Apple’s Tim Cook was reportedly spotted in an Apple Store in Beijing’s Xidan province, making him the first Apple CEO to visit that country.

This isn’t the first time Cook visited the world’s most populous country – Steve Jobs once sent him there to address issues with Apple parts supplier Foxconn.

Cook visited China for talks with China Telecom, the mobile carrier that recently began to support Apple’s iPhone 4S. There is also speculation that Cook might be in China to sort out patent infringement issues with Proview, which has hindered the release of the new iPad in that country.

According to an Apple spokesperson, Cook was “meeting with officials – China is very important to us and we look forward to even greater investment and growth here.”

The issue with Proview has become Apple’s largest hurdle regarding the formal introduction of the new iPad in China. Though it was just reported that the new iPad passed another of China’s regulatory hurdles, after the China Quality Certification Center gave the tablet China Compulsory Certification.