Apple CEO Tim Cook Slammed by Critics Over Remarks Praising China

By Giuliano De Leon

Mar 27, 2024 10:49 AM EDT

Apple CEO Tim Cook has visited China to boost iPhone sales while praising the Chinese economy. However, he was criticized at home for his laudatory remarks about China. 

Apple CEO Tim Cook's Remarks Praising China Criticized by Chinese Residents
Apple CEO Tim Cook arrives as people stand in line to purchase the Apple Vision Pro headset at the Fifth Avenue Apple store on February 02, 2024 in New York City.
(Photo : Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Apple CEO Tim Cook Praising China Criticized

According to the Voice of America, Apple CEO Tim Cook praised China for being "so vibrant and so dynamic."

"I think China is really opening up... It's so vibrant and so dynamic here," the Apple CEO said, as quoted by state media.

Cook also expressed confidence in the Chinese market. He told a Chinese media: "I love the people and the culture [of China]. Every time I come here, I'm reminded that anything is possible here."

Read Also: Apple, Google, and Meta Face Potential Billion-Dollar Fines From European Commission Over Market Violations

Why Apple CEO Tim Cook Is Criticized For Praising China

VOA reported that Tim Cook's remarks have been criticized as glorifying China's government's arrogant treatment of private businesses.

"Everything is possible' in China, says Apple's Tim Cook. Including being arrested and expropriated. And losing the market at a stroke of a bureaucratic pen," Jonathan Eyal, associate director at the UK's Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies, wrote on X.

Sophie Richardson, former China director at Human Rights Watch, also said: ".@tim_cook, about those 'vibrant' and 'dynamic' #crimesagainsthumanity committed by your #China govt hosts...?"

Theresa Fallon, the Centre for Russia Europe Asia Studies director, also wrote on X, "Apple chief Tim Cook's obsequious praise for China... unlikely to reverse the tide and CCP mandates that government officials can't use Apple phones."

Last year, Bloomberg reported that many government agencies and state-owned firms in China were ordering employees not to bring iPhones and other foreign-brand phones to the workplace.

9To5Mac reported that Cook has been in China since last week. He went to the annual China Development Forum, a store opening, a meeting with Apple suppliers, and talked with developers.

Read More: Apple Plans to Integrate Chinese AI Technology Into iPhone 16 And More After CEO Tim Cook's Shanghai Visit

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