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BEIJING: President Xi Jinping is preparing a large business delegation to accompany him on his visit to Washington, two \u200bsources said, an unusual move given U.S. scepticism towards Chinese investment and Beijing\u2019s strained ties with private enterprise.<\/strong><\/p>\n Xi rarely travels abroad with corporate executives, many of \u200cwhom fell out of favour after Beijing\u2019s regulatory crackdowns on the technology, education and property sectors that began in 2020.<\/p>\n The planned business delegation for the September 24 summit has not been previously reported. Reuters could not determine which executives would join the delegation.<\/p>\n The move is aimed in part at signalling China\u2019s willingness to support investment and commercial ties with the U.S., while offering the White House some potential economic wins ahead of midterm \u200belections, one of the sources familiar with discussions said.<\/p>\n Chinese companies have faced increasing scrutiny of their U.S. investments and business operations in recent years. It also placed major \u2060Chinese tech firms on the Entity List of firms or organisations deemed a threat to national security and on a Pentagon blacklist.<\/p>\n Xi last brought a sizeable business contingent to the U.S. \u200bin 2015, including Alibaba (9988.HK), opens new tab founder Jack Ma, Tencent (0700.HK), opens new tab founder Pony Ma, and executives from Chinese banks and state-owned firms.<\/p>\n During that visit, China signed a $38 billion agreement for 300 Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab aircraft and Xi \u200bmet U.S. technology executives including Apple\u2019s (AAPL.O), opens new tab Tim Cook, Meta\u2019s (META.O), opens new tab Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab founder Jeff Bezos.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n LARGE US BUSINESS DELEGATION VISITED BEIJING<\/strong><\/p>\n Trump took 18 American executives, including Nvidia\u00a0 CEO Jensen Huang and Elon Musk, to China in May, the sources said.<\/p>\n \u201cMy sense is that the \u200bChinese\u2026 are going to be more intentional about the role of these business people in having them join the delegation,\u201d said Scott Kennedy, a Chinese business expert at the Center for \u200bStrategic and International Studies. 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 \u200cexecutives were \u201cmore \u2060wallflowers than serious participants.\u201d<\/p>\n The U.S. Treasury, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the State Department did not respond to Reuters\u2019 requests for comment. China\u2019s foreign and commerce ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n SYMBOLIC SUMMIT<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Expectations for the summit remain modest, with limited prospects for major breakthroughs, the sources said. About 10 categories of \u201cnon-sensitive\u201d goods are being discussed for inclusion, but this could change closer to the summit, one of the sources said.<\/p>\n BOARD OF TRADE<\/strong><\/p>\n Reaching an agreement on the Board of Trade is one of the main U.S. priorities for the summit along \u200bwith securing more rare earth export licenses for U.S. companies, the sources said.<\/p>\n An unnamed U.S. official said the administration continues to press Chinese \u200bcounterparts to address China\u2019s lack \u2060of 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.<\/p>\n Beijing has pressed for further tariff relief. China\u2019s commerce ministry said in July that both sides were exploring reciprocal tariff reductions covering $30 billion worth of products.<\/p>\n While the U.S. Supreme Court in February struck down China-related tariffs imposed under the \u2060International Emergency Economic \u200bPowers Act, Washington subsequently introduced a 10% global import tariff.<\/p>\n U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Thursday that both \u200bcountries will make \u201csome announcements on agriculture and non-tariff barriers\u201d during the summit, without providing specifics.<\/p>\n 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. \u200bReuters could not determine the exact date or location of the talks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Washington has imposed a 100% \u200btariff on imported Chinese EVs, banned foreign drone, router and robot imports, and forced the divestiture of TikTok\u2019s U.S. operations.<\/p>\n
The participation of executives could prove \u201creally valuable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Beijing \u200band Washington also remain divided over which \u200bproducts should qualify as \u201cnon-sensitive\u201d under the Board \u2060of Trade, the three sources said.<\/p>\n