Apple boss Tim Cook visits China as sales under pressure

SHANGHAI: Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab CEO Tim Cook said he is currently visiting Shanghai, according to a post on his Weibo account on Wednesday.

Cook said he spent the morning walking along Shanghai’s historic Bund river with Chinese actor Zheng Kai and having a local breakfast but did not disclose what other plans he had for this China visit.

His visit comes after the iPhone maker announced that it would open a new retail store in the heart of the Chinese financial hub on Thursday, and as Apple battles falling iPhone sales in China and rising competition from domestic rivals such as Huawei (HWT.UL).

Cook made at least two visits to China, Apple’s third-largest market by revenue, last year. He also travelled to Beijing around the same time last year, where he visited an Apple store and attended the China Development Forum.

Separately, Apple is in talks to build Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence engine into the iPhone, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the situation.

The negotiations are about licensing Gemini for some new features coming to the iPhone software this year, the report said, adding that the terms or branding of an AI agreement or how it would be implemented have not been decided.

Apple boss Tim Cook visits Shanghai, with China sales under pressure