Apple's revenue jumps 21 percent in China

Apple Inc’s revenue in China jumped 21 percent in its second fiscal quarter ended in March amid a boom in sales of iPhone X in the country which is the “the best market for a consumer product company”, said chief executive Tim Cook.

The US tech giant posted a revenue of US$13 billion in China in the quarter, up 21 percent year on year. It makes China Apple's third biggest regional market behind the United States and Europe, the company said.

Cook said during the company's earnings call that the iPhone X was “the most popular smartphone in all of China last quarter”.

"I think the (Chinese) smartphone market is the best market for a consumer product company in the history of the world,” said Cook.

Apple's revenue performance came amid a "hard landing" in the Chinese smartphone market whose sales dropped 21 percent in the first quarter, according to researcher Canalys.  

Apple is also seen as one of the American companies most vulnerable to recent trade tensions between the US and China.

"I'm a big believer that the two countries together can both win and grow the pie, not just allocate it differently,” Cook told the conference call.

Apple has slightly dropped the price of iPhone X models and other products in China from 8,388 yuan (US$1,331) to 8,316 yuan for the 64 GB model.