Apple CEO Tim Cook visited China once more and touted that an Asia-Pacific Research and Development (R&D) center will be deployed in the country by the end of the current year.
Although little other details surfaced, it looks like the statement happened during a meeting of Apple's leader with the Chinese Vice Premier, Zhang Gaoli.
Reuters reports that Foxconn CEO Terry Gou was also part of the meeting where the R&D center was announced. Foxconn is one of Apple's main business partners, as the company supplies components to the tech company.
Cook's agenda contained more than meeting with officials from the Chinese government. He also had a meeting with Guo Pei, a famous fashion designer from the country. He commended the way in which Guo Pei taps into the potential of her iPad Pro to design new fashion collections.
"Nihao, Beijing! It's great to be back," Cook posted on Sina Weibo, one of the country's most used social media platforms.
Since he took the reins of Apple in August 2011, this is the ninth time Cook has visited China.
During his visit back in May, Cook demoed the new Chinese music features the company packed into GarageBand, Apple's music production software. In the demonstration, he was joined by Singaporean musician JJ Lin in Beijing. At the time, Apple announced its plans to invest in Didi Chuxing, a local rival to Uber.
During the recent trip, the Apple CEO stopped by a gym where he showcased the Apple Watch's potential as a fitness tracker, and he went to a showroom where Apple's HomeKit was in use. These might seem like small publicity stunts, but the company needs all the help it can get to push its revenue in China upward.
During the Q3 2016, Apple's revenue from Greater China ranked only $8.85 billion, which is a drastic 33 percent drop compared to figures during the same period last year. Apple's media sales in the country are still being throttled by the authorities. In April this year, the company's movie and e-book stores were closed down as the government asked for increased oversight over their content.
During the recent earnings report, Cook addressed the issue and pacified investors, saying that the two stores did not bring a consistent stream of revenue anyway.
The install base for iPhones also increased by 34 percent year-over-year, despite decelerating revenue reported in the country. China Mobile, for example, which happens to be the most popular wireless carrier in the country, touts that smartphones from Apple on its network overtake any rival manufacturer brand.
