A group of chief executive officers of American corporations are in Beijing this week to meet with China's Premier Li Keqiang, as the simmering trade war ensnares companies from both countries.
The heads of chemical giant Dow Inc., United Parcel Service Inc., drugmaker Pfizer Inc., Hyatt Hotels Corp., property developer Prologis Inc. and Honeywell International Inc. met with Li at Beijing's Great Hall of the People -- home to the nation's legislature -- on Thursday, according to a statement released by the Chinese government. Also at the meeting were 13 other global business leaders, including the heads of Volkswagen AG, Australian miner BHP Group and Nokia OYJ.
The visit comes as the geopolitical tensions between the two powers enter a new phase. Since trade talks broke off in May, U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered additional tariffs on Chinese goods, blocked local champion Huawei Technologies Co., and threatened to widen a ban on Chinese video-surveillance-technology companies. Meanwhile, Beijing has clamped down on American corporations from Ford Motor Co. to FedEx Corp. and said it will create a blacklist of foreign firms that damage their Chinese counterparts.
At the meeting, Li promised to open up more sectors of China's economy to foreign investment, noting that the firms in attendance had both contributed to China's economic development and profited from the local market.
The premier also reminded the companies of the scale of China's consumer market and in an oblique reference to the country's dominant position in the production of many goods, asked them to consider the current uncertainties over trade from the perspective of the global industrial supply chain.
The CEOs are in the Chinese capital at a key moment, a week before Trump and China's President Xi Jinping are set to meet on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Japan. Trump said Tuesday that he had a "very good" phone conversation with Xi, and will hold an "extended meeting" with him in Osaka, triggering a rally in financial markets.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Wednesday that he'll speak with his Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier Liu He, this week to prepare for the meeting between the two countries' presidents.
The company chieftains' visit was scheduled ahead of time and isn't necessarily a response to the tensions between the U.S. and China over trade, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg ahead of the meeting. Speaking on behalf of the group -- which had photos taken with Li afterward -- Jean-Pascal Tricoire, chairman and CEO of France's Schneider Electric SE, stressed the contribution the companies in the room have made to China.
"We all employ and train people in China," he said. "We all innovate in China."
Becoming collateral damage in a geopolitical dispute is a perennial risk for foreign companies in the world's second-largest economy. South Korean firms learned that in 2017, after their government agreed to allow the U.S. to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile-defense system -- intended to safeguard against attacks by North Korea -- over Chinese objections.
Brands from Hyundai Motor Co. to Amorepacific Corp. saw sales plunge amid boycotts, K-pop performances were canceled and retail conglomerate Lotte Shopping Co. was forced to largely wind down its Chinese business after allowing one of its golf courses to be used for the missile-defense battery.
Some U.S. companies have started to explore alternatives to China. Alphabet Inc.'s Google is moving some production of Nest thermostats and server hardware out of China, avoiding punitive U.S. tariffs and an increasingly hostile government in Beijing, people familiar with the matter said this month. Others, including Mattel Corp. and several solar-panel makers, moved some of their manufacturing to Mexico.
Also Thursday, China warned that threats and tariffs will not resolve trade tensions between the two biggest economies and blasted Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida for his criticism of technology giant Huawei over patents.
Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said its "core concern" over mutual respect has to be properly accommodated.
"If the U.S. insists on taking unilateral trade measures against China, it will definitely bring serious impacts on the economy of itself and the welfare of its people," Gao said in a routine briefing.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Huawei is asking U.S. phone carrier Verizon to pay licensing fees for more than 200 of its patents. While Huawei declined to comment on the matter, company spokesman Joe Kelly said it will hold a briefing later this month on being more aggressive about collecting intellectual property licensing fees.
Rubio filed an amendment to the U.S. defense authorization bill this week that would prevent Huawei and other companies on security watch lists from pursuing damages in U.S. patent courts. That followed a move by Huawei to seek $1 billion in damages it says it is owed in unpaid patent licensing fees, reports said.
Information for this article was contributed by staff members of Bloomberg News and by staff members of The Associated Press.
Business on 06/21/2019