Mobile company Apple Inc.'s research and development center in China is expected to be launched by the end of this year.

Considering that China has been one of the American tech giant's biggest and most challenging markets, the establishment of the facility is expected to boost its operation.

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Announced by Apple's chief executive officer Tim Cook on Tuesday during his visit in China, the facility is said to house under one location the engineering and operations teams in the mainland, the country's state-run television network CCTV reported.

The company's plan was reportedly shared during a meeting with Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli.

"We look forward to expanding our operations in China with a new research and development center as we continue to grow our talented team here," a statement from Apple, which was sent to China Daily, read.

Accordingly, the move was considered because of the decreasing popularity of the brand in China. It was noted that it has been losing its market share to some local competitors.

With the center, which is the first to be operated independently in the Asia-Pacific Region, Apple is reportedly affirming the fact that China is indeed an important market.

"The new center is also aimed at strengthening relationships with local partners and universities as we work to support talent development across the country," the statement further said.

Meanwhile, it was reported as well that research director James Yan of the Counterpoint Technology Market Research disclosed that "Smartphone hardware is no longer Apple's edge, because local vendors such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd are catching up quickly, and even outdoing Apple in hardware components, such as having dual cameras on one smartphone."

Tagschina, Apple China