(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc.’s iPhone shipments in China rose 40% in May, continuing a recent rebound fueled by heavy discounting from major retailers in the run-up to the country’s June shopping festival.

Smartphone shipments climbed more than 13% but foreign brands — of which Apple comprises the vast majority — grew almost four times faster, according to Bloomberg News calculations off official data. Foreign smartphones accounted for just over 5 million units of the total, the latest figures from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology showed.

The latest figures offer additional evidence that Apple is regaining its footing after posting a nearly 10% decline in global iPhone shipments in the first quarter, with flagging Chinese sales overshadowing what had otherwise been a broader improvement in the market. Such concerns had weighed on the company’s stock price earlier in the year.

IPhone shipments began bouncing back around March, and leapt more than 50% in April. That’s partly because Apple and its Chinese resellers have been cutting prices since the start of 2024, in deals extending into the pivotal June 18 shopping festival. Before that, Apple had endured double-digit declines in sales after losing market share to Huawei Technologies Co.

The Chinese company is closing in on a billion active consumer devices running its in-house operating system, underscoring how the US-sanctioned firm is taking on Apple in the premium segment. 

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