Meeting with minister

Competition intensifies, but Apple holds on to China

Although it has recently lost market share there, Apple is sticking to its commitment in the Middle Kingdom. The US company has now even announced its intention to expand its business in China.

"Apple is determined to seize the opportunities offered by China's opening-up and will further increase its investment in the country to contribute to the high-quality development of industry and supply chains," the Chinese state news agency Xinhua quoted CEO Tim Cook as saying on Thursday following a meeting with the Chinese government in Beijing.

Meeting at the highest level
Cook had consulted with the Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Jin Zhuanglong, on Wednesday. Topics discussed included Apple's development in China, the handling of data security on the internet and cloud services, Xinhua reported.

Apple did not initially respond to an inquiry from the Reuters news agency. This is Cook's second visit this year to the world's largest smartphone market, where Apple has lost market share to its domestic competitors in recent quarters.