Apple committed to investing up to CNY720 million ($99.2 million) for a new clean energy initiative in China in a bid to add about 550,000 megawatt hours of wind and solar capacity to the country’s power grid each year.

The announcement yesterday (24 March) coincided with Apple CEO Tim Cook meeting with government officials in China, following US President Donald Trump administration imposing 20 per cent tariffs on all Chinese goods earlier this year.

Apple’s investment is the second phase of its China Clean Energy Fund.

The first phase launched in 2018 by the tech giant and its suppliers surpassed its target of building more than 1 gigawatt of wind and solar projects across 14 provinces.

Apple COO Jeff Williams stated the company’s “suppliers in China are driving world-class progress in smart manufacturing and green manufacturing”.

The vendor stated expanding clean energy capacity in China is part of an effort to transition its supply to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030. It reduced the company’s overall greenhouse gas emissions by more than 55 per cent since 2015.