As United States President Donald Trump showered praise on his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday, the CEOs of several US aviation, commodities, technology, and finance conglomerates looked to advance their business interests by meeting the heads of powerful Chinese regulators and ministries.
These include GE Aerospace, Boeing, Qualcomm, Cargill, Visa, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup, who held talks with the leading officials of Chinese government agencies such as the commerce ministry, state planner, securities regulator, and central bank, according to official government statements and state-backed media reports published on Friday and Saturday.
The US executives travelled to Beijing as part of the business delegation Trump brought to China. They stood behind Trump’s cabinet on Thursday morning as they were each introduced to Xi, and later in the evening mingled with Chinese officials and businesspeople at a state banquet.
The executives are hoping the political goodwill generated by the bonhomie between the two leaders can trickle down to China’s bureaucratic apparatus and unlock regulatory approvals, lucrative purchase deals, and even solve thorny issues in the world’s second-largest economy.
The corporate diplomacy push came as analysts questioned the effectiveness of Trump’s strategy to woo Xi into opening up China for US companies, as he seemingly left Beijing with far fewer trade and investment deals than in 2017.
“The summit served as a crucial window for attending US CEOs to reinforce corporate diplomacy and directly position their strategic asks with top Chinese authorities,” said Alfredo Montufar-Helu, a Beijing-based managing director at Ankura China Advisers.
Post-summit meetings in Beijing
The chairman of China’s securities regulator and Beijing’s party secretary held talks with Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser in China and discussed enhancing cooperation in wealth management and cross-border financing, state-backed media said on Saturday.
Beijing Party Secretary Yin Li said China welcomed Citigroup to expand its business further and help attract more international companies and investment to the country, the state-backed Beijing Youth Daily reported.
Wu Qing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), also met Fraser, the regulatory body said in a statement. The two exchanged views on issues including the global economic and financial environment and the opening up of China’s capital markets.
Citi has been trying to deepen its onshore China capital markets presence after exiting a joint venture and applying in 2023 to set up a wholly owned securities brokerage firm, which is still awaiting regulatory approval.
Separately, the vice governor of the People’s Bank of China and the director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange met with David Solomon, chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, the foreign-exchange regulator said in a statement.
Meanwhile, China’s commerce minister Wang Wentao met with Visa’s Ryan McInerney, Cargill’s Brian Sikes, and Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon, though details about the discussions were not disclosed in official Chinese communication.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, known for engaging with locals on overseas business trips, strolled around central Beijing on Friday, trying local food and taking pictures with scores of fans.
After leaving Beijing on Friday, Trump told reporters on board Air Force One that China had agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets and 400-450 GE Aerospace engines, with a potential for the order to rise to as many as 750 planes. The orders, if finalised, would mark Boeing’s first major Chinese deal in nearly a decade.
As Trump and Xi exchanged pleasantries over tea at the Chinese leader’s Zhongnanhai residence, the CEOs of Boeing and GE Aerospace met with the heads of China’s state planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), in a move analysts said was likely aimed at securing a delivery timeline for the jet and engine purchase orders.
