Exclusive-China’s Xi to bring large CEO delegation on US visit, sources say

By Laurie Chen and Eduardo Baptista

BEIJING, Sep 4 (Reuters) – President Xi Jinping is preparing a large business delegation to accompany him on his visit to Washington, two sources said, an unusual move given U.S. scepticism towards Chinese investment and Beijing’s strained ties with private enterprise.

Xi rarely travels abroad with corporate executives, many of whom fell out of favour after Beijing’s regulatory crackdowns on the technology, education and property sectors that began in 2020. 

The planned business delegation for the September 24 summit has not been previously reported. Reuters could not determine which executives would join the delegation.

The move is aimed in part at signalling China’s willingness to support investment and commercial ties with the U.S., while offering the White House some potential economic wins ahead of midterm elections, one of the sources familiar with discussions said.

Chinese companies have faced increasing scrutiny of their U.S. investments and business operations in recent years.

Washington has imposed a 100% tariff on imported Chinese EVs, banned foreign drone, router and robot imports, and forced the divestiture of TikTok’s U.S. operations. It also placed major Chinese tech firms on the Entity List of firms or organisations deemed a threat to national security and on a Pentagon blacklist.

Xi last brought a sizeable business contingent to the U.S. in 2015, including Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Tencent founder Pony Ma, and executives from Chinese banks and state-owned firms. 

During that visit, China signed a $38 billion agreement for 300 Boeing aircraft and Xi met U.S. technology executives including Apple’s Tim Cook, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

By contrast, U.S. President Donald Trump has travelled to China with large delegations of American executives, including on visits in 2017 and May this year, seeking greater access to Chinese markets.

LARGE US BUSINESS DELEGATION VISITED BEIJING

Trump took 18 American executives, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Elon Musk, to China in May, the sources said.    

“My sense is that the Chinese… are going to be more intentional about the role of these business people in having them join the delegation,” said Scott Kennedy, a Chinese business expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The participation of executives could prove “really valuable,” he said.

Kennedy contrasted the Chinese approach with the organisation of the U.S. delegation in May, which he said was assembled at short notice and whose executives were “more wallflowers than serious participants.” 

The U.S. Treasury, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the State Department did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. China’s foreign and commerce ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

SYMBOLIC SUMMIT

The two nations announced formal mechanisms to manage trade and investment ties in May; however three separate sources briefed on the matter said the Board of Investment is unlikely to produce significant deliverables at the summit because of the challenging U.S. environment for Chinese investment.

Expectations for the summit remain modest, with limited prospects for major breakthroughs, the sources said.

   Beijing and Washington also remain divided over which products should qualify as “non-sensitive” under the Board of Trade, the three sources said.

About 10 categories of “non-sensitive” goods are being discussed for inclusion, but this could change closer to the summit, one of the sources said. 

BOARD OF TRADE

Reaching an agreement on the Board of Trade is one of the main U.S. priorities for the summit along with securing more rare earth export licenses for U.S. companies, the sources said. 

An unnamed U.S. official said the administration continues to press Chinese counterparts to address China’s lack of compliance with the agreement they announced in Busan in October that secured a one-year trade truce that paused some export controls and tariffs, as well as other bilateral concerns.

Beijing has pressed for further tariff relief. China’s commerce ministry said in July that both sides were exploring reciprocal tariff reductions covering $30 billion worth of products.    

While the U.S. Supreme Court in February struck down China-related tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Washington subsequently introduced a 10% global import tariff.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Thursday that both countries will make “some ‌announcements on agriculture and non-tariff barriers” during the summit, without providing specifics.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Greer and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will meet in early September to discuss summit deliverables, four sources told Reuters. Reuters could not determine the exact date or location of the talks. 

(Reporting by Laurie Chen and Eduardo Baptista in Beijing; Additional reporting by Joe Cash; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Sharon Singleton)