Apple CEO Tim Cook meets with next Chinese leader
Apple CEO Tim Cook met with China Vice Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday.
Li, who’s expected to become China’s next leader, and Cook discussed intellectual-property issues and greater cooperation between the country and the tech giant, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
“China will create a good environment for and strengthen the protection of intellectual-property rights for fair competition among various enterprises including foreign and domestic ones, according to the Chinese law,” Li said, according to the Journal.
It was a “great meeting,” Carolyn Wu, a Beijing-based Apple spokeswoman, told Bloomberg. China is Apple’s largest market outside the U.S.
The meeting between Apple and China comes at a complicated time in their relationship.
Apple has increasingly faced criticism around the world for the poor labor practices at many of the manufacturing companies that supply its most popular items: the iPhone and iPad.
The Cupertinoe company has also had legal problems with the country. China seized iPad units last month after Chinese company Proview Technology filed a trademark infringement complaint.
At the same time, China has been one of the hottest locations for scammers looking to rip off the company with duplicates of its products, even going as far as putting the Apple logo on stoves.
The meeting should help Apple improve its relationship with the country as well as its sales.
But Cook isn’t the only well-known American chief executive making his way in China -- Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg was also spotted in China while on vacation with his girlfriend earlier this week.
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Original source: Apple CEO Meets With China’s Vice Premier
