China’s Xi Meets With US CEOs, Including Blackstone’s Schwarzman, In Bid To Restore Confidence

China’s economy is plagued by many problems, including a real estate bust, deflation, debt troubles, demographic winter, foreign investor exodus, supply chain fracturing, deteriorating Sino-US ties, and much more.

In order to restore confidence, China’s President Xi Jinping met with more than a dozen American business leaders, including Blackstone Inc.’s Stephen Schwarzman and Qualcomm Inc.’s Cristiano Amon, according to Bloomberg. 

A person familiar with the discussions said Xi spoke with the US CEOs for over an hour and a half. The business leaders asked Xi a number of questions, which the Chinese president answered. Bloomberg’s source quoted Xi as saying there is no need for a ‘decoupling’ between Beijing and Washington. 

This meeting comes as foreign direct investments in China have tumbled in recent months, regulatory crackdowns continue, and questions swirl around the shape of the economic recovery if that’s a “V,” “U,” or “L.” 

State media outlet Xinhua noted the meeting was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi and the CEOs, along with Raj Subramaniam, chief executive officer of FedEx Corp., Evan Greenberg, CEO of the insurer Chubb Ltd., Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on US-China Relations, Craig Allen, president of the US-China Business Council, and Mark Carney, chairman of Bloomberg Inc., posed for a group photo. 

US-China ties have stabilized somewhat since President Biden held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the APEC forum in San Francisco in November. However, tensions have recently risen as Washington contemplates labeling Chinese electric vehicles as a “security risk” to Americans. 

Given the structural challenges in China’s economy, it’s difficult to know whether Xi’s move to shore up investor sentiment with American CEOs will work. The best sentiment gauge is watching the benchmark CSI 300 index, trending at lows not seen since 2019. 

The meeting seems to be a propaganda show.