China's President Xi Jinping meets US executives, academics in Beijing

China's President Xi Jinping met with US executives and academics at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday, state media reported, following on from a November dinner with US executives in San Francisco.
 

The meeting began at 11 a.m. (0300 GMT) following the taking of a group photo, the report said. An accompanying video showed the attendees would be sat in a square formation, with the two fully visible sides both set out with seven seats each.
 

A large red, orange and green floral installation sits in between the four tables, the video showed, in a room in the Great Hall of the People reserved for important functions.
 

 

The chief executive of US insurer Chubb, Evan Greenberg, Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on US -China Relations, and Craig Allen, president of the US -China Business Council are among those attending the meeting, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
 

The audience with Xi follows Chinese Premier Li Qiang not meeting visiting foreign CEOs at the China Development Forum in Beijing on March 24-25, which prompted concerns over transparency in the world's second-largest economy.
 

The chance to exchange views with Beijing's second-ranking leader had become a key element of the summit in previous years.
 

Foreign businesses have been trying to reconcile Chinese leaders' public overtures towards overseas investment with the rolling out of a broader anti-espionage law, raids on consultancies and due diligence firms, and exit bans.
 

Xi received a standing ovation when he dined with US executives at a dinner hosted by the US -China Business Council and the National Committee on US -China Relations in November.

Restricting technology access won’t stop China: Xi to Dutch PM

Chinese President Xi Jinping told visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Wednesday that attempts to restrict China’s access to technology will not stop the country’s advance. The Netherlands imposed export licensing requirements in 2023 on the sale of machinery that can make advanced processor chips. The move came after the United States blocked Chinese access to advanced chips and the equipment to make them, citing security concerns, and urged its allies to follow suit.

An online report from state broadcaster CCTV did not mention the chip machinery, but quoted Xi as saying that the creation of scientific and technological barriers and the fragmentation of the industrial and supply chains will lead to division and confrontation.Rutte and Trade Minister Geoffrey van Leeuwen were also expected to discuss the wars in Ukraine and Gaza during meetings with Xi.  AP


Country Garden hires Kroll to carry out liquidation analysis

Country Garden has hired Kroll to carry out a liquidation analysis ahead of a court hearing in mid-May, according to three sources, as the embattled Chinese developer pushes ahead with its offshore debt restructuring plan.
 

China's biggest private developer is facing a liquidation petition for non-payment of a $205 million loan, with a court hearing in the case set for May 17.
 

Companies that are restructuring their debt normally conduct an independent liquidation analysis to assess potential recovery rates for creditors that they can present in court, legal experts said. Peer China Evergrande had picked Deloitte for a liquidation analysis, before a court ordered its winding up in January. Reuters