On Wednesday, November 15, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a high-security dinner in San Francisco, where he addressed American executives from a number of prominent companies including Apple, BlackRock, and Pfizer. The event, which took place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, aimed to promote bilateral cooperation and reassure global business leaders amid China’s struggles to attract foreign investment.
Xi received a standing ovation as he entered the room. In his speech, he expressed China’s willingness to work together with the United States and rejected the idea of China being viewed as a threat. Xi’s address emphasized peaceful coexistence and reassured the audience that China would never pursue hegemony or expansion. He also conveyed China’s commitment to maintaining peaceful relations with the US despite political tensions.
Key individuals present at the dinner included prominent figures from U.S. corporate giants such as Tim Cook of Apple, Laurence Fink of BlackRock, and Elon Musk of Tesla. According to a statement from Tesla’s Weibo account, Xi expressed his support for the company’s operations in China during a meeting with Elon Musk.
Apart from promoting goodwill between China and the US, the high-security dinner generated some controversy due to the reported high costs of attendance. US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and other senior officials also attended the event. The controversy surrounding the event led to questions about the high ticket costs for companies seeking to participate in the dinner.
Despite Xi’s optimistic tone and promises of cooperation, many analysts doubt that his speech will substantially change U.S. business sentiments about China. However, some individuals present at the dinner, such as Gary Dvorchak, viewed Xi’s appearance as a strategic move to demonstrate his appeal to regular people and bypass the American media.
Overall, the high-security dinner was an opportunity for companies to engage with China’s leader amid economic challenges and geopolitical tensions between the US and China. As such, it is likely that discussions and debates around China-US relations will continue to evolve in both business and political spheres.