Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao meets with Apple CEO Tim Cook in Beijing on March 30, 2026. Photo: MOFCOM

Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao met with Apple CEO Tim Cook in Beijing on Friday, according to a video clip released on the official WeChat account of China's Ministry of Commerce.

The video showed Cook being welcomed by officials from the Ministry of Commerce. Shaking hands with Wang, Cook said, "So great to be back with you again." Wang responded, "We are old friends," to which Cook replied, "Indeed."

In a meeting, Wang said he recalled that each previous discussion with Cook had been highly pragmatic, with both sides engaging in candid and pragmatic exchanges that proved mutually enlightening.

Wang has repeatedly mentioned that he enjoys his conversations with Cook. "In today's meeting, I believe we can continue along that same path of frankness and mutual trust to explore some shared issues," he added.

Cook emphasized the importance of Chinese market and local supply chains to Apple. He said Apply focuses not only on supply chain itself, manufacturing and on automating, and putting as much of AI in the factory as possible. 

"So we very much focused on high-quality development. And we are very appreciative of the [Chinese] government incentives that are stimulating consumption in the country, and I'm very pleased to be participating in [the process]," Cook said. 

Cook kicked off his first China tour in 2026 from Wednesday ahead of the China Development Forum 2026 (CDF), which will be held on March 22 and March 23. He visited Apple Store in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province. He made a trip to Chengdu City in Southwest China's Sichuan Province on Wednesday, marking the first Asia-Pacific stop of Apple's global celebrations for the company's 50th anniversary.

At noon, Cook was spotted buying coffee at a Starbucks in Beijing's Financial Street, where he was photographed by local residents, many of whom later shared selfies with him on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu.

Friday was the Spring Equinox according to Chinese traditional calendar, and Cook paid a visit to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) in the afternoon, where he was hosted by Chairman Ren Hongbin over Chinese-style afternoon tea. Cook reiterated Apple's commitment to the Chinese market and said the company will step up investment in China, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

In the evening, Cook visited Apple's Sanlitun store in Beijing, where he interacted with customers and chatted with visitors. At 20:47, he posted on Weibo, saying "Today at Apple Sanlitun, I met two of our users who were helped by our health features on Apple Watch. Yao Yican went to the hospital after being alerted to a high heart rate, and Gao Zhenhua received emergency support after an accident thanks to Crash Detection. It was so great to hear they have completely recovered!"

Global Times