(Bloomberg) -- China's President Xi Jinping plans to meet with a number of US business chiefs next week in conjuction with an annual forum in Beijing, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The list of participants is still being compiled for a sit-down that could be canceled at the last minute, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. Among those on the list for the Wednesday meeting with Xi are Stephen Orlins, head of the National Committee on US-China Relations, Craig Allen, president of the US-China Business Council and Evan Greenberg, chief executive officer of the insurer Chubb Ltd., the paper said.
The session would follow the two-day China Development Forum, an annual confab set to start Sunday, the Journal said. This year's gathering has lacked the usual publicity, with no keynote speaker yet to be revealed, the WSJ said. Reuters reported last week that China's premier wasn't expected to meet with foreign business executives at the forum, in a break with precedent. Li Qiang also this month didn't deliver the premier's annual press briefing at the National People's Congress, breaking a three-decade norm.
Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook and Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone Inc. are among those expected to attend the forum, the Journal said. Laxman Narasimhan of Starbucks Corp. along with top executives from Pfizer Inc. and Cargill are also planned to come, it said.
Cook was already in China this week, opening a new store in Shanghai Thursday as the company tries to stem waning iPhone sales in its most important overseas market.
Apple CEO Opens New Shanghai Store in Show of China Commitment
US executives will make up the largest delegation at the forum, with 34 of the more than 85 top executives the WSJ said.
China's leadership has been battling to convince foreign companies that it welcomes their participation in the domestic economy after investment from abroad fell to a three-year low in 2023.
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