Xi Jinping meets with American executives to boost investments in China

The president of China, Xi Jinping, met this Wednesday with several senior North American executives to promote foreign investments despite his country's strict economic interventionism.

Some of those present at the meeting included Bloomberg President Mark Carney, FedEx President Rajesh Subramaniam, Blackstone founder Stephen Schwarzman and the President and CEO of Qualcomm Cristiano Amon, together with a group of North American academics. Apple CEO Tim Cook was also in China, although his attendance with the Chinese leader was not confirmed.

The meeting was held in the Great Hall of the People, a building located on the west side of Tiananmen Square (Beijing), as reported by NBC News based on information from Chinese state media. The Chinese leader said that his country's economy is "healthy and sustainable."

Objective: Boost foreign investment despite tensions with the U.S.

A few days ago, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced that foreign investment plummeted by almost 20% between January and February 2024, resulting in a a $30 billion decrease. This is an 8% drop compared to the previous year. Xi Jinping hoped that meeting with potential North American investors would be a step in the right direction to improve some of these figures.

Nevertheless, Xi Jinping is dealing with strong tensions between China and the United States, which weakens North American companies' interest in investing in his country.