SAN FRANCISCO - Tim Cook, CEO of California-based Apple Inc, will co-chair a global business forum to be held in China next month that will address major challenges facing the current world, a report of the Wall Street Journal said Monday.

This will be Cook's fifth appearance at a "newsmaking event" in China in more than one year when he co-chairs the China Development Forum (CDF) to be held from March 24 to March 26, the report said.

The CDF is an international conference aimed at "engaging with the world for the common prosperity."

The forum is a major platform for world business leaders to conduct exchanges with Chinese leaders over opportunities and challenges facing both China and the rest of the world.

It will serve as an important window for other countries to learn about the economic development and policy of China, the world's second largest economy.