Zuckerberg Meets Japan PM in Tokyo to Discuss AI

FILE PHOTO: Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg attends a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at the US Capitol in Washington, US, January 31, 2024. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg attends a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at the US Capitol in Washington, US, January 31, 2024. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
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Zuckerberg Meets Japan PM in Tokyo to Discuss AI

FILE PHOTO: Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg attends a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at the US Capitol in Washington, US, January 31, 2024. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg attends a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at the US Capitol in Washington, US, January 31, 2024. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

Meta Platforms Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg discussed artificial intelligence issues with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday during the Facebook founder's trip through Asia.
"We had a good, productive conversation about AI and the future of technology," Zuckerberg said in brief comments to reporters at the prime minister's residence in Tokyo. He left without taking questions.
The meeting followed reports that Zuckerberg would visit South Korea at the end of this month to discuss AI with Samsung Electronics chairman, Jay Y. Lee, and possibly meet South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Meta, the operator of Facebook, last week confirmed Zuckerberg was planning to visit South Korea.
Japan's government and corporate sector are racing to catch up in AI development. In the past year, Kishida has met with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to discuss AI regulation and infrastructure.



Apple’s China Market Share Shrinks as Huawei Surges, Data Shows 

A woman walks past a logo of Apple Inc in Wuhan, Hubei province July 24, 2013. (Reuters)
A woman walks past a logo of Apple Inc in Wuhan, Hubei province July 24, 2013. (Reuters)
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Apple’s China Market Share Shrinks as Huawei Surges, Data Shows 

A woman walks past a logo of Apple Inc in Wuhan, Hubei province July 24, 2013. (Reuters)
A woman walks past a logo of Apple Inc in Wuhan, Hubei province July 24, 2013. (Reuters)

Apple's market share in China shrank by two percentage points in the second quarter of 2024, as the tech giant faced intensifying competition from rivals like Huawei, according to data from market research firm Canalys.

The decline underscores the difficulties the US tech giant faces in its third-largest market.

Huawei's smartphone shipments surged 41% year-on-year in the quarter, bolstered by the launch of its new Pura 70 series in April.

The Canalys data, while not providing specific shipment figures for Apple, showed that the company's market share in China dropped to 14% in the second quarter of 2024, a decrease from 16% in the same quarter of 2023.

As a result of this decline, Apple's ranking in the Chinese smartphone market fell from third to sixth place.

Overall, China's smartphone shipments rose by 10% in the quarter, Canalys said. Vivo was the top vendor with a share of 19%, followed by Oppo, Honor and Huawei with 16%, 15% and 15% respectively.

"Domestic manufacturers have demonstrated market leadership, occupying the top five positions in the mainland Chinese market for the first time in history," said Lucas Zhong, research analyst at Canalys.

"On the other hand, Apple faces growth pressure in the Chinese market and is actively focusing on optimizing channel management."

Huawei made a comeback to the high-end smartphone segment last August with the release of a device powered by a domestically-made chip, defying US sanctions that have cut off its access to the global chipset supply chain.

In an effort to boost sales, Apple has ramped up its discounting efforts this year to entice consumers. The US company launched an aggressive campaign in May, doubling the scale of an earlier promotion in February and offering price cuts of up to 2,300 yuan ($318.84) on select iPhone models.

Analysts expect Huawei's strong performance to continue throughout the year. Canadian research firm TechInsights projected earlier this year that Huawei's overall smartphone shipments in China will exceed 50 million units in 2024, with the Pura 70 series accounting for 10 million of those shipments.

That would make Huawei the No. 1 seller with a 19% market share, up from 12% in 2023, TechInsights has said.