Beijing, China – President Xi Jinping of China recently held a meeting with top US executives in an effort to improve strained relationships caused by geopolitical and trade tensions between the two largest economies in the world. Among the executives present were Evan Greenberg from Chubb and Cristiano Amon from Qualcomm. The meeting, reported by State news agency Xinhua, took place at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and included a photoshoot with the executives, with the attendees including Bloomberg chair Mark Carney and FedEx’s Raj Subramaniam.
This gathering occurred as concerns grew among China’s trading partners about Beijing’s heavy investments in manufacturing, potentially leading to oversupply and dumping in international markets. The chief executives had traveled to Beijing for the China Development Forum, the city’s premier annual business conference. Notably, Xi had previously met with US business leaders in November during a dinner on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in San Francisco, organized by the US-China Business Council and the National Committee on US-China Relations.
Despite some stabilization in US-China relations following bilateral talks between Xi and US President Joe Biden at the Apec forum, tensions persist. The US has pledged to investigate whether imported Chinese electric vehicles pose a security threat, while Beijing has imposed restrictions on the use of Apple’s iPhone and Tesla vehicles in government offices. Additionally, Beijing recently filed a World Trade Organization case against US EV subsidies, further complicating the relationship between the two countries.
China has been making efforts to present a more welcoming environment for international business as foreign direct investment fell to its lowest levels in decades last year. Recently, China announced clarifications to new data laws, easing concerns among businesses about cross-border data transfers. Despite these positive steps, there are still deep structural issues impacting the Chinese economy.
The meeting between Xi and the US executives marked a departure from traditional practice, as typically business heads meet with China’s premier after the China Development Forum. However, no such meeting occurred this year, and China’s premier Li Qiang did not hold a press briefing at the conclusion of the parliament’s annual meeting. Attendees noted that discussions at the China Development Forum were more direct compared to previous years, with more bilateral meetings with ministers taking place.
Overall, as China’s economy shows signs of stabilizing with industrial profits up 10.2% for the January-February period from a year earlier, uncertainty still looms over the future. The rhetoric from Beijing, particularly from Li at the opening of the CDF, has been described as more confident than in previous years. However, it remains unclear whether this confidence is an attempt to boost investor sentiment or a genuine reflection of the leadership’s outlook given the structural challenges facing China’s economy.