Spy balloons over the American midwest, warnings from Beijing of a clash if Washington “doesn’t hit the brakes” and intense congressional scrutiny of investment in China — there could hardly be a less auspicious time for US business to attend Beijing’s flagship investment conference.
But this weekend, former secretary of state Henry Kissinger, investor Ray Dalio and American business chiefs including Jon Moeller of Procter & Gamble will head to Beijing for what has been billed as an opening-up party after three years of a strict zero-Covid policy.
Many of the business figures attending the China Development Forum will be seeing their mainland operations and meeting Beijing officials for the first time in three years. But while the Davos-like event is focused on “opportunities and co-operation” as the Chinese economy rebounds from the pandemic, the headwinds facing US business interests in China are also coming from Washington.