This week, 80 leaders of major global businesses are expected to arrive in the Chinese capital Beijing for an economic conference amid rising uncertainty over the tariff war.
The South China Morning Post on March 19 cited internal documents saying that leaders of 80 of the world's leading businesses will attend the China Development Forum in Beijing from March 22-24.
Among them, American companies account for the largest number. Specifically, prominent American figures on the list include Apple CEO Tim Cook, Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman, Broadcom's Hock E. Tan, Citadel Investment's Kenneth Griffin, McKinsey's Bob Sternfels, Cargill's Brian Sikes, Pfizer's Albert Bourla and FedEx's Rajesh Subramaniam.
Billionaire Tim Cook shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Redmond, USA in 2015.
Representatives from many other major businesses such as Saudi Aramco, BHP, Maersk, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Prudential, Rio Tinto, Schneider Electric, SK Hynix, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Tata Group and Temasek Holdings will also be present.
Organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development Bank, the US-China Business Council, Harvard University, and Oxford University were also invited.
According to the South China Morning Post , foreign business leaders often meet with Chinese officials in Beijing every year after the "two sessions" close.
The event comes as China steps up efforts to attract and retain foreign investors to bolster its economy and counter US efforts to push manufacturers to move operations to the US.
Despite opening up and encouraging foreign investors, foreign investment in China continues to decline.
Specifically, in the first two months of 2025, foreign investment in China reached only 171.2 billion yuan ($23.7 billion), down more than 20% compared to the same period last year. In 2024, total foreign investment in China fell 27%. Beijing said this was due to foreign companies increasing their borrowing in China, because they can borrow yuan at a lower cost than borrowing dollars.
Foreign enterprises contribute nearly 7% of total employment in China, 14% of tax revenue and one-third of total import and export turnover.
It is unclear whether the business leaders will meet with President Xi Jinping. Bloomberg reported earlier this week that some foreign business leaders may meet with Xi on March 28, but details could change.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/80-leaders-of-large-businesses-went-to-trung-quoc-du-hoi-nghi-giua-thuong-chien-185250319152102626.htm
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