By Laurie Chen
BEIJING (Reuters) – Dozens of foreign CEOs will visit Beijing this month for a flagship business conference and some will meet with President Xi Jinping, as China seeks to attract foreign investment to offset U.S. tariffs and sluggish domestic consumption.
The annual China Development Forum will take place March 23-24 at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, while the Xi meeting is scheduled for March 28, one source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Here are some of the top names attending, according to a full list of overseas delegates seen by Reuters. Unlike in previous years, Apple CEO Tim Cook does not appear.
U.S. FIRMS
In addition to the CEOs of Qualcomm, FedEx, Standard Chartered, Citadel, Bain and KPMG, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Blackstone’s CEO and co-founder Stephen Schwarzman, Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg and Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach are scheduled to attend. Greenberg, Schwarzman, Miebach and Bourla have attended the forum in previous years.
Notably, the CEOs of chipmaker Broadcom and chip designer Synopsys also appear on the list.
The CEOs of Brookfield Asset Management, investment fund Franklin Templeton and pharma giants Eli Lilly and Medtonic will also attend.
EUROPEAN FIRMS
Apart from executives at Siemens, Nestle, Deutsche Bank, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, CEOs of shipping firm Møller-Mærsk, Schneider Electric, Thyssenkrupp AG, Inter IKEA Group, Schaeffler Group, insurer Swiss Re and tech manufacturer ZF Group will be present.
Bosch chairman Stefan Hartung will also attend.
BANKS AND HEDGE FUNDS
The finance sector is strongly represented in this year’s attendees. HSBC Group Chief Executive Georges Elhedery is on the list, as well as BNP Paribas Chairman Jean Lemierre, Societe Generale Chairman Lorenzo Bini Smaghi and Nomura Holdings Chairman Koji Nagai.
From the insurance sector, notable names include Prudential CEO Anil Wadhwani and AIA Group CEO Yuan Siong Lee.
PHARMA GIANTS
Swiss pharma manufacturer Novartis CEO Vasant Narasimham and AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot will be present, according to the list. British healthcare giant GlaxoSmithKline will also send CEO Emma Walmsley.
CONSUMER, LUXURY, ENGINEERING
The CEOs of Unilever, Roland Berger, Hitachi and U.S. luxury fashion conglomerate Tapestry appear on the list. In addition to American chip firms, South Korean chip giant SK Hynix is sending its CEO Kwak Noh-Jung. Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer’s CEO Francisco Gomes Neto and Indian steelmaker Tata Sons Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran will also attend.
COMMODITIES
This year also marks a strong showing for mining firms, with the CEOs of Australian miner BHP, Anglo American, Brazil’s Vale SA and Fortescue on the list.
(Reporting by Laurie Chen; Editing by Kim Coghill)
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