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‘‘We are proud to have worked alongside many of our partners in China to help build a community that will join a common future in cyberspace,’’ Apple CEO Tim Cook told the Fourth World Internet Conference in China. PHOTO: AP

Beijing | Apple’s Tim Cook and Google’s Sundar Pichai made their first appearances at China’s World Internet Conference, bringing star power to a gathering the Chinese government uses to promote strict online censorship.

Apple’s chief executive gave a surprise speech at the opening ceremony on Sunday, calling for future internet and artificial intelligence technologies to be infused with privacy, security and humanity. The same day, Politburo member Wang Huning called for more aggressive government involvement online to combat terrorism and criminals, even calling for a global response team to go well beyond China’s borders.

It was Mr Cook’s second appearance in China in two months, after he met President Xi Jinping in October. The iPhone maker has most of its products manufactured in the country and is trying to regain market share in smartphones against local competitors such as Huawei Technologies.

‘‘The theme of this conference – developing a digital economy for openness and shared benefits – is a vision we at Apple share,’’ Mr Cook said. ‘‘We are proud to have worked alongside many of our partners in China to help build a community that will join a common future in cyberspace.’’

The Wuzhen conference, which until this year has had a primarily local presence, is designed to promote the country’s vision of a more censored and controlled internet globally. The attendance of leaders from two of the world’s most valuable tech giants lends credibility to China’s efforts to influence the global internet so it better resembles its own.

Other leading technology executives taking part include Alibaba Group chairman Jack Ma, Cisco Systems’ Chuck Robbins, Tencent’s Pony Ma and Baidu co-founder Robin Li.

Mr Cook’s comments come at a pivotal point for the company’s future in China, which is now its biggest market outside North America. It relies on the sale of hardware and services in the world’s most populous country to propel revenue and profit growth. But the efforts required to stay in China’s good graces are causing tensions with civil libertarians and politicians at home.

He said Apple’s operations in the country began three decades ago with a handful of employees. Today, it helps support more than 5 million jobs in China, including 1.8 million local mobile app developers, he said.

Apple has come under fire for cooperating with Chinese authorities in removing apps that give users there uncensored communications. In November, Apple complied with government orders to pull Microsoft’s Skype phone and video service from the Chinese version of its popular app store. Mr Cook used an earnings call with investors to justify such moves.

‘‘Much has been said of the potential downsides of AI, but I don’t worry about machines thinking like humans,’’ he said. ‘‘I worry about people thinking like machines. We all have to work to infuse technology with humanity, with our values.’’

Technology of the future should have openness, creativity and safeguards to protect users while providing privacy and decency, he said.

It’s a goal that, according to Mr Cook’s Chinese hosts, can only be accomplished through more laws to control what can be shared online.

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