Tim Cook Says Chinese Security Talks Were 'Very Open', Bringing Apple Pay to China a Priority

china-flagTim Cook was optimistic about Apple's relationship with China following a meeting with top Chinese government officials in Beijing on Wednesday to discuss data privacy and security. Cook told China's Xinhua news agency (Via Reuters) that he had "very open" talks with a senior official.

Chinese vice premier Ma Kai, a member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, met with the CEO of the world's most valuable company on Wednesday morning. They had discussed a series of topics including privacy and security. Cook described it as "very open", "fascinating" and "impressive", but he declined specifics.

As part of the interview, Cook also confirmed Apple's plan to launch Apple Pay and other technologies in China saying, "China is a really key market for us. Everything we do, we are going to work it here. Apple Pay is on the top of the list." Cook spoke to Xinhua News during his 4-day-long trip to China, which saw the CEO also visit a Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou City.

China is an increasingly important market for the Cupertino company, which now has 16 percent of the smartphone market share behind Samsung (23 percent) and Xiaomi (21 percent). Apple plans to expand its presence even further in the country by opening 25 new stores in the next two years.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Top Rated Comments

cameronjpu Avatar
119 months ago
The headline just proves that Tim Cook knows how to play the game. There's no way he actually believes that the talks were very open, but saying that they were is crucial to stroking the Chinese politicians.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
2457282 Avatar
119 months ago
The headline just proves that Tim Cook knows how to play the game. There's no way he actually believes that the talks were very open, but saying that they were is crucial to stroking the Chinese politicians.

Probably true. Also true is how important China is for Apple. This means that like it or not, Tim has got to play the game. And play it well.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
El Hikaru Avatar
119 months ago
I think Cook is doing the right track talking to them directly. In China, tight relationship is a key to do just about anything. Close relationship is more important than honesty, or legitimacy. There are no contract papers when you rent an apartment, or order batch of merchandises without UCC like regulation. Don't be upset just because Chinese people turn their back on you. You just have not build enough friendship before dealing business with them.
I leaned from my wife who is a Chinese...
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xero9 Avatar
119 months ago
If this is the case, then maybe there is hope for Europe/Canada after all!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zin Avatar
119 months ago
Wrong. You neglect to consider the Crown Corporation with its worldwide chain of central banks including the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve. There is no free market anywhere any more, and your understanding of world finance and economy is very shallow.

It is interesting that you consider the poster's understanding of world finance to be shallow when you are simply repeating a conspiracy view that was hijacked by anti-government anarchists a long time ago.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mums Avatar
119 months ago
It has the most people, so you would expect it to be the biggest market ;).

Umm... wrong. Japan has only one twelfth the population compared to China, and is still a more powerful market. Germany, France, UK - all much smaller than China. Not understanding your illogical statement.

----------

Not strange at all. It's the language of capitalism. We should be very aware and used to that here in the West. You buy key assets therefore you control. End of.

Wrong. You neglect to consider the Crown Corporation with its worldwide chain of central banks including the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve. There is no free market anywhere any more, and your understanding of world finance and economy is very shallow.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

apple card 1

Apple Ending Apple Card Partnership With Goldman Sachs

Tuesday November 28, 2023 3:09 pm PST by
Apple is ending its credit card partnership with Goldman Sachs, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple plans to stop working with Goldman Sachs in the next 12 to 15 months, and it is not yet clear if Apple has established a new partnership for the Apple Card. Apple and Goldman Sachs will dissolve their entire consumer partnership, including the Apple Card and the Apple Savings account....
iOS 17

Everything New in iOS 17.2 Beta 4

Tuesday November 28, 2023 12:18 pm PST by
Apple is wrapping up development on iOS 17.2, with the update expected to come out in December. While we're getting to the end of the beta testing period, Apple is still tweaking features and adding new functionality. We've rounded up everything new in the fourth beta of iOS 17.2. Default Notification Sound Under Sounds & Haptics, there's a new "Default Alerts" section that allows you to ...
ios 17 namedrop

Police Departments and News Sites Spreading Misinformation About How iOS 17 NameDrop Feature Works

Monday November 27, 2023 5:11 pm PST by
Apple with iOS 17.1 and watchOS 10.1 introduced a new NameDrop feature that is designed to allow users to place Apple devices near one another to quickly exchange contact information. Sharing contact information is done with explicit user permission, but some news organizations and police departments have been spreading misinformation about how NameDrop functions. As noted by The Washington...
All New CarPlay Five New Features Article 2

What to Expect From All-New CarPlay, Still Listed as Coming 'Late 2023'

Tuesday November 28, 2023 7:44 am PST by
At WWDC in June 2022, Apple previewed the next generation of CarPlay, promising deeper integration with vehicle functions like A/C and FM radio, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, increased personalization, and more. Apple's website still says the first vehicles with support for the next-generation CarPlay experience will be announced in "late 2023," but it has not shared...
iOS 17

iOS 17.1.2 Update for iPhone Likely to Be Released This Week

Monday November 27, 2023 8:24 am PST by
Apple will likely release iOS 17.1.2 this week, based on mounting evidence of the software in our website's analytics logs in recent days. As a minor update, iOS 17.1.2 should be focused on bug fixes, but it's unclear exactly which issues might be addressed. Some users have continued to experience Wi-Fi issues on iOS 17.1.1, so perhaps iOS 17.1.2 will include the same fix for Wi-Fi...
Apple 5G Modem Feature Triad

Apple to Discontinue Custom 5G Modem Development, Claim Reports

Wednesday November 29, 2023 4:19 am PST by
Apple is discontinuing in-house modem development after several unsuccessful attempts to perfect its own custom 5G modem chip, according to unconfirmed reports coming out of Asia. According to the operator of news aggregator account "yeux1122" on the Naver blog, supply chain sources related to Apple's 5G modem departments claim that the company's attempts to develop its own modem have...
Apple Logo

Apple Discontinued These 5 Products This Year

Monday November 27, 2023 7:03 am PST by
As the end of 2023 nears, now is a good opportunity to look back at some of the devices and accessories that Apple discontinued throughout the year. Apple products discontinued in 2023 include the iPhone 13 mini, 13-inch MacBook Pro, MagSafe Battery Pack, MagSafe Duo Charger, and leather accessories. Also check out our lists of Apple products discontinued in 2022 and 2021. iPhone Mini ...
Google Drive

Some Google Drive Users' Files Have Mysteriously Vanished

Tuesday November 28, 2023 3:55 am PST by
Google Drive users have been warned not to disconnect their account within the Google Drive for desktop app, after a spate of reports of files going missing from the cloud service. Alarm bells began ringing last week on Google's community support site when some users reported files mysteriously disappearing from Google Drive, with some posters claiming six or more months of data had...