Tim Cook attends China Mobile iPhone launch in Beijing

(Credit: Tim Cook)

With Tim Cook in attendance, China Mobile and Apple kicked off the culmination of their critical, not to mention strategic, partnership today with the first batch of China Mobile-compatible iPhones in China.

Cook made an appearance at a China Mobile store alongside the telco's chairman Xi Guohua, and underlined Apple's commitment to the Chinese smartphone market -- not surprising considering Apple is responsible for 15 percent of the company's total business. And access to China Mobile's 763 million subscribers, Cook affirmed in a Wall Street Journal interview, will help Apple reach 'many cities that Apple does not have a reach to. So yes, you will see over time Apple going to more and more cities and this is something that China Mobile's skill and know-how and distribution network will be an enormous assist to us.'

Despite speculation among skeptical analysts downplaying Apple's ability to sell in the upwards of 24 million iPhones through its China Mobile partnership, Cook reassured the press that Apple's grip on the Chinese market held firm thanks to its sales of the latest entrant to Apple's smartphone product line, the iPhone 5S and 5C.

'Last quarter, we haven't announced numbers, but I can tell you that last quarter we sold more iPhones in Greater China than at any time in our past,' Cook said. 'And so it was a record quarter, helped by launching China very first in the queue (launching new iPhones at the same time as the U.S.). And I think with what we're announcing today.'

Apple's ability to sell more than 1 million pre-ordered China Mobile iPhones, as officially announced by Cook and Xi, is a good start. But one hurdle that Apple faces is the increasing domestic competition of affordable smartphones from manufacturers like Xiaomi.

Even a subsidized iPhone under a China Mobile contract isn't as affordable as expected. The China Mobile version of the 16 GB iPhone 5S will be sold for free under a 2 year contract at 588 yuan (US$97) per month. For comparison purposes, as The Next Web points out, China Telecom subsidizes the iPhone 5S' cost in exchange for a two-year 389 yuan (US$64) per month contract. China Unicom's subsidy program offers a free iPhone 5S for a 30-month 386 yuan (US$63) plan.

But Apple's CEO publicly stood his ground and brushed off any naysayers concerned about the rapidly growing competition hawking affordable, not to mention buzzed about, smartphone brands in China. 'We don't get up in the morning saying we want to sell the most, we get up saying we want to make and create the best, and so that's our strategy and it doesn't change,' Cook said.

About the author

Francis Bea is a technology writer who has written about social media, mobile startups, and the latest tech trends in China for Digital Trends and TheNextWeb. When Francis isn't writing about tech, you'll find him musing about the mobile ad industry by day for AppFlood, a mobile advertising network, and tinkering with startup ideas by night. Francis Bea is a member of CNET Asia regional blogger network and is not an employee of CNET Asia.

(Credit: Tim Cook) About the author

Francis Bea is a technology writer who has written about social media, mobile startups, and the latest tech trends in China for Digital Trends and TheNextWeb. When Francis isn't writing about tech, you'll find him musing about the mobile ad industry by day for AppFlood, a mobile advertising network, and tinkering with startup ideas by night. Francis Bea is a member of CNET Asia regional blogger network and is not an employee of CNET Asia.