Apple CEO Tim Cook is in Chengdu, China, for an Apple Store event tied to the company’s upcoming 50th anniversary. But a report has said that this visit as much about geopolitics and business diplomacy as it is about celebration. It comes days after the iPhone maker gave concession – cutting its App Store commission in mainland China from 30% to 25% on in-app purchases and paid transactions, effective March 15. Fees for smaller developers and mini-app partners were also reduced, dropping from 15% to 12%.
As per CNBC, the moves comes as US-China tensions have been rising, partly due to the ongoing Iran war and a new US investigation into Chinese trade practices, which has been triggered after the Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s biggest tariffs.
The trip is also said to be a statement of intent that Apple remains committed to China as a market, as a manufacturing base, and as a relationship worth investing in.
iPhone sales up in China in first 6 weeks: Counterpoint Research
Apple is balancing the demands of the Chinese government, the expectations of Wall Street, the needs of its manufacturing partners and the interests of hundreds of millions of Chinese iPhone users. For now, the iPhone’s momentum in China is doing a lot of heavy lifting for Apple across all of those fronts, CNBC said.
Notably, Counterpoint Research noted in its recent report that in China, Apple delivered the strongest sales growth over the first nine weeks, rising 23% YoY, supported by e-commerce discounts, while its base iPhone 17 also qualified for government subsidies.
Apple’s sales in Greater China soared 38% in the latest quarter, reaching $25.5 billion, driven by strong demand for the iPhone 17.
Changes in App Store fees in China
Apple also reduced the App Store commission in China, and attributed the changes in an internal memo to “discussions with the Chinese regulator”. China’s State Administration for Market Regulation has been probing Apple’s app fee policies and its ban on external payment services.
Meanwhile, Apple COO Sabih Khan has also been touring Chinese manufacturing partners, visiting Sunwoda’s battery plant in Shenzhen and Foxconn assembly lines in both Shenzhen and Chengdu, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
