Apple more than doubled China donations for COVID-19 recovery efforts to $7 million

Apple has more than doubled its donations to COVID-19 recovery efforts in China to $7 million (50 million yuan) after it originally donated 20 million yuan ($2.8 million) to the country’s Foundation for Poverty Alleviation a few weeks ago.

Reuters reported Wednesday that the new donation brings Apple’s total to $7 million.

Apple has already donated 20 million yuan of its promised amount through Beijing-based China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation to support six hospitals in Hubei, including the makeshift Leishenshan hospital in Wuhan. The company will contribute the rest of the money to support longer-term public health recovery efforts.

Apple’s boss Tim Cook is quoted in the report as saying on China’s Weibo social network that the 1.4 billion people country has shown “incredible spirit and resilience during the COVID-19 outbreak”. He went on to extend his company’s gratitude to Apple’s teams, business partners and customers “for their support during these challenging times.”

China is Apple’s second biggest market, as measured by revenue.

The iPhone maker recently said it had reopened all its 42 stores in China, but its retail locations in the United States and elsewhere remain closed for the time being. Apple has also donated ten million masks for health professionals in the United States and Europe.

It also promised to donate $15 million to COVID-19 response and recovery efforts in the United States and internationally while pledging to match employee donations on a two-to-one basis.