Global CEOs including Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon and Saudi Aramco’s Amin Nasser will travel to Beijing next week for an annual development forum, with some likely to meet with President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders, according to Bloomberg and Barron’s.
More than 70 executives from companies including FedEx, Pfizer, Siemens, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Blackstone Group are flocking to the China Development Forum on March 23, Reuters reported.
They will be hosted at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse from March 23-24, while any meetings with Xi will take place on March 28, the agency quoted a source familiar with the matter as saying.
China has said it will take steps to “stabilize” foreign investment amid plummeting investment inflows in recent years.
Foreign direct investment in China has weakened since the end of COVID-19 restrictions, and has been flagged as a key factor in Beijing’s push to kick-start flagging economic growth.
Inbound foreign direct investment, or FDI, fell by 13.7% in 2023 to US$163 billion, according to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce, although the country remained the number four destination for investors in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Investor confidence has been hit by “slower-than-expected economic recovery following COVID-19, lower prospects for long-term growth, capital controls, lack of policy predictability and regulatory transparency, and tensions in the U.S.-China relationship,” according to the U.S. State Department’s 2024 Investment Climate Statement.
Is Chinese economy slumping?
U.S.-based current affairs commentator Guo Baosheng said that despite the official claims of a 5% growth rate, China’s economy has entered a recession.
“This forum is mainly aimed at the bosses of large global companies, hoping that they will come to China to invest,” Guo told RFA Mandarin.
“Xi Jinping is hoping to send a clear signal to the world that China will continue to remain open and attract more investment,” he said.
“At the same time, China is also responding to Trump’s China policy, hoping to downplay the impact of U.S. tariffs on China and boost the economy to surpass the United States.”
Financial commentator Si Ling said the majority of reported attendees are from the United States.
“China still regards the United States as a very important economic and trade partner,” Si said.
“Xi Jinping seems to be showing goodwill to multinational executives to show he’s sincere about more [economic] openness, but actually he is using both soft and hard tactics,” he said.
“There are rumors that Xi Jinping will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump this year, and that there may even be a state visit,” Si said, adding that Xi is hoping strengthen his hand in negotiations with Washington by boosting foreign investment by major companies.
Trust in Chinese government
Xi is also relying on their investments to boost China’s flagging economic growth, yet it remains to be seen whether potential foreign investors have enough trust in the Chinese government to follow through, he said.
The Financial Times reported that Xi may meet with some 20 of the invited CEOs on March 28, but that arrangements have yet to be finalized, and that some executives are unwilling to stay in Beijing for four days after the Forum wraps up.
According to current affairs commentator Gu Yi, much is riding on this meeting for Xi Jinping.
“Xi Jinping is hoping to establish his supreme position as core leader of the economy as well as in politics,” Gu said.
“He’s not just looking to turn around China’s economic outlook -- he wants to have a profound impact on the global economic landscape,” he said.
According to Reuters, Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg and Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach are scheduled to attend, as well as the CEOs of Brookfield Asset Management, investment fund Franklin Templeton and pharma giants Eli Lilly and Medtonic.
Top European executives will also be in the mix, with executives from Novartis, Siemens, Nestle, Deutsche Bank and Møller-Mærsk scheduled to be at the Forum alongside Inter IKEA, Thyssenkrupp and insurer Swiss Re, it said.
According to a list seen by Reuters, South Korean chip giant SK Hynix is sending its CEO Kwak Noh-Jung, while Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer’s CEO Francisco Gomes Neto and Indian steelmaker Tata Sons Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran will also attend.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.