The election is leading to a return of personal lobbying by CEOs, hoping to develop ties with the new administration. Cook developed a playbook for engaging with Trump.

Some of the biggest tech leaders seem keen on taking the flattery route. Trump has claimed that Google CEO Sundar Pichai reached out to tell him about his trending Google searches and that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had called him “a lot” to pledge his support and praise his reaction to an attempt to assassinate him.

Prior to the expo, Cook and other top executives met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang. The meeting, as reported by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, focused on enhancing economic and trade cooperation. Representatives from companies like Corning and Rio Tinto were also present.