What's with Apple and China?

While Tim Cook woos Chinese users by joining Sina Weibo, we look at the interesting relationship between the tech giant and China.

Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook is latest to feature on the list of people joining the Chinese social media network, Sina Weibo.
 

On a visit to the land of the red dragon for the sixth time since he took over as CEO of the luxury smartphone maker, he managed garnering 300,000 followers within 3.5 hours of joining, reported TIME.
 

In Beijing to promote its latest environmental effort -- managing one million acres of forest land, in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund -- his first message on Weibo said he was”excited to be back in Beijing”.

We bring you some interesting facts about the China-Apple relationship.

Tech firm IDC reported that even as the Chinese smartphone market shrank 4% year-on-year in the first three months of 2015, revenues for Apple expanded 71% to $16.8 billion.

The company also reported record sales of 61 million units of the iPhone in China in the same quarter, surpassing sales in the US. 

If Chinese media reports are to be believed, Apple is in talks with e-commerce giant Alibaba to launch ApplePay in China, reported the Times of India.

In an interview with news portal QQ.com, he reiterated the fact that China will become soon become the largest market for Apple, echoing the sentiment from his last visit to the country.

On his last visit to China, in October 2014, Cook had announced retail expansion plans, to open 25 new retail stores in Greater China alone within two years.

According to Quartz, Apple’s iEconomy in China employs approximately 1.5 million people.