Apple CEO Tim Cook is apparently visiting China today for the second time since replacing Steve Jobs as chief executive in 2011.
According to a statement on the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology website, Cook met with Head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei to “exchange views on the development of China’s information and communications industry, global mobile communications, the development of smart devices and trends in innovation.”
The Wall Street Journal noted Cook could have visited to closely examine manufacturing practices, sales, and even the number of stores in China:
Cook last visited China in March 2012 to tour a Foxconn factory that assembled iPhones, but the CEO mostly visited in response to The New York Times’ iEconomy stories. He specifically met with Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang to talk intellectual property and the country’s government.
Since the first visit to China, Apple now regularly receives audits of its suppliers, among other things, and has promised $100 million to move some Mac manufacturing to the United States.
In an unofficial tweet posted by Beijing U.S Embassy Chief of Staff Jim Sciutto this morning, Sciutto claimed Cook, who was allegedly speaking with China’s U.S Ambassador, Gary Locke, at the time, referred to Apple’s retail stores as the “busiest in the world.”
Amb. Locke just met with Apple’s Tim Cook, who says Apple stores in China are their ‘busiest in the world’
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) January 8, 2013
