Apple Inc. (AAPL) Shares Plummet Despite CEO Tim Cook Claim China iPhone Sales Are Great

Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares fell more than 10 percent Monday morning, despite claims from Apple CEO Tim Cook that iPhone demand and App Store sales remain strong in China. Cook's remarks come in the wake of the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting more than 1,000 points last week in part due to the weakening Chinese economy.

Update 10:37 a.m. After a steep opening drop, Apple's stock has recovered most of its losses, with its price sitting at $103.87, down 1.73 percent.

"As you know, we don't give mid-quarter updates and we rarely comment on moves in Apple stock," Cook wrote to Cramer via email, according to CNBC. "But I know your question is on the minds of many investors.”

“I get updates on our performance in China every day, including this morning, and I can tell you that we have continued to experience strong growth for our business in China through July and August. Growth in iPhone activations has actually accelerated over the past few weeks, and we have had the best performance of the year for the App Store in China during the last two weeks.”

Despite the downturn in the Chinese market, Cook remained confident about the potential of China.

"Obviously I can't predict the future, but our performance so far this quarter is reassuring. Additionally, I continue to believe that China represents an unprecedented opportunity over the long term as LTE penetration is very low and, most importantly, the growth of the middle class over the next several years will be huge," Cook added in the email.

While China has yet to become Apple’s biggest market, Cook has expressed in the past that he expects it to take that spot from the United States in the future. But for now, it continues to hold second place, after taking the position from Europe in its second 2015 fiscal quarter.

Apple's stock was down more than 6 percent in pre-market trading.