Apple's (AAPL) Chief Executive Tim Cook is visiting China for at least the third time this year, Bloomberg reported Monday.

Cook attended a suppliers' conference on the same day that Chinese Premier Li Qiang was scheduled to meet with foreign CEOs to discuss supply chain and trade flow issues amid President-elect Donald Trump's threat to increase tariffs on Chinese goods, the report said.

During brief remarks at the conference, Cook highlighted the importance of Chinese supply chain partners to Apple's global operations.

When asked a question about Apple's Chinese partners, Cook reportedly said that Apple "could not do what we do without them."

Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment from MT Newswires.

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