple Store in Beijing on Friday, pictures of which went viral on Chinese social media.

During his speech, Mr Cook also discussed education and the need for young people to learn programming critical thinking skills, announcing that Apple plans to increase spending on its rural education programme to 100 million yuan (S$19 million), the local media reports said. REUTERS