Apple CEO seeks resolution in China

HONG KONG/BEIJING – Reuters

A man looks at his Apple iPad in front an Apple logo outside an Apple store in downtown Shanghai in this March 16, 2012 file photo. REUTERS photo

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook has jetted into China for talks with government officials as he seeks to clear up a pile of problems in the firm's biggest growth market, from its contested iPad trademark to treatment of local labor.

Cook is on his first trip to the country since taking over from late co-founder Steve Jobs in August, keeping to a closely guarded agenda that has included talks with Beijing's mayor and a visit to Apple's flagship store in the capital.

"Tim is in China meeting with government officials. China is very important to us and we look forward to even greater investment and growth there," said Carolyn Wu, China spokeswoman for the maker of iPhones, iPads and iPods.

Wu declined to give details of Cook's full agenda, other than to say he was to meet other government officials yesterday.

China is the world's largest mobile market and already Apple's second biggest market overall, but the firm has been losing ground there to arch rival Samsung Electronics in smart phones and has yet to introduce the latest version of its top-selling iPad to the country.

In the last quarter of 2011, Apple captured three quarters of China's tablet PC market, while its iPhone ranked fifth in the country's smartphone sector, industry figures showed.