China's Clout Undimmed as U.S. Companies Line Up to Meet Xi Jinping.

Maybe the U.S. and China need each other after all.

For all the trade tensions, tit-for-tat restrictions, spy balloon allegations, and more, Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived on U.S. soil and business leaders are flocking to meet him.

After a face-to-face meeting between Xi and President Biden Wednesday, their first in a year, China’s leader will have dinner with some of America’s top executives at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in San Francisco.

While the guest list remains top secret,
Microsoft
(ticker: MSFT) CEO Satya Nadella,
Tesla’s
(TSLA) Elon Musk,
Citigroup’s
(C) Jane Fraser, and
Exxon Mobil
‘s (XOM) Darren Woods are all expected to attend the summit, according to the agenda. A number of executives have been invited to the dinner, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the plans, and companies are scrambling for a seat.

A
Citigroup
spokesperson told Barron’s that Fraser is scheduled to give remarks at the summit Thursday, but declined to comment on whether she would be attending the dinner.

Tesla,

Microsoft,
and
Exxon Mobil
didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Businesses can buy eight seats at a table, and one seat at Xi’s table for $40,000, the New York Times reported.

Despite the geopolitical tensions, Xi is clearly a big draw for U.S. businesses. But it’s a two-way street. Xi’s first visit to the U.S. since 2017 and his efforts to court American business investment is a product of necessity over anything else.

China recorded its first ever foreign direct investment deficit–of $11.8 billion–in the third quarter of 2023, as more money from foreign investors left the country than came in. Goldman Sachs analysts put it down to multinational companies repatriating earnings.

It’s not a good sign for China’s economic prospects. Xi clearly wants to rectify that and make the case for U.S. businesses to reinvest in the world’s second-largest economy.

He’s likely to have an eager audience.

Write to Callum Keown at [email protected]

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