Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook made a stop in Hangzhou on Wednesday, a city recognized as a technology hub and headquarters to artificial intelligence company DeepSeek. The visit is part of his broader tour across China, his first official trip to the country in 2025.

Cook interacted with developers at Zhejiang University, according to a message posted on his verified Weibo profile.

In conjunction with the visit, Apple announced a 30 million renminbi ($4.16 million) donation to Zhejiang University, aiming to foster the growth of China's future developer community.

The company said it will collaborate with Zhejiang University to create the Apple Mobile App Incubation Fund. This initiative is designed to provide technical resources and instruction in areas such as app development, product design, and business operations.

Prior to this initiative, Apple contributed 50 million renminbi ($6.93 million) over the past ten years to support the Mobile Application Innovation Competition hosted at the same university.

Hangzhou also serves as the base for Alibaba, which is reportedly planning to integrate AI tools into iPhones for the Chinese market. Separately, Apple is said to be working with Baidu to introduce AI-powered features on its devices in China.

On Monday, Cook highlighted DeepSeek's AI systems as "excellent." Earlier this year, the startup released its R1 model, showing how large language models could be developed on limited budgets and enhanced without direct human guidance.

Cook also confirmed on Tuesday that the Chinese role-playing game Wuthering Waves would become available on Mac systems later this week.

Though it remains unclear whether Cook intends to visit other companies while in Hangzhou, his itinerary continues to draw attention as Apple builds ties with China's tech ecosystem.