(Yicai) Feb. 2 -- Apple's revenue from China slid 13 percent last quarter from a year ago, with Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook blaming some of the decline on the strong US dollar.

Revenue from the Chinese market, which accounts for about a fifth of Apple’s global sales, was USD20.8 billion in the three months ended Dec. 30, the US tech giant said in an earnings report released yesterday. That fell short of a USD23.5 billion estimate by analysts.

Income rose in all other markets, Apple’s first revenue growth in more than a year, increasing 2 percent to USD119.6 billion. Analysts had predicted USD117.9 billion.

“The dollar is very strong versus the RMB,” Cook told US business news broadcaster CNBC, referring to the Chinese currency. “The good news is that we’re four out of the top six top-selling smartphones in urban China,” he added.

The Chinese market is the single biggest for the iPhone, with Apple on a 20 percent share there last quarter, down 0.6 percentage point from a year earlier, according to data from International Data Corporation. The decline was smaller than for its competitors.

“We’ve been in China for 30 years,” Cook said on the California-based firm’s earnings call. “I remain very optimistic about China over the long term.”

Regarding the development of artificial intelligence-generated content, he said Apple will disclose specific details later this year.

Editor: Martin Kadiev