Which American CEOs did Xi Jinping meet in Beijing? UPS, Pfizer, Goldman all on the list
Photos shed light on who the Chinese president was addressing when he called for multinationals to fight ‘protectionism’, as trade war with Washington looms
American executives from the likes of UPS, Pfizer, Cargill, Prologis and Goldman Sachs were at a gathering in Beijing when President Xi Jinping called for multinationals to help fight “protectionism” and told them China would remain open for business, according to images in state media reports and on social media.
US business delegates at the Global CEO Council round-table summit on Thursday included David Abney of UPS, Pfizer’s Albert Bourla, Arnold Donald from Carnival, Cargill’s David MacLennan, Hamid Moghadam of Prologis, Thomas Pritzker of Hyatt and David Solomon from Goldman Sachs, the photographs showed.
Official media did not provide a full list of foreign executives at the summit, which was held at the Diaoyutai State Guest House.
The CEO council was set up in 2013 by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, one of Beijing’s diplomatic arms, to improve the government’s ties with multinationals.
Xi met the executives as a trade war brews between the world’s two biggest economies, after US President Donald Trump escalated the dispute this week by threatening to impose 10 per cent tariffs on another US$200 billion worth of Chinese products.