Tim Cook Visits Beijing, Shares Ride to Apple Store Using Didi Chuxing

As planned, Apple CEO Tim Cook arrived in Beijing on Monday for his latest visit to China, where the iPhone maker has experienced a turbulent few months. Earlier today, he caught a ride using Didi Chuxing, the Chinese ride-sharing service that Apple just invested $1 billion in, alongside the Uber rival's president Jean Liu.

Tim-Cook-Beijing-Visit

Cook meets with Liu, left, and developers at an Apple Store in Beijing (Image: CNBC)

While an earlier report said Cook plans to meet with senior Chinese government officials to discuss a range of issues, including iBooks and iTunes Movies store closures and a recent patent dispute, the CEO has thus far met with App Store developers at an Apple Store in Beijing for a seminar hosted by Liu, per CNBC.

At the Apple store, Cook attended a seminar hosted by Didi Chuxing's President Jean Lui, also known as Liu Qing, and attended by the founders and CEOs of some of China's top app providers, including Groupon-like Meituan, picture-editing app MeituPic, news content provider Toutiao.com, culinary app DayDayCook and game developer Tap4Fun.

Cook, who shared photos of his visit on Twitter and Weibo, understands the importance of Apple maintaining a positive image in China.

Greater China, including Taiwan and Hong Kong, is Apple's second largest market by revenue after the U.S. Last month, the iPhone maker reported that sales dropped 26 percent in the region in the second quarter, primarily due to declining iPhone sales as China's smartphone market becomes increasingly saturated.

Cook has made similar visits to Beijing to meet with Chinese officials, carrier partners, and customers in both 2012 and 2014.

Top Rated Comments

iLoveDeveloping Avatar
99 months ago
Anyone else have a bad feeling Tim is just ending up being another John Scully.. They kinda think the same, even something as simple as the iPhone 6 & S fragmentation shows just how he thinks. It's not right, it's about simplicity Tim, zen, not profit margins and split product lines. Someone like Tim Cook can never keep Apple going the way it should be, he's a suit, not a Jobs.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SDAVE Avatar
99 months ago
The beginning of the end of Apple.

Apple was never a singular product-based company.

Tim is just a numbers guy.

Steve is missed.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Johannesburg Avatar
99 months ago
I wonder what VPN Tim used.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
juanm Avatar
99 months ago

Tim Cook brought us... an iWatch-Pod-Phone. And a ... nothing else.
What do you mean nothing else? Do all those fancy watch bands mean nothing to you?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PJivan Avatar
99 months ago
The beginning of the end of Apple.

Apple was never a singular product-based company.

Tim is just a numbers guy.

Steve is missed.
Like 4" smartphone....or mobile me or G4 cube, or Mac TV, trying to sell pixar...is really funny how people forget al the negative aspect once a person die, he definitely made jackpot but is not like Apple never miss a shot under his guidance, a mean.... like if Apple was doomed after 2011..number don't agree with you

Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SDAVE Avatar
99 months ago
Like 4" smartphone....or mobile me or G4 cube, or Mac TV, trying to sell pixar...is really funny how people forget al the negative aspect once a person die, he definitely made jackpot but is not like Apple never miss a shot under his guidance, a mean.... like if Apple was doomed after 2011..number don't agree with you

That's not the point. Those profit margins will fall dramatically and Apple will decline as a company and/or possibly move to a backseat-type of a company, maybe moving into electric automobiles....things that other companies like Tesla are already doing very successfully.

The point is, Steve was one of those guys at the top of a huge company telling people that this sucks, or this is good, release that, etc. He knew what people needed/wanted before anyone else.

Like I said, Tim is a numbers guy. He sees numbers go up in an area and puts more into that category so they can make more money. He is Steve's protege since 1997 after all.

Apple relies 70% of their profits on iOS devices and that will decline due to democratization of mobile devices. All mobile devices look the same now and have similar functions. Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi are closing that gap as well, especially in the "Affordable premium" mobile devices.

Apple needs a new leader, Tim is, like I said, a numbers guy and wants to please the board and stockholders.

Apple, historically, did well when it broke new product lines. Some were good, some were bad. That's what kept Steve going, in my opinion. He took big risks.

The Apple Watch is not a huge risk, and I bet you that was even a project on the back burner that Steve worked on.

The decline of Mac sales and iOS sales is a sure sign of an end to an era.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Will Add These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
anker new xmas 1

Anker's Cyber Week Sale Enters Final Days With Up to 60% Off Sitewide

Friday December 1, 2023 12:05 pm PST by
Anker's Black Friday/Cyber Week event is entering its final days this weekend, and it's still offering up to 60 percent off sitewide. There are also a few "mystery boxes" that can include hundreds of dollars in savings, if you're willing to risk not knowing what you're buying ahead of time. All of these sales will end on December 3. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Anker. When you...
top stories 2dec2023

Top Stories: iOS 17.1.2 Released, NameDrop Misinformation, and More

Saturday December 2, 2023 6:00 am PST by
Apple employees are back to work following a Thanksgiving break, and that means this week saw a number of new operating system updates for both public release and beta testing. This week also saw some misinformation about Apple's new NameDrop feature making the rounds, while Apple and Goldman Sachs appear to be on the verge of a break-up in their Apple Card and savings account partnership,...
General Apps Messages

Green Bubbles on iPhone to Gain These 7 New Features Next Year

Thursday November 30, 2023 9:00 am PST by
Earlier this month, Apple announced that it will finally support RCS in the Messages app on the iPhone starting later next year. This change will result in several improvements to the messaging experience between iPhones and Android devices. RCS will become the new default standard for messaging between iPhones and Android devices, but these conversations will still have green bubbles like...
m2 macbook air green

Get Apple's M2 MacBook Air and M3 MacBook Pro for Record Low Prices

Friday December 1, 2023 6:59 am PST by
Best Buy is discounting a collection of MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models to all-time low prices today. We're tracking these deals below in addition to great discounts on the Apple Pencil 2 and Apple Watch Ultra 1. MacBook Air Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the...
iPhone 16 Mock Header Updated 1

iPhone 16 to Include Action Button Across Entire Lineup

Thursday November 30, 2023 4:08 pm PST by
The release of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max saw the introduction of an entirely new user-configurable button known as the Action button, and now, MacRumors has seen extensive evidence confirming Apple is planning to include the Action button on the entire iPhone 16 range. Designs and plans for the Action button date back to at least 2021, as the button was intended for release alongside hapt...