Apple CEO Tim Cook Urged by China to Strengthen Security, Privacy Protection

China's senior government officials are calling on Apple Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook to continue refining both the security and privacy protection features of its products and services.

While Apple products, such as iPhones and Macs, have security and privacy features in place, China wants the big boss of the Cupertino-based giant to continue improving it.

Apple CEO Tim Cook Visits China

Cook recently met with the Minister of Commerce of China, Wang Wentao, wherein they discussed the development of Appel in the country. According to the South China Morning Post, it was on the same day that he visited the new premier of China, Li Qiang, alongside other top officials in the Asian nation.

The statement by the Commerce Ministry says that Cook and Wentao spoke about "Apple's development in China and the stabilization of the industry supply chain."

But apart from that, Cook also met with the Commission director, Zheng Shanjie, as per The Register. The meeting between the two tackled the privacy and security features on the products and services of Apple.

China Urges Apple CEO Tim Cook to Improve Security and Privacy

The Register notes in its report that the National Development and Reform Commission of China recently revealed what Cook and Shanjie spoke about during their meeting.

It turns out that Director Shanjie called on the top executive of Apple to further strengthen its privacy and security to protect its customers.

The director says that he hopes that "Apple will continue to actively undertake corporate social responsibilities and strengthen data security and personal privacy protection."

However, it is unclear how the Development and Reform Commission wants Apple to improve its security features, as well as privacy protection.

Apple and China

The Hong Kong-based news outlet says that the recent trip of the Apple boss to China is actually the first ever since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020. And since his last visit, a lot of things have changed.

For instance, the iPhone maker has recently moved some of its production lines outside of the Chinese nation. Some productions have been relocated to other neighboring countries like India and Vietnam.

Apple had to close some of these locations following the COVID-19 outbreaks in China late last year, which affected one of the largest production of iPhones.

Despite that, China remains one of the successful markets of Apple, bringing billions of annual revenue to the American tech giant.

In fact, the South China Morning Post notes that its flagship phone of Apple, the iPhone 13, ended up as the best-selling smartphone in China last year.