(Yicai) Oct. 24 -- Apple is striving to introduce its artificial intelligence service in China, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said during his second trip to the country this year.

The US tech giant is “working hard” to push for Apple Intelligence’s release in the Chinese market, Cook said yesterday at the Beijing headquarters of social media platform Weibo.

The California-based company’s website says Apple Intelligence, which helps with tasks such as writing and productivity, is built into iPhones, iPads and Macs. A public beta version is available for certain devices now, while its full public release is planned for this fall. The timeline for its debut in China remains uncertain.

“There is a very strict regulatory process we need to go through, but we hope to bring Apple Intelligence to Chinese consumers as soon as possible,” Cook said.

Apple also faces significant resistance, especially from the US government, when it comes to bringing critical AI technologies to China, industry insiders told Yicai. But Apple will be keen to build an entire AI ecosystem in the country, particularly at the application level, they said.

Cook also met yesterday with Jin Zhuanglong, China’s minister for industry and information technology. The pair discussed topics including Apple’s development in China, online data security management, and cloud services, according to a statement released by the ministry.

Jin said he hopes Apple would deepen its engagement with the Chinese market, increase its innovative efforts, and grow alongside local enterprises to share the benefits of the country’s high-quality development.

Cook then pointed out that Apple is keen to seize the opportunities presented by China’s opening-up and will continue to hike its investment in the country, contributing to the high-quality development of supply chains.

On Oct. 21, Cook met with China Mobile Chairman Yang Jie to exchange views on advancing cooperation on fifth-generation network applications, music, virtual reality, digital content, and other fields, according to a statement by the telecoms giant.

Cook last visited China in March to meet with supply chain partners and attend the opening of Apple’s new flagship store in downtown Shanghai.

Editor: Futura Costaglione