US CEOs extend China stay after last-minute invite to meet Prez Xi Jinping

Some US executives in Beijing for a business summit are rejigging their long-planned schedules after receiving an invite to a Wednesday meeting with a top Chinese leader – widely expected to be President Xi Jinping.
 

There’s a tacit understanding that the meeting will be with Xi, though his name doesn’t appear on written invitations, according to three people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential matters. A similar procedure was followed in November, when Xi attended a dinner with US business leaders during a San Francisco summit.

Chief executives including Pfizer Inc.’s Albert Bourla, FedEx Corp.’s Raj Subramaniam and Milind Pant of Amway Corp. are in town for the China Development Forum, which ended on Monday. Some potential attendees of the Wednesday meeting would need to extend their stay, and at least two who received invitations are unable to attend due to previous commitments, according to one of the people familiar with the matter. The people didn’t say which US executives have been invited.

China is seeking to shore up confidence amid a slowdown in foreign investment, which slumped to a 30-year low last year by one measure. Sentiment has been hit by political tensions with the US, following years of pandemic restrictions and tighter national security controls. 

Late on Friday, China relaxed its rules governing cross-border data flows. The move was seen as a response to complaints by foreign businesses that the restrictions were disruptive.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn’t immediately respond to a request for confirmation and comment on the Wednesday meeting with Xi. 

One CEO who plans to attend the meeting, and asked not to be identified discussing private information, said they saw that as part of the Chinese government’s outreach to improve relations, building on dialog established at November’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco. Xi was the guest of honor at a dinner there with top executives including Apple’s Tim Cook, who spoke at the Beijing summit on Sunday.

Premier Li Qiang already spoke with a number of CEOs at the China Development Forum. Li met briefly with Chubb Ltd. CEO Evan Greenberg and Saudi Aramco’s Amin Nasser before his Sunday keynote speech, according to one person familiar with the matter, who asked not to identified discussing private matters. Li had talks with others afterward, though he broke with tradition by skipping a formal meeting with a group of visiting executives during the forum.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that Stephen Orlins and Craig Allen – respectively heads of the National Committee on US-China Relations and the US-China Business Council – as well as Chubb’s Greenberg were expected to attend a Wednesday meeting with Xi along with other American CEOs. 

Before the pandemic, Xi used to hold more regular gatherings with executives at events such as the annual Boao Forum for Asia, which is sometimes described as China’s Davos. He’s not expected to attend this year’s version, which starts on Tuesday in Hainan.