Tim Cook makes first China visit since stepping down as Apple CEO

Tim Cook appeared in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Saturday, marking his first trip to China since stepping down as Apple's chief executive and his first visit as executive chairman of the company's board of directors.

His itinerary began with a visit to the set of a traditional Chinese Wing Chun film, where a crew was using iPhone 18 Pro smartphones to capture the ancient martial art.

Coinciding with Cook's arrival, Apple disclosed that committed investment for its second China Clean Energy Fund has risen to $212 million. The fund has roughly doubled in size since Apple completed an initial $100 million anchor investment last year.

The increase reflects commitments from additional Apple suppliers such as Sunwoda Electronic Co Ltd. The fund has completed preliminary investments supporting a 260-megawatt wind project in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and a 50-megawatt wind project in Shandong province, both now under construction. 

Apple also announced that more than 95 percent of its direct manufacturing in China now runs on renewable energy, as part of its goal to achieve carbon neutrality across its entire carbon footprint by 2030.

Cook's China trip is directly tied to the 2026 meeting of the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management Advisory Board, scheduled for Oct 13–14 in Beijing. This year marks the board's 27th annual gathering, which Cook has chaired since October 2019.

Ahead of the meeting, the school announced three new board members: Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia; Lisa Su, chair and CEO of AMD; and Marc Pictet, senior managing partner of Switzerland's Pictet Group.

The advisory board, established in October 2000, brings together senior leaders from multinational corporations and academic institutions to strengthen ties between the school and the global business community.