Xi Jinping Meets Global Business Leaders As China Seeks To Woo Investors

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with a group of global business leaders in Beijing, in an effort to boost investor sentiment as rising tariffs fuel uncertainty for the economy and international trade.

Xi sat down with representatives of international industrial and business firms at the Great Hall of the People on Friday morning, the official Xinhua News Agency reported without elaborating.

They include Rajesh Subramaniam of FedEx Corp, Bill Winters of Standard Chartered PLC, Paul Hudson of Sanofi SA, Pascal Soriot of AstraZeneca PLC and Miguel Angel López Borrego of ThyssenKrupp AG. Chinese officials in attendance include Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Finance Minister Lan Fo'an.

After the meeting, Xi said in front of reporters that seven business representatives shared their views that the Chinese government will “study and consider.”

“All of you are welcome to keep your lines of communication with us,” Xi said, praising the attendees for contributing to China's growth and creating job opportunities. “Foreign businesses are important participants in China's modernization.”

Slowing economic expansion and mounting geopolitical tensions have hurt the appeal of investing in the world's second-biggest economy, with inbound investment tumbling last year to its lowest in over three decades.

More headwinds may come next month, when the US is set to complete a review of Beijing's compliance with the phase-one trade deal struck during US President Donald Trump's first term and impose reciprocal duties globally.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday said the country is prepared for “shocks that exceed expectations” as the government targets an ambitious growth target of about 5% this year. Economists estimate that Beijing would need to unleash trillions of yuan in stimulus to hit that goal if tariffs surge.

China's interaction with the top business figures underscores the message it's been sending that the nation is open for business — contrasting itself with Trump's more protectionist “America First” policies.

Beijing is also trying to cast itself as a supporter of private enterprise, illustrated by Xi's high-profile meeting last month with entrepreneurs like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder Jack Ma.

Many global CEOs had traveled to China for the annual China Development Forum and the Boao Forum for Asia, which concludes on Friday. The meeting marks an upgrade from earlier years when China's No. 2 official met executives on the sidelines of the CDF, although Xi broke precedent last year to meet a group of US businesspeople.

Republican Senator Steve Daines, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, met with several Chinese leaders including Premier Li earlier this week, in what has been seen as an initial step to set up a summit between Xi and Trump.

Several US firms have already been caught in the crossfire of deteriorating bilateral relations. Chinese authorities summoned Walmart Inc. executives this month over reports it asked suppliers to bear rising costs incurred by increased US tariffs. Beijing earlier placed Calvin Klein owner PVH Corp. and US gene sequencing company Illumina Inc. onto a so-called blacklist of entities as US tariffs took effect.