Braving Trump, Apple’s Tim Cook promises to boost China investment

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks as U.S. President Donald Trump listens in the State Dinning Room of the White House. (Alex Brandon / AP)

BEIJING — Apple’s Tim Cook pledged to boost the tech giant’s investment in China on Wednesday as it navigates the trade war between Beijing and Washington.

Many U.S. companies have become cautious about relations with China as the world’s two biggest economies clash over tariffs and as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to promote manufacturing in the United States rather than elsewhere.

But Cook told China’s industry minister Li Lecheng the iPhone maker will keep investing in China, according to an official summary of their meeting in Beijing released by the Chinese, although it gave no details of the size of the potential investment. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The California-based company, which has also made investment pledges to Washington, has so far remained relatively unscathed by the trade war between the United States and China. Other companies, such as Nvidia and Qualcomm have found themselves the target of Chinese investigations.

Washington has long placed sanctions on Chinese companies such as Huawei.

Balancing act

A Shanghai-based government affairs consultant, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with media, said U.S. companies are wary of angering a White House that could hurt them at home in the world’s biggest consumer market for appearing too pro-China.

At the same time, they are seeking to avoid appearing insincere in Beijing where they have pledged to be “in China, for China,” he added.

Cook in August presented Trump with a custom U.S.-made plaque mounted on a 24-carat gold stand commemorating Apple’s “American Manufacturing Program,” after saying it would invest an additional $100 billion in domestic manufacturing.

When Cook visited China in March, Apple made public its plans for a new clean energy fund there worth 720 million yuan (US$101 million).

Meanwhile, Apple, which relies on suppliers and factories in China where most of its iPhones are assembled, has been trying to shift some manufacturing capacity to India.

Apple’s COO Sabih Khan on Tuesday visited Lens Technology, a Chinese glass supplier for Apple, the Changsha-based company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Lens Technology produces glass covers for Apple products including the iPhone and Apple Watch and has been a partner for 19 years, it said.

China hopes Apple will continue to explore the Chinese market and grow together with Chinese suppliers, the industry minister, Li Lecheng, who is also in charge of infotech, told Cook, adding that China would continue to foster a good business environment for foreign companies, including Apple.

‘Choosing China’

Apple’s shipments in China grew 0.6 per cent from a year earlier to 10.8 million units in the third quarter against the backdrop of sluggish demand in China’s smartphone market, according to data research firm IDC on Wednesday.

Boosted by the iPhone 17 series, it was the only brand among China’s three biggest vendors to achieve growth in shipments during the period.

As part of his visit to China this week, Cook visited Apple’s store in Shanghai and met Chinese game developers and the designer of the popular Labubu dolls, he said in posts on China’s X-like Weibo.

On Monday, he said the iPhone Air would be available for pre-order in China after the industry ministry cleared the way for major telecom operators to support its eSIM functionality.

“The business community has always been a stabilizer of China-U.S. relations and a promoter of pragmatic cooperation,” China’s ambassador to the U.S., Xie Feng, said during an event in Washington on Tuesday.

Many U.S. companies have “chosen China” and are benefiting both countries, Xie added.

(Reporting by Xiuhao Chen and Joe Cash; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Barbara Lewis)