Apple’s huge secret deal with China has been revealed

Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, personally lobbied senior Chinese officials to sign deals worth up to $275bn to defuse threats that could bog down Apple’s devices and services in The country, ACCORDING to US media reports based on interviews and internal Apple documents. The move paved the way for Apple’s unparalleled success in China, the report said.

Apple did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment and The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to The Information’s request for comment on Monday, according to Reuters.
Apple’s Iphone recently became the best-selling phone in China, making The country Apple’s second-largest market after the United States for the first time in six years, according to the report, which was laid down by a secret deal signed by CEO Tim Cook years ago.
Apple’s smartphone sales have plummeted in China amid a crackdown and the ensuing bad publicity that Chinese officials say the company is not contributing enough to the local economy. To shake things up, Cook made his first trip to China in 2016 to rescue the company’s relationship with Chinese officials, personally lobbied them to deal with threats that could block Apple’s devices and services like Apple Pay, Icloud and the App Store, and signed huge deals with powerful Chinese government agencies, according to sources inside Apple. Paved the way for Apple’s success.
Internal documents show that some Apple executives believe Chinese government officials are trying to send a message that Apple needs to better comply with Chinese law and stop operating its services without complying with local regulations, the report said. The iTunes store, for example, is not the only service Apple operates in a legal gray area. Apple also operates iCloud and the App Store, its data storage and email services, without local licenses or partners, according to internal documents.
Email news
The headlines are in your daily newsletter
To subscribe to
In response to criticism from regulators, Mr Cook has gone into diplomatic mode. In 2016, he flew to China three times to build rapport with Chinese officials. Cook signed memorandums of understanding during his first visit in May. On his second visit, three months later, he met with China’s no. 7 official at the time, vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, who ranked no. 1, according to internal documents, Chinese state media and two people familiar with the visits.
Reported that apple, internal documents show the deal to help the company to restore the relationship with the Chinese government’s weak, cook’s third visit to China in October, is China’s number two premier li keqiang’s personal invitation, meeting in shenzhen in later that year, according to internal documents and according to a person familiar with the matter, the invitation to strengthen the apple talks with Chinese regulators.
Many of Apple’s dealings with the Chinese government are shrouded in secrecy because of the opaque nature of the repressive regime and the company’s penchant for secrecy, the report said. The Information through interviewing people familiar with apple interaction with Chinese officials, as well as The analysis and research of The internal documents for apple, trying to sort out The apple The world’s most valuable company is how to manage The complex relationship between The government, and how to use concessions to Beijing, to win Chinese regulators key legal immunity, thus a huge success.