Apple CEO says to add 25 stores in China within two years

Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook said the company is planning to open another 25 retail stores in China within the next two years, domestic news portal tech.sina.com reported Thursday.

Apple, which currently earns about 15 percent of its revenue in China, has 15 outlets in the country, said the report, citing Tim Cook during an exclusive interview in Beijing. The Apple CEO made similar comments Monday on the company's fourth-quarter earnings call.

"We're investing like crazy in the market," Cook said on the call. "When I look at China, I see an enormous market where there are more people graduating into the middle class than any nation on Earth in history."

Cook is visiting China, where he has toured Foxconn Technology Co's iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province, and looked at local retail operations.

On Wednesday, Cook met with China's Vice Premier Ma Kai, where the two exchanged views on "protection of users' information" as well as "strengthening cooperation," according to the Xinhua News Agency.

On Friday, Cook will attend meetings at Beijing's Tsinghua University as a member of the School of Economics and Management's advisory council. He will be joined there by Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook Inc founder.

The Apple chief also said the company is cooperating with Chinese firms including Baidu Inc and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, according to tech.sina.com.

Cook also said he will meet with Jack Ma Yun, Alibaba's chairman, on Monday.