Foreign CEOs to flock to China for key summit, Xi meeting, sources say
Business
Beijing is keen to attract foreign investment at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions
BEIJING (Reuters) - Dozens of foreign CEOs will visit Beijing this month for a flagship development conference where some are expected to meet President Xi Jinping, according to a draft agenda and three sources familiar with the matter.
The annual China Development Forum will take place on March 23-24 at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in the capital, two sources told Reuters. Beijing is keen to attract foreign investment at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, as policymakers try to boost domestic consumption to offset fresh U.S. tariff pressure.
Those attending include the CEOs of FedEx, Siemens, automakers BMW and Mercedes-Benz, chip designer Qualcomm, AstraZeneca, Nestle, Saudi Aramco, Citadel, Rio Tinto, McKinsey, Estee Lauder, Standard Chartered and KPMG, according to a draft agenda seen by Reuters. The chairman of Deutsche Bank is also on the list.
A Mercedes-Benz spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that CEO and Chairman Ola Kallenius would attend the forum. A spokesperson for pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca declined to comment on whether the CEO was attending and meeting Xi.
BMW's China chief Sean Green will also attend, according to people familiar with the matter, adding CEO Oliver Zipse would make clear to the Chinese government that the German carmaker planned to continue to support the market. BMW declined to comment.
Top executives of several major mining, engineering and healthcare firms will also take part, according to the draft agenda, which could be subject to last-minute changes, one of the sources said. Compared to previous years, a higher proportion of European CEOs are represented.
Xi is likely to meet a select group of foreign chief executives days after the summit, which could include European and British CEOs, said one source, adding that the list of attendees and timings could be subject to last-minute changes. Reuters was not able to determine the list of overseas CEOs expected to meet Xi.
U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 20% tariffs on Chinese exports this month, prompting China to retaliate with additional duties on American agriculture products.
Foreign direct investment into China fell 13.4% year-on-year in January, according to official data released last month.
"Any trip to China by American CEOs would be very low-key given the current heightened scrutiny on American investment in China from Washington," said the source, adding that fewer U.S. CEOs would attend this year.
The CEOs of American chip giants Micron and AMD were not listed on the draft agenda, despite having attended last year. The firms did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
American firms subject to current investigations or scrutiny by Chinese authorities including Google, Illumina, PVH and Walmart were also not on the draft agenda.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is not likely to meet with foreign CEOs this year, the source added, after he skipped a customary meeting last year - one of the rare opportunities for foreign executives to have face time with a top Chinese official.
