(Beijing) Apple enjoys a ‘symbiotic’ relationship with China, its boss Tim Cook said on Saturday, visiting China to attend the China Development Forum, a Chinese state-run event attended by senior government officials and personalities from the business sector.

“It’s kind of a symbiotic relationship that I believe we’ve both benefited from,” he said during an interview on the role of technology in education, adding: “Apple and China have grown together.”

Tim Cook’s speech comes as Apple, the world’s largest company by market capitalization, seeks to transfer production activities out of China.

Sales of Apple products were penalized in 2022 by production limitations in factories due to China’s so-called “zero COVID-19” policy.

US controls on the export of high-tech components also threaten the Apple brand’s supply chain. A subject that Mr. Cook did not discuss during this exchange.

The boss of Apple, however, stressed the need to bridge the gap in education between schools in urban and rural areas. And he also encouraged young people to learn programming and develop their critical thinking.

Mr. Cook notably promised to increase to 100 million yuan (more than 20 million Canadian dollars) Apple’s spending on its education program in rural areas of China.

He visited an Apple Store in downtown Beijing on Friday, taking a selfie with singer Huang Ling that went viral on Chinese social media.