CEOs of American corporations make pilgrimages to China. There is a strange silence around the visits

After they ended the “zero covid” policy and opened the border after three years, presidents of American companies began to fly to the country. , but the Middle Kingdom has already visited, among others, Tim Cook from Apple, David Solomon from JP Morgan, Patrick Gelsinger from Intel, Mary Barra from General Motors, Stephen Schwarzman from Blackstone and Jamie Dimon from JP Morgan –

Discreet visits to China by the presidents of American corporations

However, the trips of American CEOs to China have one puzzling thing in common. The point is that they avoid publicly speaking about it. These visits pass mainly during meetings with government officials, employees in Chinese subsidiaries and with business partners. Before they were accompanied by cameras, and now even – known for his great exuberance on Twitter – refrains from entries. For example, he did not comment on his recent trip to the Middle Kingdom. Similarly, David Solomon, who during his earlier visits to the Asian country gave interviews and participated in debates. This time, however, most of his meetings in China were held behind closed doors.

Such a strategy may result from the worst relations between China and China in many decades. Joe Biden announced a thaw in relations between the two countries, but this year they have rather deteriorated. This was influenced, among others, by the imposition of restrictions on the export of semiconductors and further concerns about data security.

China talks about vote of confidence from corporations

The CEOs of American corporations are at a crossroads and do not know what they can afford, because Xi Jinping focused on national security after China recently started having problems with consulting companies and dealing with due diligence procedures.

Noah Fraser, managing director at Canada China Business Council, believes that American companies are no longer looking for opportunities for further development and investment in the Middle Kingdom. Instead, they must focus on maintaining the current relationship. So they keep their heads low, avoid public appearances, and try to get a sense of where they stand in private meetings.

They are also trying to figure out how to work with Chinese government officials. In addition, they avoid speaking to the press so as not to have to comment on relations between Beijing and Washington. The Chinese justice minister believes that the numerous visits of American presidents are a “vote of confidence” for the economy of the Middle Kingdom. He also explained that they were carried out in discretion due to “improper policy of the US government”.

The U.S. Department of Commerce, JP Morgan, Blackstone and Goldman Sachs declined to comment on the case. Tesla, on the other hand, did not respond to Reuters’ questions at all, as did , General Motors and Intel.