A statement from the Chinese government has revealed that Apple CEO Tim Cook had met with top regulatory officials late last week for "deep discussion" sessions regarding various issues.
The Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation mentioned on its website that Cook had a face-to-face meeting with China's chief market regulator, Xiao Yaqing, on Friday.
The topic of discussion during the alleged face-to-face meeting apparently included Apple's business development in China and its planned future investments.
Cook also discussed with regulators his company's plans to further protect consumer rights and to bolster its corporate social responsibility efforts moving forward.
Apple did not elaborate further on the other topics of conversation. The Chinese regulatory agency also did not reveal any further details aside from its official post on its website.
Cook's visit to China comes just days before one of the country's largest technology event, the annual World Internet Conference (WIC).
Apple has been a regular attendee of the event. Cook last attended the event personally in 2017, giving a speech about Apple's vision for the digital economy. This year, Apple was reportedly absent from the event, along with other US tech giants such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter.
Despite the United States' standing quarrel with China, Apple has, for the most part, tried to stay out of the squabble as best that it can. China is one of Apple's largest markets, accounting for about 17 percent of its global sales total. As of the most recent quarter, Apple had recorded a total of around $9.1 billion in sales in the Greater China region.
The reported meeting between Cook and Chinese regulators took place just days after the Cupertino giant had decided to pull the HKmap app from its app store following criticism from Chinese regulators and government officials. The app, which was a real-time mapping app that tracked the movements of various individuals and even authorities, was seen as a form of political meddling by the US firm resulting in a request from the Chinese government for its removal.
The app itself was developed by a third-party company, but Apple was lambasted by China for having approved it and making it available on its App Store. Following a string of news reports and commentaries, Apple had decided to pull the app from its app platform to avoid any further conflict.
In a memo that was sent to employees last week, Cook explained the company's decision to pull the HKmap app from its stores. Cook mentioned that the decision was due to the fact that the app was used by people in ways that had endangered the lives of law enforcement officers, government personnel, and residents.
