Chinadaily.com.cn
     
    Go Adv Search

    CEO's surprise visit shows nation at core of Apple strategy

    Updated: 2012-03-27 08:05

    By Tuo Yannan and Gao Yuan (China Daily)

      Comments() Print Mail Large Medium  Small 分享按鈕 0

    Apple CEO Tim Cook paid a surprise visit to one of the company's stores in Beijing on Monday, a move that highlights the newfound importance the firm has attached to the huge Chinese market since he took the helm in August 2011.

    Cook was spotted at the Apple store in the Xidan area of Beijing by a number of users of the popular Chinese micro-blogging website Sina Weibo, and a photo of him in the store was posted on a weibo user's page later in the day.

    In a marked difference from the strategy adopted by his predecessor Steve Jobs, who never visited China's Apple stores, Cook has been to the country several times and earlier said the Chinese market is "very important"

    A further sign of the growing importance Apple is attaching to China came with a report on the Internet news portal sina.com saying it would embed Chinese IT giant Baidu Inc's search engine into its operating system next month.

    Google Inc's search engine has been the only embedded search engine since the company launched its iOS mobile operating system, used in its iPhone, iPads and laptops.

    The company sold 4.7 million iPads in China last year, leading the industry with a 70 percent market share.

    "It's a sign that Apple is paying more attention to the Chinese mainland market," said Sun Peilin, an analyst at Beijing-based research company Analysys International.

    However, both companies were tightlipped on the reported search engine link-up.

    When approached by China Daily, Baidu declined to comment, and Apple said it didn't have any statement to make.

    In mid-February, Apple integrated some services for Chinese users on its next-generation desktop operation system, including Baidu search and quick sharing buttons tailored for the Chinese micro-blogging website Sina Weibo and video website Youku.com.

    "Searching is Baidu's only core business, so every move the company conducts should help the development of its search business," Dong Xu, an analyst at Analysys International.

    "Baidu is teaming up with Apple to grab more traffic volume for its wireless business," Dong said. Although Baidu's position in PC searching is strong, its mobile search business is less competitive, and needs more investment, she said.

    On Saturday, Baidu announced that it will set up an online platform for application developers. Robin Li, Baidu's founder and CEO, pledged to provide the new initiative with more technologies and flow capacities.

    Building stronger relations with the government is another likely reason for Cook's surprise visit.

    "Previous experiences show that the CEOs of overseas giants come to China trying to establish a better relationship with the government," said Sun.

    "That's also the reason Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg visited China in late 2010."

    China accounted for around 10 percent of the US-based company's sales revenue last year, a growth rate that was much faster than other countries, Cook said.

    However, the Chinese mainland was excluded from the first group of countries and regions to release Apple's new iPad on March 16.

    Chen Limin in Hong Kong contributed to this story.

    Contact the writers at tuoyanna@chinadaily.com.cn and gaoyuan@chinadaily.com.cn

    久久青青草原亚洲av无码| 精品久久久久久中文字幕大豆网 | 亚洲欧美在线一区中文字幕| 国产Av激情久久无码天堂| 久久亚洲AV成人无码软件| 无码精品日韩中文字幕| 黄桃AV无码免费一区二区三区| 中文字幕1级在线| 亚洲精品乱码久久久久久中文字幕 | 一夲道无码人妻精品一区二区| 亚洲天堂2017无码中文| 精品久久久久久无码专区不卡| 中文自拍日本综合| 久久精品中文无码资源站| 国产午夜无码专区喷水| 欧洲Av无码放荡人妇网站 | 中文精品无码中文字幕无码专区 | 无码专区久久综合久中文字幕| 国产日韩精品无码区免费专区国产 | 性无码一区二区三区在线观看| 欧美日韩中文国产va另类| 无码AV动漫精品一区二区免费| 国精品无码一区二区三区左线| 午夜亚洲AV日韩AV无码大全 | 久久久久无码精品国产不卡| 中文字幕无码第1页| 最近的2019免费中文字幕| 中文字幕毛片| 中文字幕亚洲综合久久菠萝蜜 | 亚洲av无码成人精品区在线播放| 国产日韩精品中文字无码| 久久久久无码精品国产不卡| 无码成A毛片免费| 少妇人妻无码精品视频app| 亚洲av无码成h人动漫无遮挡| 精品欧洲AV无码一区二区男男| 狠狠精品久久久无码中文字幕| 久久精品亚洲AV久久久无码| 亚洲一区爱区精品无码| 亚洲AV无码久久精品狠狠爱浪潮| 亚洲爆乳精品无码一区二区三区|