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Kandy Wong

A group of heavyweight US executives will head to Beijing next week, hoping to meet with Chinese officials to obtain first-hand insight following the conclusion of China’s widely-watched third plenum, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The visit will be arranged by the US-China Business Council (USCBC), a Washington-based advocacy group.
It will be led by council president Craig Allen and board chair Raj Subramaniam, CEO of FedEx Corporation.
Companies included on the list for the visit are Goldman Sachs, Starbucks, Honeywell, UnitedHealth, Nike and Qualcomm, all of which have a huge business presence in China.
“The group is hoping to meet with top Chinese leaders, such as foreign minister Wang Yi and the minister of commerce, Wang Wentao,” said one source.
The exact schedule is yet to be confirmed, according to the source, as the closed-door third plenum started on Monday, and is set to last four days, while details of the trip are also subject to change.
The business leaders I talk to expect to see some reforms emerging from this year’s third plenum
Alfredo Montufar-Helu, The Conference Board
The USCBC did not reply to an emailed request for comment.
Domestic entrepreneurs, China watchers and the overseas business community have been paying close attention to China’s economy-centric third plenum, as it is set to chart the country’s medium and long-term growth path, including how to address financial risks, boost tech innovation, revive consumer confidence and widen market access.
Foreign business leaders have seldom made such high-level visits to the Chinese capital right after China’s twice-a-decade third plenum, although the annual China Development Forum provided a window for foreign business leaders to hear from officials and share their thoughts after the “two sessions” parliamentary meetings in March.
Under the goal of building a high-standard socialist market economy by 2035, an official document is expected to be released after the third plenum to detail Beijing’s road map, which will greatly impact foreign businesses in China, prospective investors and exporters.
“The business leaders I talk to expect to see some reforms emerging from this year’s third plenum,” said Alfredo Montufar-Helu, head of the China Centre for Economics and Business at The Conference Board.
“The question is whether these reforms will be robust, targeted and ample enough to address the structural imbalances that underpin the persistent weakness that we are seeing in consumer confidence, and which led to weaker and downgrading consumption, intense price-based competition from local firms and downward pressures on profits.”


The USCBC represents more than 270 American companies that conduct business in China.
It has frequent interactions with Chinese officials despite US decoupling attempts in recent years, including co-hosting a dinner reception to welcome President Xi Jinping to San Francisco in November.
The council will hold its closed-door annual flagship event, the China Operations Conference, in Beijing on July 26, which is mainly set for discussions related to China’s macroeconomic and business environment, according to information disclosed on its official website.
Chinese authorities have rolled out the red carpet for foreign investors, promising to widen market access and provide equal treatment, but such promises are often met with suspicions.
Foreign direct investment dropped by 28.2 per cent year on year in yuan terms in the first five months of this year, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce.
For my business, we still rely heavily on products that are made in China
Dan Digre, Misco
Jonathan Garrison, founder of Beijing-based trade, logistics and merchant services company EnRoute Global, said the “confidence” of foreign investors was a critical factor when investing in the Chinese market.
He added that “the list of priorities” for companies in the next 12 months or “whatever time frame they’re putting on” is much less important than the “overall climate” and that climate “going from investment to domestic consumption”.
Dan Digre, president of Misco, an American designer and manufacturer of audio speakers in Minnesota, said that it was important for the US and China to maintain a good relationship from an economic standpoint.
“For my business, we still rely heavily on products that are made in China,” he said, adding that the problem of the US’ relationship with China was “driven by politics”.
“Reaching out to the Chinese might make the current administration look like they’re trying to make a deal”, at a time no US presidential candidate would want to look “weak”, he added.


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US-China Business Council (USCBC) president Craig Allen. Photo: Kaveh Sardari

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China’s third plenum, scheduled for this week and historically an event where major economic reforms are announced, has drawn a flurry of questions over what can be expected. Photo: Reuters

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Companies including Goldman Sachs, Starbucks, Nike and Qualcomm are on the list to head to China next week following the conclusion of the third plenum


Companies including Goldman Sachs, Starbucks, Nike and Qualcomm are on the list to head to Beijing next week following the conclusion of China’s third plenum.


Exclusive | China’s third plenum: US executives eye first-hand insights from economy-centric conclave

Companies including Goldman Sachs, Starbucks, Nike and Qualcomm are on the list to head to China next week following the conclusion of the third plenum