By Li Panpan
(JW Insights) Oct 19 -- Apple CEO Tim Cook made his second trip to China this year between October 16-18, visiting its Chinese supplier's factory and an Apple Store in southwestern China's Chengdu among his programs, reported Chinese press.
Cook toured the factory of Apple's primary Chinese supplier Luxshare Precision (立讯精密) in Jiashan, eastern China's Zhejiang Province on October 18. Luxshare Precision mainly produces Apple Watch.
Wang Laichun, Luxshare Precision's chairman said, her company would produce three iPhone 15 models for Apple this year, and the business has doubled in the past year. The company is preparing to deliver the Apple Vision Pro headset that will go to market early next year, according to a report by the Paper on October 18.
On October 17, Cook went to Ya'an, southwestern China's Sichuan Province well-known in the country for a major earthquake in 2013. There he visited a local tea garden and a primary school, where he watched students program and use iPad controlling a drone. Apple announced on the same day donating RMB25 million ($3.42 million) to the China Rural Development Foundation for supporting rural community development in the country.
On the evening of October 16, Tim Cook visited Chengdu, capital of southwestern China's Sichuan Province. He showed up at a Tencent Holdings video gaming tournament for the game Honour of Kings in an Apple store in the city.
Cook's second trip to China took place at a challenging and sensitive time. The iPhone 15 series of mobile phones was launched in China in late September. A market research report by Trendforce showed that the sales of the new iPhone in China were lower than those of its predecessor, and the overall sales volume was also surpassed by Huawei.
Zhu Feida, associate professor at the School of Computing and Information Systems at Singapore Management University, said that Huawei has not only made breakthroughs in mobile phone hardware but also has a tendency to compete with Apple in software ecosystem. The new iPhone has not triggered the same sales boom in China as in the past, which has sounded the alarm for Apple. This may be one of the reasons that prompted Cook to visit China twice within a year, reported Lianhe Zaobao on October 17.
Cook visited Beijing in March this year and delivered a speech at the China Development Forum held by Chinese officials, emphasizing that Apple "enjoys a symbiotic relationship with China."
