apple inc AAPL CEO Tim cook praised China for its rapid innovation and long ties with China Californian iPhone manufacturer despite rising tensions between China and the US, according to the latest report Bloomberg.

During his speech at the high-profile China Development Forum on Saturday, Cook said Apple and China have grown together and that the two parties have a “symbiotic” relationship.

The CEO also addressed his company’s concerns about the misuse of technology given the recent advances in artificial intelligence and augmented reality. He claimed that innovation will only accelerate and that technology creators must use it in the “right way” to help humanity.

“I think that’s a tremendous responsibility for any creator to do this,” he said.

Cook said Apple plans to increase its spending on its rural education program in China to $15 million, explaining that it’s important for kids to improve their coding and critical thinking skills in a rapidly changing world.

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“We have a very large supply chain in China and then of course we also have our Apple Stores,” he said loudly The Financial Timeswhile the tech giant has millions of developers in China working on its iOS operating system.

During his visit, Cook also met with Chinese government officials to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship with the Chinese government, Bloomberg reported.

Apple manufactures most of its products in China and has unique access to the Chinese market. The company depends on the country for about 20% of its sales. The iPhone maker has reportedly generated over $40 billion in sales in China every year since 2015, and generated nearly $75 billion in sales in China last fiscal year.

Since massive COVID-19 protests however, in the country the company has diversified its supply chain away from China.

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