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Apple announces new R&D center in Shenzhen, China to foster developer talent

CEO Tim Cook has travelled to the Shenzhen manufacturing hub to make the announcement, with Apple hoping to foster local software developer talent.
Written by Jake Smith, Contributor
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Jason Cipriani/ZDNet

Apple announced on Wednesday plans to open a research and development center in tech manufacturing-mecca Shenzen, China, as it looks to dig deeper into China among increased competition.

The R&D center was announced by Apple CEO Tim Cook during a meeting with senior officials from the southern Chinese city, where he is attending a nationwide innovation event, Reuters reported, citing Shenzhen Economic Daily.

Terry Gou, founder and CEO of Foxconn, also attended the meeting where Cook detailed plans to attract top talent.

"We are excited to be opening a new research and development center here next year so our engineering team can work even more closely and collaboratively with our manufacturing partners," Apple spokesman Josh Rosenstock told Reuters.

"The Shenzhen center, along with the Beijing center, is also aimed at strengthening relationships with local partners and universities as we work to support talent development across the country," the spokesman continued.

Apple didn't say how many people it plans to employee in Shenzhen or what projects it may work on.

Apple has seen increasing pressure in China from Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo, and others.

In August, Tim Cook and co. announced Apple's first China R&D center in Beijing.

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