Apple to keep investing in China 'in a big way'

Apple will continue to invest in China "in a big way", as the country is a central part of the US tech company's critical supply chain, said Jeff Williams, Apple's chief operating officer, in an interview.

The senior executive made the comments during his trip to Apple's key suppliers such as Luxshare Precision Industry Co in China on Tuesday.

"China is a central part of our critical supply chain, and we've been investing here for 30 years. And let me be really clear, we are here to stay. I don't see that changing. We're gonna continue to invest in China in a big way," Williams said.

According to him, Apple is committed to investing in China because of the incredible partnerships it has here, like the ties with Luxshare Precision Industry Co.

"We started working with Luxshare at Apple in 2011 when it only had 500 employees, and we've grown together. It today has 350,000 employees," Williams added.

According to him, in the past two years alone, Apple's business with Luxshare has grown more than 50 percent, which resulted in opening up additional factories here in China to support Apple.

"Apple is committed to continuing to invest in China," Williams added.

According to the senior executive, Apple and its suppliers in China are making joint push to widen the use of artificial intelligence and automation in factories to make better products.

"Whether it's something as simple as glue dispensing or something like cosmetic inspection, which can be done now with AI in a way that is much more efficient and also much more effective than what a human can do. We're seeing the growth of artificial intelligence and its importance in our supply chain," Williams added.

He highlighted the "amazing can-do" attitude that makes Chinese suppliers stand out from suppliers of other countries.

According to him, every time he comes to China and visits local suppliers, he leaves with "this incredible optimism that anything is possible".

"I've always believed that the character of people is really tested and revealed in times of adversity. And I think it's the same for companies. When we're trying to push the envelope, like Apple's always trying to do on what's possible, there will always be lots of adversity and challenges. And what I consistently see here in China is this attitude of trying to figure out how to do what's next, and it really is inspiring to me," he added.