Tim Cook and other U.S. executives attend China expo, meet officials as Trump tariff threat looms

American business leaders are in China this week for meetings with officials and a high-profile supply chain expo as trade threats from a second Donald Trump presidency mount.

Among them is Apple CEO Tim Cook, who will be in attendance for the second annual ‘China International Supply Chain Expo,’ which kicked off Tuesday. The trip marks his third visit to the country this year, and his first time attending the expo, underscoring the importance of the market to Apple’s sales and supply chains. 

“We’re very committed to China, that’s the reason I have been here three times,” Cook said in a video interview with Chinese state media on Monday, adding that he expects the relationship to “only get better.” 

Ahead of the expo, the CEO met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang alongside other top executives from global companies, the American Chamber of Commerce in China said in a social media post. CNBC has reached out to Apple representatives for comment.

The meeting, focused on strengthening economic and trade collaboration, reportedly included representatives from Rio Tinto, the world’s second-largest miner; Chinese computer maker Lenovo; and American multinational technology company Corning.

Organized by the China International Exhibition Center Group, the second CISCE will focus on key supply chains, such as advanced manufacturing, green and digital technology as well as supply chain services. 

The expo comes two months ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who pledged during the campaign trail to increase tariffs on goods from China by between 60% and 100%. 

Trump said Tuesday Asia time that he would raise tariffs by an additional 10% on all Chinese goods coming into the U.S., according to a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

Such tariffs pose high risks to international companies such as Apple, which rely on China as a major manufacturing base for its consumer products. In recent years, Apple has been shifting more of its global supply chain away from China to countries like India as part of diversification efforts.

Heightened trade tensions with the U.S. could complicate Beijing’s efforts to attract more foreign direct investment and drag on its GDP growth amid the economy’s sluggish economic recovery.

On Monday, at the symposium attended by top executives, China’s premier issued a statement against decoupling and in support of upholding and strengthening global industrial and supply chains.