(Yicai) Nov. 26 -- Apple's Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has arrived in China for his second official visit in a month and his third this year.

Cook was in Beijing yesterday to attend the second China International Supply Chain Expo.

In late October, Cook met with China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Industry and Information Technology Minister Jin Zhuanglong in Beijing to discuss topics including Apple's development in China. He also visited the country in March to meet with supply chain partners and attend the opening of Apple's new flagship store in Shanghai.

"I value them very highly," Cook said about Apple's Chinese business partners. "We could not do what we do without them." More than 80 percent of Apple's 200-plus suppliers produce in China, according to data from the company.

"We are very committed to China," Cook noted. "That's the reason I've been here three times." When asked about Apple's future relationship with China, he said he believes "it will only get better."

With the re-election of Donald Trump as US president, more tariffs are expected to be levied on goods from China. This may greatly impact Apple's profit, according to analysts from US financial services provider Jefferies Group.

In the worst-case scenario, the cost of each iPhone would increase by USD256, impacting about 7 percent of Apple's profit margin.

The upcoming Trump administration will likely take high-end technologies, such as artificial intelligence and high-end chips, as the main targets, Nicole Peng, an analyst at market researcher Canalys, said when answering a question about whether the US will introduce new tariffs targeting China-made iPhone parts.

So far, Chinese mainland-listed companies have not yet entered Apple's core chip supply chain, as they mainly provide parts for cameras, batteries, and heat dissipation technologies, Yicai learned.

Meanwhile, Indian media outlets recently reported that Apple is in contact with more than 40 local suppliers to transfer part of its iPhone supply chain to the southern Asian country.

Apple had assembled USD14 billion worth of iPhones in India as of March, accounting for 14 percent of the total. Early last year, the company notified its Indian suppliers that it was preparing to gradually increase the proportion of India-made iPhones to a proportion of between 20 percent and 25 percent in two years, compared with 7 percent last year.

India does not have a network for materials and equipment as big as China, as its local supply chain still needs to import most parts from China, which would result in higher costs, an Indian investor told Yicai. Moreover, India's infrastructure and power devices also need to be improved.

Given these factors, some analysts expect that India's growth in Apple's supply chain will be limited to final product assembly with more crucial links, such as the production of electric and mechanical parts, likely to remain concentrated in China.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione