Tim Cook rides a cab with Didi Chuxing President Jean Liu. (Photo : Tim Cook/Twitter)
Apple CEO Tim Cook rode what can be considered as the most expensive taxi ride ever during his visit to China, with high hopes that the Asian giant would take another bite of his Apple.
The Cupertino company's big boss took to Twitter to reveal his co-rider in a cab in Beijing on Sunday.
"Taxi! Caught a cab in Beijing this morning with Didi Chuxing's Jean Liu," he wrote in caption of two images showing him with the cab-hailing company's president.
News quickly spread after that, with some reports like the one from The Wall Street Journal which described that cab ride to be worth $1 billion.
According to CNet, Cook's visit to the second largest smartphone market in the world comes after his company encountered a number of challenges in the country including one where Apple lost a trademark battle for "iPhone" with a Chinese leather company.
$1 Billion Taxi Ride
According to CNet, Cook's cab ride was deemed to be worth $1 billion because of Apple's recent billion-dollar investment in the Chinese cab-hailing service and Uber's main competitor in the country, Didi Chuxing.
Cook said the "rare" investment was made to help them better understand what makes the Chinese market tick.
"We are making the investment for a number of strategic reasons, including a chance to learn more about certain segments of the China market," the Apple CEO told Reuters. "Of course, we believe it will deliver a strong return for our invested capital over time as well."
Formerly known as Didi Kuaidi, Didi Chuxing admitted that Apple's investment had by far been the largest one the company has ever received amid its losing battle against Uber.
During their ride, Cook and Jean Liu, the daughter of Lenovo founder Liu Chuanzhi, presumably talked about how the Chinese company can work with Apple to make their stay in the country a little bit smoother.
"There's a lot of things we can work on together," Liu responded when asked whether her company intends to help Apple with its issues with the Chinese government.
According to Reuters, Liu's father has connections in Chinese politics which might be the reason why Apple chose their company despite its losing status.
Cook's Visit in China
Apple did not reveal Cook's itinerary and the exact reason why he visited the country, but some outlets are quick to speculate.
Upon his arrival, Cook decided to visit one of the Apple Stores located at the shopping district Wangfujing in Beijing, where he reportedly met with Liu and a couple of bosses from other Chinese apps such as Toutiao.com, Meituan and Tap4Fun.
