On September 18, Beijing time, local time on Sunday, American TV stations released an interview video with Apple CEO Tim Cook. Cook denied that US Commerce Secretary Raimondo said that China has become uninvestable, saying that he has not seen this happen. Cook said that Apple has been doing business in China for more than 30 years, and there are many areas for cooperation between the two parties.
Chinese market
This interview with Cook was conducted on September 7, local time in the United States. At that time, foreign media reported that some Chinese government agencies banned the use of Apple phones. In this regard, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that China has not issued laws, regulations or policy documents prohibiting the purchase and use of foreign brand mobile phones such as Apple.
Therefore, the reporter asked Cook about this topic during the interview and wanted to know Apple's current situation in China. Cook said that Apple has been working in mainland China for more than 30 years (note: this year is Apple’s 30th year in China). Doing business in any foreign country faces some complications because it must comply with different laws and regulations from those in the United States. However, he believes that contact and interaction are important because there will always be intersections between the two parties. Apple has found many places where it can cooperate in China. Moreover, Apple has a huge user base in China.
According to the Global Times, U.S. Commerce Secretary Raimondo said last month that some U.S. companies in China told her that China was becoming less investable and that risks were increasing. Cook said he did not see this happening.
The reporter then asked, does Cook regard the huge user base in China as Apple's ultimate bargaining chip? Cook said he did not see this as a bargaining chip, but as a partnership and relationship. He said Apple launches products that people love, abides by the laws of the countries where it operates, and respects their laws and customers.
In addition, Cook also talked about how Apple can create a future driven by clean energy, Apple’s upcoming head-mounted device Vision Pro and Twitter advertising issues in the interview.
VisionPro production issues
Cook is currently facing a major risk, which is to enter the virtual reality market where other companies have suffered setbacks. Apple's newly released Vision Pro will be available in early 2024, but there are reports that Apple suppliers have encountered obstacles in Vision Pro production, causing Apple to significantly cut production targets.
Cook responded that the launch of Vision Pro is still going on as planned. "I use it a lot. I watched Season 3 of Coach on Vision Pro," he said.
The reporter asked again, is VisionPro more complicated? Did you encounter the same troubles when producing it as when you produced the iPhone? "No, it's more complex, so it requires innovation not only in development but also in manufacturing," Cook said.
Why does Apple use Twitter?
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) previously accused Elon Musk of promoting anti-Semitic content on X (formerly Twitter). Musk denied this and threatened to sue ADL, believing that ADL should be mainly responsible for the decline in X's US advertising revenue.
When asked whether Apple should continue to advertise on the
The reporter asked rhetorically: "There were exchanges and conversations above, and anti-Semitic voices emerged."
"Yes, it's abhorrent. To put it bluntly, there is no place for anti-Semitism. That's the question we ask ourselves all the time," Cook responded.