Tim Cook in China: Apple CEO Tim Cook said that he is currently visiting Shanghai, according to a post on his Weibo account on Wednesday. Cook said he spent the morning walking along Shanghai's historic Bund River with Chinese actor Zheng Kai and having a local breakfast but did not disclose what other plans he had for this China visit.

His visit comes after the iPhone maker announced that it would open a new retail store in the heart of the Chinese financial hub on Thursday and as Apple battles falling iPhone sales in China and rising competition from domestic rivals such as Huawei.

Cook made at least two visits to China, Apple's third-largest market by revenue, last year. He also travelled to Beijing around the same time last year, where he visited an Apple store and attended the China Development Forum.

iPhone China sales dip 30 per cent

Analysts from Jefferies reported a significant 30 per cent decline in Apple's iPhone sales in China during the first week of 2024. This decline adds to the mounting evidence of increasing competitive challenges from domestic rivals like Huawei (HWT.UL) for the American tech giant.

According to a note published by the brokerage, the decrease in Apple's sales served as the primary factor behind an overall double-digit drop in smartphone shipments across China for the same period. In contrast, other Android brands and Huawei managed to achieve relatively stable growth year-over-year during this timeframe, as highlighted in the note.

(With Reuters inputs)