China Claims U.S. Executives Salute XI’s ‘Outstanding Leadership’ in Beijing
U.S. business executives met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday. China‘s state media outlet Xinhua reported that they included, “[Evan] Greenberg, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, [Stephen] Schwarzman, Chairman and CEO of Blackstone Group, [Cristiano] Amon, President and CEO of Qualcomm, [and Graham] Allison, Founding Dean of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.” U.S.-China Business Council chief Craig Allen and FedEx’s Raj Subramaniam also attended the meeting.
This meeting was designed to bolster China’s economic credibility and encourage foreign investors to believe that they’ll be treated fairly. These are no small concerns amid Xi’s increasingly aggressive effort to monitor and control foreign businesses. While China complains that Western criticism of these laws is unfair and even slanderous, escalating Chinese raids on foreign businesses speaks to the truth. Alongside their growing recognition of China’s structural economic challenges, Western businesses are reducing their investments. This is a big problem for Xi and his debt-riven economy.
Yet if one is to believe Chinese state media, U.S. executives have absolute confidence in Xi’s vision for the future.
According to Xinhua, after all, the U.S.-China Business Council’s “[Craig] Allen and other” members of the U.S. delegation observed that “China has achieved extraordinary economic growth and transformation, demonstrating strong resilience and vitality.” The Americans apparently added that “Under the outstanding leadership of President Xi Jinping, China is committed to developing new productive forces and achieving more sustainable and high-quality development. … The economic relations between the United States and China are closely interdependent. … They are optimistic about China’s economic development prospects and will unswervingly continue to work in China and develop a long-term and close cooperative relationship with China….” (Read more from “China Claims U.S. Executives Salute XI’s ‘Outstanding Leadership’ in Beijing” HERE)
