Sébastien Le Belzic (in Beijing), edited by Alexandre Dalifard
It is in a way Beijing’s response to the Davos forum. The China Economic Forum, held in Beijing this weekend, rolled out the red carpet to a large delegation of big bosses, including Americans like Apple CEO Tim Cook. Objective: to seduce multinationals.
Like a pop star Tim Cook toured his stores in Beijing. On Saturday, the Apple boss traveled to China to attend the China Development Forum, a Chinese state-sponsored event attended by senior government officials and personalities from the business sector. Tim Cook is part of a large delegation of American CEOs including that of Pfizer and Blackrock invited to the major economic forum. Objective for Beijing: to seduce multinationals frightened by three years of pandemic and the trade war with Washington.
“At the origin of about a quarter of global growth”
The director of the American firm Boston Consulting Group is rather confident. “We have seen a return of momentum, of demand, of factories producing more and more. I am therefore convinced that China will return to growth of 5% and that it will thus be the source of approximately a quarter of global growth,” he said.
China is making soft eyes at Americans while at the same time the American authorities are hunting down Chinese companies like TikTok, the social network which could be completely banned in the United States. American companies are afraid of bearing the brunt of this battle. This is particularly crucial for Apple, which sells 20% of its products in China.