Apple CEO Cook (right) speaks when discussing carbon neutrality with Bai Chongen, Dean of Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management, at the China Development Forum on March 24, 2024.
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BEIJING — U.S. business leaders met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, the latest step by Beijing to boost foreign investment in the country amid tensions with the United States.
black stone Founder Stephen Schwarzman, Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon, Bloomberg Chairman Mark Carney and fedex President Rajesh Subramaniam was also among the attendees, according to state media.
The companies did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
earlier reports These meetings were said to be a follow-up to President Xi Jinping’s meeting with U.S. President Biden and the dinner he had with U.S. business executives in San Francisco in November.
Senior executives and others from major international companies are in Beijing this week for the annual China Development Forum (CDF), which runs from Sunday to Monday.
Senior executives from multinational companies typically attend the state-organized forum, which has been billed as “the first major national-level international conference” since China’s annual two sessions in early March.
This year’s forum was held in conjunction with other events to attract foreign businesses. Chinese authorities hosted the Invest in China Summit and formally relaxed once-strict data export requirements.
The State Internet Information Office officially released the The long-awaited new rules Eliminate government oversight of overseas information sharing if regulatory agencies do not classify overseas information sharing as “important data.” These rules are effective immediately.
What we’re facing is business in trouble because the United States is more involved in business than I can remember.
Carlos Gutierrez
Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce
“This is an important step forward in transparency and our member companies now have more clarity as they seek to comply with these rules,” American Chamber of Commerce in China President Sean Stein said in a statement.
“Notably, these changes strengthen the role of industry-specific regulators to determine what data should be considered material in their industry,” he said, “and also assume that data is not material unless explicitly stated to be so.”
However, a combination of factors such as geopolitical tensions, regulatory uncertainty and slowing economic growth have made foreign companies in China face greater challenges.
“Our businesses are in trouble because the United States is more involved in commerce than I can remember,” former U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Wednesday. “
“We are in a period of confusion among different ideologies,” Gutierrez said. “We will get through this. Nothing lasts forever and the final numbers will show that globalization is better than autarky or nationalism. pattern. But unfortunately, we’re at that moment and we’re going to be for a while.”
Biden, who is running for re-election in November, has issued incentives to boost U.S. industry, and his administration has also used export controls to restrict U.S. companies from selling advanced semiconductor technology to China.
… Foreign companies, like many industries within China, lack confidence and are worried about an uncertain future.
Scott Kennedy
Center for Strategic and International Studies
In order to help foreign companies better explore the Chinese market, Peter Bachmann, former executive director of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in China, proposed setting up dedicated senior managers at the company’s global headquarters.
“We now have to deal with problems on two different levels. One is the business level and the other is the political level. Before it was just the business level,” said Bachmann, a long-time resident of Shanghai. University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW).
He said that this is the so-called “Chief China Officer”, whose work includes helping headquarters better understand China and bridging the gap between headquarters and China leadership teams.
Seeking economic clarity
China’s near-term growth prospects are another factor for companies considering investment plans in China.
“The U.S. business delegation (to CDF) was much larger than last year, and conference organizers gave them a more visible platform, and they took advantage of the opportunity,” said Scott Kennedy, senior advisor to China Enterprises and chairman of the trustees. Speak up.” Economics and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
“The Chinese party-state is trying to send a clear signal that foreign companies are welcome, but foreign companies, like many domestic industries in China, lack confidence and are worried about an uncertain future,” Kennedy said.
The Chinese government announced at this month’s National People’s Congress The country’s growth target is about 5%.
Several analysts said such a target was ambitious given the level of stimulus announced so far and the drag on the massive housing sector. Senior government officials told a parliamentary session that Beijing could increase support, without elaborating.
Stephen S. Roach, senior fellow at the Tsai Ing-wen China Center at Yale Law School, said this year’s China development table “offers no new insights into the challenges China faces nor any new policy remedies it is considering.” ”.
Instead, the forum focused more on what was already shared at the council meeting earlier this month, Roach said. He said he has participated in the CDF every year except for the first time in 2000.
“To me, this seems more like a placeholder for the upcoming Third Plenary Session of the Party Central Committee to provide stronger hints for any new reforms or policy strategies,” Roach said.
China’s ruling Communist Party usually holds the “Third Plenary Session” every five years to discuss long-term economic issues. The conference has been widely anticipated since it was expected to take place late last year.
non-U.S. foreign investment
Official data shows that China’s foreign direct investment will fall to a three-year low in 2023. China has stepped up efforts to attract foreign investment since it eased border controls during the epidemic early last year.
The Ministry of Commerce and Beijing held the first “Invest in China Summit” on Tuesday, with about 140 business representatives in attendance.
“Investing in China means investing in the future,” Chinese Vice President Han Zheng declared in his opening speech, according to CNBC’s Mandarin translation. He emphasized China’s large market and industrial supply chain, and pointed out China’s work on issues such as data export and equal market treatment for foreign businessmen.
Although the United States and European companies face greater geopolitical considerations when doing business in China, and Middle Eastern capital has been eyeing it.
“When it comes to opportunities for Saudi Aramco and China to work together, the bottom line is that the sky is the limit!” Amin H. Nasser, President and CEO of the Saudi energy giant said in a speech on Tuesday at the Invest in China Summit.
He noted that Aramco and its chemicals subsidiary SABIC struck more than $20 billion in chemicals investment deals in China last year.Nasser also said venture capital was a “strategic area of cooperation,” noting how Saudi Aramco in January Its venture capital arm more than doubled its funding to $7.5 billion.
Toyoki Oka, secretary-general of the Japan-China Investment Promotion Agency, said during the summit that Japanese companies are also looking for investment opportunities in China’s robotics, factory automation and automobile industries this year. He said such investments would be used for sales to China and eventually exports to Southeast Asia.
—CNBC’s Eunice Yoon contributed to this report.
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