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Apple CEO Tim Cook received a warm welcome from the audience at a Chinese government-sponsored conference amid tensions between China and the United States.
“I’m thrilled to be back in China,” Cook told the China Development Forum at his appearance on Saturday, according to a Wall Street Journal report. “It means the world to me and I feel really privileged to be here.”
Cook, who made his first trip to China since the COVID-19 pandemic began, delivered an upbeat speech that was well received by the audience, with Cook telling those in attendance that Apple and China have grown together over three decades.
APPLE CEO TIM COOK IS ONE OF THE FEW US EXECUTIVES EXPECTED TO ATTEND THE CHINA INVESTMENT CONFERENCE
Apple CEO Tim Cook (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Apple relies on China both as a manufacturing hub and as a growing base of consumers for its products, and Cook said the company and the country have benefited from the ties.
“This was a symbiotic type of relationship that we both enjoyed,” Cook said.
Cook also answered questions about his support for the China Development Research Foundation’s educational efforts, with Cook committing 100 million yuan, equivalent to about US$14.6 million, to fund the foundation’s educational projects.
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple (Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty Images/File/Getty Images)
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Cook is one of dozens of American and other foreign leaders appearing at the conference, which comes at a time of rising tensions between China and the West. Top American officials have held back from visiting China in recent months, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a trip to Beijing in February in response to an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon recently spotted hovering over the mainland United States.
It also comes after executives at another high-profile tech company, TikTok, took issue with American lawmakers during Thursday’s latest testimony.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has faced a barrage of questions from Democrats and Republicans alike about his China-based company, with the social media platform later accusing lawmakers of political magnanimity.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the social media platform’s privacy and data security practices and the impact on children on Capitol Hill on March 23, 2023. (AP Photo / Alex Brandon / AP Images)
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Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox Business.