China Development Forum to Be Held in Beijing on March 23-24
President Xi to Meet Global CEOs on the 28th
Growth Threatened by Escalating Tariff War... Seeking to Attract Investment
Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to meet with CEOs of global companies such as the US-based Qualcomm and Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco next week, Bloomberg reported on the 17th.
According to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, global CEOs including Cristiano Amon of Qualcomm and Amin Nasser of Saudi Aramco are expected to depart for Beijing to attend the China Development Forum (CDF) held on the 23rd and 24th, and some of them are anticipated to meet President Xi on the 28th. The China Development Forum, established in 2000, is an annual event where China invites major global business leaders to discuss economic issues and seek investment opportunities.
This year’s China Development Forum invitation list includes 72 global CEOs such as Stephen Schwarzman, founder of the world’s largest private equity firm Blackstone; Albert Bourla of US pharmaceutical company Pfizer; Cristiano Amon of US smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm; Evan Greenberg of global insurer Chubb; and Amin Nasser of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Aramco.
Earlier, the UK’s Financial Times (FT) also reported that about 20 overseas company CEOs will attend the forum, and since CEOs would have to wait several days after the forum’s closing to meet President Xi, the attendee list is still being finalized. Last year, President Xi met with about 20 CEOs who participated in the forum two days after it ended, on March 27, along with political and business figures.
US Senator Steve Daines wrote on social media that he plans to address the issue of "deadly fentanyl entering our country." Fentanyl was a key reason why former US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on China.
The reason President Xi is pushing for meetings with global CEOs is due to concerns that the ongoing US-China tariff war could make it difficult to achieve this year’s targeted economic growth rate. If the tariff war intensifies, China may struggle to maintain its export-driven economic strategy, so it aims to offset the resulting growth gap by attracting global investment. Moreover, if the US-China trade war prolongs, Beijing may have to resort to large-scale economic stimulus measures it has so far avoided.
The FT analyzed, "China is desperately seeking the support of global business leaders who have heavily invested in China to defend against the tariff onslaught imposed by former US President Donald Trump." Last year, President Xi told global CEOs he met with that "there is no need for Washington and Beijing to decouple, and he hopes US companies will continue to invest in China."
China has recently continued efforts to highlight a business-friendly image. A representative example is President Xi’s attendance at a private enterprise symposium on the 17th of last month, where he met with major Chinese entrepreneurs including Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba. Bloomberg noted, "As seen in meetings with Xi Jinping and senior officials, Beijing is trying to position China as a supporter of businesses."
Bloomberg also described the meetings between President Xi and global company CEOs as "emphasizing the message that China is open to businesses," contrasting this with Trump’s "America First" policy.
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