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Apple Inc.<\/a>\u00a0Chief Executive Officer\u00a0Tim Cook\u00a0said artificial intelligence is an essential tool for helping businesses reduce their carbon footprint, as he joined a climate change dialog Sunday at the China Development Forum.<\/p>\n Cook took part in a discussion at the annual Beijing event as the culmination of a week of public displays of his company\u2019s commitment to China. He earlier met Commerce Minister\u00a0Wang Wentao\u00a0and announced plans to\u00a0invest further<\/a>\u00a0in Apple\u2019s supply chain, stores and research in the country.<\/p>\n Apple<\/a> has set some of the most ambitious targets among its peers for reducing its carbon footprint \u2014 with the Apple Watch touted as its\u00a0first carbon neutral product<\/a>. Cook focused on that theme in his remarks and for much of his visit.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are making great progress, we are not there yet, and the road ahead requires more innovation,\u201d Cook said of the company\u2019s environmental goals. Apple is pouring substantial investment and resources into its AI development, not least because it has been surpassed by more aggressive competitors like OpenAI with its ChatGPT.<\/p>\n AI \u201cprovides an enormous toolkit for every company that\u2019s wishing to be carbon neutral or to lower their emissions by a substantial amount,\u201d the 63-year-old CEO said. It can help businesses calculate an individual person\u2019s carbon footprint, identify materials available for recovery and offer strategies for recycling.<\/p>\n Like Apple, China\u2019s leading tech companies are racing to get ahead in the AI contest, however US trade sanctions have curbed their access to the best semiconductors for the task, made by\u00a0Nvidia Corp.<\/a><\/p>\n The Apple chief returned to the CDF at a time when Beijing wants to show it is open for business. Cook was also one of the marquee names on last year\u2019s list of participants, which was the first time the event was held in-person after three years of Covid isolation. He spoke with China Premier\u00a0Li Qiang\u00a0and other CEOs of international corporations following Li\u2019s opening speech.<\/p>\n Cook told reporters that he had visited China frequently over the past year because \u201cit\u2019s so vibrant and so dynamic here, I just always enjoy coming.\u201d His social team documented on\u00a0his Weibo profile<\/a>\u00a0visits with supply partners and a small coffee-making business using Apple technology.<\/p>\n Read More:\u00a0Apple CEO Arrives in China Touting Its Role as iPhone Base<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cTo make the best products we need partners who share our commitment to innovation and protecting the planet,\u201d Cook said in one of the posts,\u00a0lauding<\/a>\u00a0suppliers\u00a0BYD Co.<\/a>,\u00a0Lens Technology Co.<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Shenzhen Everwin Precision Technology Co.<\/a>\u00a0He also\u00a0praised<\/a>\u00a0coffeemaker Saturnbird for recycling its coffee grounds and containers.<\/p>\n The environmental theme to Cook\u2019s trip \u2014 which included opening\u00a0an expansive new store<\/a>\u00a0in Shanghai on Thursday \u2014 may have been chosen to avoid falling afoul of geopolitical sensitivities. Relations between the US and China have continued to deteriorate, with threats to ban\u00a0ByteDance Ltd.<\/a>\u2019s TikTok in the US if its Chinese owner doesn\u2019t divest.<\/p>\n Apple has been on the receiving end of China\u2019s riposte, as it\u2019s had to navigate an escalated\u00a0ban on iPhones<\/a>\u00a0in Chinese government-run or state-backed businesses.<\/p>\n The company\u2019s global corporate operations are now carbon neutral and it aims to have net zero climate impact across its entire business by 2030. That would include manufacturing supply chains and the full product life cycle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n