(March 17): Global chief executive officers including Qualcomm Inc’s Cristiano Amon and Saudi Aramco’s Amin Nasser will travel to Beijing for an annual gathering of top executives, people familiar with the matter have said, with some expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top leaders. 

Plans are being made for the CEOs to meet Xi on March 28, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing the sensitive issue. They added that the details are subject to change. 

Figures who have attended the China Development Forum (CDF) in the past, such as Blackstone Inc’s Steve Schwarzman, Albert Bourla of Pfizer Inc and FedEx Corp’s Rajesh Subramaniam are expected to attend again this year, according to the people. The event runs from March 23 to 24.

Republican Senator Steve Daines, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, is expected to meet with a senior Chinese leader and representatives of US business on Saturday, some of the people said. Daines said on social media that one of the issues he would raise is the “the flow of deadly fentanyl into our country” — a problem US President Donald Trump has cited for levying tariffs on the Asian nation.

The Financial Times first reported Daines’s visit and a potential meeting between Xi and the CEOs. CDF organisers said a list of attendees for this year’s forum will be released later this week. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it had no information to offer on the reported meeting with Xi during a regular press conference on Monday.

Also, a preliminary agenda for the forum shows Mike Henry of BHP Group Ltd, Stéphane de La Faverie of Estée Lauder Cos, Pascal Soriot of AstraZeneca plc, and Laurent Freixe of Nestlé SA among the attendees, according to a separate person familiar with the matter.

China’s planned interaction with the top business figures underscores the message it’s been sending that the nation is open for business — contrasting itself with Trump’s more protectionist “America First” policies. Beijing is also trying to cast itself as a supporter of private enterprise, illustrated by Xi’s high-profile meeting last month with entrepreneurs like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd co-founder Jack Ma.

Xi is trying to reverse foreign investment outflows and persistent economic weakness. His government’s goal of economic output expanding by about 5% this year could be imperiled by further tariffs from Trump, levies that may require Beijing to unleash large-scale stimulus it has so far avoided. 

China’s retaliatory tariffs on a range of US goods took effect last week, touching commodities from beef and poultry to grains. High-level talks between the two sides appeared to be at an impasse, with officials talking past each other and failing to agree on the best way forward.

Officials in Beijing have said the US hasn’t outlined detailed steps they expect from China on fentanyl to have the tariffs lifted. Trump’s team rejects that, pointing to messages the White House has sent through diplomats in Washington.

The CDF started in 2000 with the backing of then-premier Zhu Rongji, serving as a platform for high-level dialogue between China and the world. Some of the CEOs will likely also attend the Boao Forum for Asia in the southern province of Hainan, which runs from March 25 to 28. And the HSBC Global Investment Summit in Hong Kong takes place on March 25 to 27. 

A small group of American business leaders met Xi last year after a last-minute invite. That meeting lasted more than 90 minutes, with delegates apparently asking questions and Xi answering them. Xi said then he didn’t see the need for Washington and Beijing to decouple, and that he wants American businesses to invest in China.

Before the pandemic, Xi held more regular gatherings with executives at events such as Boao. 

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