"Our history and culture are very important to understanding the present moment and where we're heading in the future," said Apple CEO Tim Cook on Monday.

Apple CEO Tim Cook on an interview with China Daily in Beijing on Monday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"What technology does and what our products do is to help expand the audience (for traditional culture)," Cook said shortly after watching a classic excerpt from 400-year-old Kunqu Opera play, Peony Pavilion, which was performed by the Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre in Beijing.

During the event, model-actress and director Chang Chunxiao introduced her ongoing short documentary shot on iPhone, The People in the Time Tunnel, which features behind-the-scenes stories about the Beijing theater's new interpretation of Peony Pavilion.

"Only a few of us could fit in the theater and enjoy it, but with the video we're able to capture that for the world. It enables us to connect with our history in a much deeper way and with many more people," Cook told China Daily.

"I love Chinese calligraphy. I think it's one of the most beautiful art forms in the world, and preserving that is so important."

Actresses from the Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre perform a classic excerpt from 400-year-old Kunqu Opera play, Peony Pavilion, at an event organized by US tech giant Apple Inc in Beijing on Monday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Cook said he sees the importance of preserving the history and culture in a country with 5,000 years of history, and "there's so much in the past that can be learned from and used to make our lives better in the present moment".

Speaking of the current trend of artificial intelligence, Cook said technology, at its best, is for enriching people's lives, and for making people not only more productive but more creative as well.

"But it does not and it should not replace (human beings). It's a complement rather than a replacement," Cook said.

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