Tim Cook says he believes China is getting coronavirus ‘under control’

While Apple has acknowledged the impact of coronavirus on its supply chain and product demand in China, CEO Tim Cook seems to think the situation is improving in China. In an interview with Fox Business this afternoon, Cook explained his thinking as well as Apple’s ongoing work in China.

The Apple CEO expressed optimism about the situation in China, saying that it “feels” to him like the country is getting things under control:

It feels to me that China is getting the coronavirus under control. I mean, you look at the numbers, they’re coming down day by day by day. And so, I’m very optimistic there.

But Cook also emphasized that Apple isn’t necessarily as reliant on China as it might seen, pointing out that iPhone is “built everywhere in the world.” For the aspects of it that are reliant on China, he explained that things are “getting back to normal.”

On the supplier side, we have suppliers, you know, iPhone is built everywhere in the world. We have key components coming from the United States, we have key parts that are in China, and so on and so forth. When you look at the parts that are done in China, we have re-opened factories. So, the factories were able to work through the conditions to re-open. They’re also in ramp, so I think this is sort of the third phase of getting back to normal, and we’re in phase three of the ramp mode.

But even though Cook believes things are on the rise in China, some of the damage has already been done. For instance, Apple announced last week that it won’t achieve its Q2 2020 earnings guidance due to the coronavirus outbreak. Apple cited two main reasons for this: worldwide constraints for iPhone supply and demand for Apple products within China.

Fox Business says it will have more from its interview with Tim Cook coming tomorrow at 12 p.m. PT.