Apple CEO Visits iPhone Plant in China
The Foxconn Technologies plant was at the center of recent critical reports about Apple's contracting practices overseas.
| Posted Thursday, March 29, 2012, at 12:36 PM
Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Apple chief executive Tim Cook paid a visit Thursday to the Chinese manufacturing plant that was at the center of a series of negative reports earlier this year concerning labor practices at the companies Apple contracts with to produce its iPads and iPhones.
The New York Times reports that Apple didn't provide immediate details concerning Cook's trip to the Foxconn Technology facility but that the visit followed meetings with top Chinese leaders, including Vice Prime Minister Li Kequiang, who will most likely succeed Prime Minister Wen Jiabao later this year.
From the Times:
The Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua reported that Mr. Li told Mr. Cook that China would strengthen intellectual property rights. He also said multinational companies should pay more attention to caring for workers and share development opportunities with the Chinese side, Xinhua reported.
Bloomberg explains that Apple has taken other steps to combat the negative reports, including becoming the first technology company to join the Fair Labor Association in January and open its facilities to inspections by the Washington-based organization. Meanwhile, Foxconn, which has about 120,000 employees, announced last month that it had raised its base pay for junior workers by as much as 25 percent.
