Apple CEO Tim Cook pledges donations to China’s flood-hit Shanxi province
- The Californian tech giant is giving an undisclosed sum to help with disaster relief efforts in the northern province of Shanxi
- Big Tech firms in China have been responding to calls by Beijing to contribute more to society in pursuit of “common prosperity”
Apple has joined a growing list of tech companies pledging donations for flood relief efforts in China’s northern province of Shanxi, where heavy rains earlier this month left 15 people killed and 19,000 buildings destroyed.
“As the Shanxi region turns toward recovery, we want to do our part supporting relief efforts and helping with the rebuilding,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook said on Chinese microblogging site Weibo on Wednesday. “Apple is making a donation to help the affected communities.”
The announcement marked the latest effort by the US tech giant to build rapport with Chinese consumers and show its support for popular social causes in a country where patriotism runs high.
During the height of nationalist fervour in 2019, when Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co became the target of US sanctions, Apple faced a brief boycott initiated by several Chinese firms and individuals calling on people to stop buying the Californian company’s products in retaliation for Washington’s actions.
China, the world’s largest smartphone market, is key to Apple’s business. The company’s revenue in Greater China, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, grew 58 per cent year on year to US$14.76 billion in the quarter ended June – nearly a fifth of total revenue.