????蒂姆?庫克的第二次中國之行能否為他贏得好感？

????上周，蘋果（Apple）CEO一直都在中國，并且已經與中國工業(yè)和信息化部（Ministry of Industry and Information Technology）部長苗圩進行了會面，就中國新興的信息與通信行業(yè)交流了意見。這是庫克在12個月內第二次訪華。去年3月，蒂姆?庫克參觀了富士康（Foxconn）在鄭州和天津的工廠，當時有報道稱蘋果的這家供應商違反了勞動法。

????雖然蘋果并沒有公布庫克此次的行程，但其實我們不難猜到，他此行的目的肯定是要增強公司在中國相對較弱的影響力。上季度中國為蘋果帶來了57億美元銷售額，而整個亞太地區(qū)的總銷售額也僅有75億美元。但這還遠遠不夠。（中國是蘋果僅次于美國的第二大市場。）

????庫克要想實現(xiàn)在中國的擴張必須做好以下三件事：

????開設更多蘋果零售店。中國人口超過13億，但蘋果在這個國家的實體零售店卻少得可憐。中國大陸僅有7家蘋果零售店，包括香港在內也僅有11家而已。也就是說，平均每1.92億人一家蘋果零售店。而相比之下，蘋果內部人士指出，僅有1,270萬人的賓夕法尼亞州便有8家蘋果零售店，平均每160萬人一家蘋果零售店。很明顯，增加零售網(wǎng)點肯定能提高公司在中國的知名度。

????與中國移動（China Mobile）合作。全球最大的手機運營商卻到現(xiàn)在都未能推出iPhone手機。據(jù)報道，中國移動與蘋果已經進行了長達四年的談判，卻依然未能達成協(xié)議。據(jù)路透社（Reuters）報道，雙方最初表示，最大的障礙在于技術問題，因為中國移動使用的是一種特殊3G技術，但現(xiàn)在，問題的關鍵卻是利益分配。有分析師預測，今年晚些時候，隨著中國移動開始鋪設4G長期演進技術（LTE）網(wǎng)絡，雙方的談判會有所進展。蘋果承受不起放棄中國最大移動運營商的代價。而中國移動在3G市場已經落后于中國第二和第三大運營商——中國聯(lián)通（China Unicom）和中國電信（China Telecom），因此它也需要iPhone手機來拉動銷售。

????提供廉價iPhone手機。本周早些時候，我們曾發(fā)表文章，討論了蘋果生產更廉價iPhone 的可能性，許多讀者認為這不太可能。畢竟，蘋果對自己的產品一直都是采取高定價政策。結果，隨后《華爾街日報》（The Wall Street Journal）便確認，蘋果正在嘗試一款新手機：采用不同聚碳酸酯塑料外殼的iPhone。要想賺中國人的錢，這樣一部手機非常關鍵，因為據(jù)估算，北京市普通中國人的年均收入僅有8,000美元，遠遠低于美國人的平均收入水平。當然，美國可能認為在海外推出更廉價的iPhone手機是在貶低一個高檔品牌的價值，但鑒于中國的人均可支配收入水平，這仍然是一筆巨大的開支。

????（最新消息，蘋果高管已經正式否認了推出廉價iPhone的傳聞。）

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

????Could the second time be a charm for Tim Cook?

????Apple's (AAPL) CEO is in China this week and has already met with Ministry of Industry and Information Technology head Miao Wei to discuss the country's emerging information and communications industry. For Cook, it was the second trip in 12 months. Last March, the chief executive toured Foxconn's facilities in Zhengzhou and Tianjin amid reports that the supplier had violated several labor laws.

????Although Apple has not disclosed Cook's agenda for the trip, it's not farfetched to speculate that he's working on strengthening the company's relatively small presence in the country. This, despite the fact that China accounted for $5.7 billion in sales last quarter, a majority of the overall $7.5 billion it generated in the Asia-Pacific region that same time. (China is Apple's biggest market, second only to the U.S.)

????Here are three things Cook must do to spur expansion there:

????Open more Apple Stores.For a country with a population of over 1.3 billion, Apple's physical retail presence remains small. In fact, the company only has 7 stores -- 11 if you want to include Hong Kong. That makes for 1 store per 192 million people. In comparison, Apple Insider points out that the state of Pennsylvania has a total of 8 stores for a population of 12.7 million, or 1 store per 1.6 million people. Obviously, building out more retail locations would go a long way to raising the company's visibility there.

????Saddle up with China Mobile.The world's largest mobile carrier still doesn't have the iPhone. China Mobile and Apple have reportedly been in talks for four years to come to an agreement, but haven't done so. According to Reuters, the two parties first said the biggest obstacle was a technical issue -- the Chinese carrier uses a unique 3G technology -- but now the sticking point is revenue-sharing. Some analysts predict that could change later this year when China Mobile rolls out its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. Apple can't afford to not run on China's largest mobile carrier. And China Mobile, which is losing 3G market share to the nation's second and third-largest carriers -- China Unicom and China Telecom -- needs the iPhone to buoy sales.

????Make a cheaper iPhone.When we ran a post earlier this week arguing the case for a new, cheaper iPhone, some readers balked. After all, Apple has always priced its products at a premium. Then The Wall Street Journal all-but-confirmed that the company was working on one: an iPhone with a different shell of polycarbonate plastic. To nab more Chinese dollars, such a device may be key, as the average Chinese makes significantly less -- $8,000 a year in Beijing, by some estimates -- when compared with the average American. Sure, a cheaper iPhone abroad could be perceived by the U.S. as downplaying a premium brand, but to many Chinese, it would still be a hefty chunk of their disposable income.