Apple CEO Tim Cook expands social media presence with new account on China's Weibo

Chinese Apple fans can now follow Tim Cook on Weibo — a Chinese microblogging service similar to Twitter — Â thanks to a new, verified account for the company's chief executive.

Cook's account went live earlier on Monday with a bilingual post announcing Apple's recent green manufacturing initiative. The message was sent from an iPhone 6.

"Hello China! Happy to be back in Beijing, announcing innovative new environmental programs," the post read in English, followed by a Chinese translation of the same.

At press time, Cook had gained just over 300,000 followers in the hours after joining. Cook's account on Twitter, which became active in 2013, boasts 1.1 million followers.

Weibo is one of the largest social networks in China, with nearly 200 million active users each month. Both Twitter and Facebook are banned in the People's Republic, making Weibo and competitors like RenRen and QQ an important platform for businesses to communicate with Chinese customers.