[Beijing Diary] Why Did Xi Jinping Visit the LGD Factory?

Stock Price Rises 5% Following Factory Visit News
Interpreted as Encouragement for Private Companies and Commitment to Foreign Investment Attraction

Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the LG Display production site during his inspection tour of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province on the 12th became quite a hot topic in South Korea. The news of the visit alone caused LG Display's stock price to jump more than 5% in the Korean stock market the following day.

The stock price increase is not without reason. Since the Chinese president meticulously calculates the meaning behind every single schedule, his visit to a South Korean company's factory can be interpreted as a sign of a favorable response toward the company or facility in the future. Moreover, considering that President Xi has never personally visited production facilities in China invested in by major Korean companies such as Samsung Electronics or Hyundai Motor, this visit is indeed quite unusual.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting and inspecting the LG Display production site in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province on the 12th. (Photo by People's Daily)

At the visit site, President Xi reportedly expressed a strong willingness to attract foreign investment. According to Xinhua News Agency, a Chinese state-run media outlet, he said at the event, "In a situation where global economic growth is sluggish, if China accelerates the establishment of a new development pattern and strengthens the construction of the business environment, the advantages of the market will become even more apparent," urging investment. He went on to emphasize, "I hope foreign investors come to China, come to Guangdong Province, come to the Greater Bay Area (the region encompassing Guangdong Province, Hong Kong, and Macau), seize opportunities, deeply cultivate the Chinese market, and create new glory for corporate development." On the same day, during his visit to Chinese electric vehicle company Guangqi Aion New Energy Vehicles, he stressed, "China's reform and opening-up policy will remain unchanged for a long time," and "We will never close the door to opening up."

However, experts analyze that President Xi's visit to the LG Display production site is not focused on any specific company or industry, but rather expresses China's determination to actively attract foreign investment through 'opening up.' A Chinese political and economic source said, "The Chinese government is making great efforts this year to attract investment from private enterprises and foreign capital," adding, "Rather than overinterpreting it as special interest or support for the company itself or the promotion of a particular project, they likely selected companies of appropriate fields and scale." He further explained, "Usually, President Xi's itinerary is top secret, and sometimes company visits are exposed to divert attention and hide the main purpose of the visit," advising that "such background should also be kept in mind."

In fact, no one except President Xi and his closest aides can know the exact purpose or background of the visit. However, one thing has become clear from this event. Despite the cooling of Korea-China relations and the worsening sentiment between the two countries, participants in the Korean stock market viewed President Xi's visit?and more broadly, China's willingness to cooperate with Korean companies?as a definite 'positive factor.'

Beijing correspondents, whose main job is to write articles related to China, often face unavoidable comments. These are not criticisms about the accuracy or factuality of the content, but rather critical responses such as "Why write about China when no one cares?" The rise in LG Display's stock price following President Xi's visit provides an answer to why we need to listen to news from China, understand the sentiments of the Chinese people, and infer the background of statements or actions as close to the facts as possible.