iPhone price cuts might have saved Apple from an even bigger China crisis

• Tim Cook might have helped Apple avert a wider crisis in China.
• iPhone sales rose 12% in China in March after months of decline.
• The reversal hasn't come easy though: Apple has been forced to slash prices of its top models.

It looks like Tim Cook can breathe a small sigh of relief about Apple's prospects in China — for now.

After months of freefallling iPhone sales there, signs are emerging of a rebound in what is arguably Apple's most important international market.