(Bloomberg) — Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook joined more than 20 corporate leaders in discussions with China’s premier Monday, as global companies grapple with potential trade disruptions and economic uncertainty.
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Cook, who’s visiting the country for at least the third time this year, joined top executives of global firms including Rio Tinto Plc, Corning Inc. and Charoen Pokphand Group in a meeting with Li Qiang, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing a private session.
Chinese corporate chiefs including the heads of Lenovo Group and ICBC were also expected to attend the discussions focused on supply chain and trade issues, according to a guest list seen by Bloomberg News.
The meeting, in which about two dozen executives took part, marked the first high-level meeting between foreign corporations and a senior Beijing official since Donald Trump won a second four-year term. Companies worldwide are bracing for the President-elect’s threat to hike tariffs on Chinese goods.
Disruptions to trade are a source of concern especially for Apple, which makes the majority of its iPhones through Foxconn in the country and counts China its biggest market after the US.
The Apple CEO was in the capital just last month, when he promised to keep investing in the country and also underscored its vital role in the iPhone maker’s global operations.
Cook on Monday made it a point to emphasize the importance of the Chinese supply chain during brief remarks carried by a social media account linked to state broadcaster China Central Television. “I value them very highly. We could not do what we do without them,” Cook said in response to a question about Apple’s Chinese partners.
Beijing this year has taken a more active role in encouraging foreign investment, as the economy remains mired in a post-Covid funk.
Li last held a roundtable with foreign business executives ahead of the China International Import Expo in Shanghai earlier this month. The meeting with top foreign executives would be the first such event since Trump’s election victory. Since then, the president-elect has picked several China hawks for top posts in his new administration.
