Apple CEO Tim Cook was welcomed with applause at the Beijing conference sponsored by the Chinese authorities
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Apple CEO Tim Cook was warmly received by the audience at a conference sponsored by the Chinese government amid tensions between China and the United States.
“I’m thrilled to be back in China,” Cook told the China Development Forum during his appearance on Saturday, according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal. “It means the world to me and I feel really privileged to be here.”[ads1];
Cook, who was on his first trip to China since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, gave an upbeat speech that was well received by the crowd, and Cook told those in attendance that Apple and China have grown together over three decades.
APPLE CEO TIM COOK ONE OF FEW AMERICAN EXAMPLES EXPECTED TO ATTEND CHINA INVESTMENT CONFERENCE AMID TENSIONS
Apple CEO Tim Cook (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Apple relies on China as both a hub for manufacturing and a growing base of consumers for its products, and Cook said the company and the country have benefited from the relationship.
“This has been a symbiotic relationship that we’ve both enjoyed,” Cook said.
Cook also responded to questions about his support for education efforts run by the China Development Research Foundation, with Cook pledging 100 million yuan, equivalent to about $14.6 million, to help fund the foundation’s education projects.
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple (Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty Images/File/Getty Images)
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Cook is one of dozens of US and other foreign leaders to appear at the conference, which comes at a time of heightened tensions between China and the West. Senior US officials have refrained from visiting China in recent months, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponing a February trip to Beijing in response to an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon recently spotted floating over the continental US.
It also comes after executives of another high-profile tech company, TikTok, sparred with US lawmakers during recent testimony on Thursday.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew faced a barrage of questions from both Democrats and Republicans about his company, which is based in China, with the social media platform later accusing lawmakers of political cronyism.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee regarding the social media platform’s consumer privacy and data security practices and impact on children, March 23, 2023, on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon/AP Images)
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Apple did not immediately respond to a Fox Business request for comment.
