Cooperation opportunities abound as top execs visit China again
Top business executives from a slew of global firms, including Apple, BMW, Qualcomm and Samsung, have been visiting China in recent days to attend the China Development Forum 2023, which closed in Beijing on Monday.
The event, with the theme of "Economic Recovery: Opportunities and Cooperation," is China's flagship investment conference held annually. It was held offline for the first time this year after the pandemic.
The business executives, including Apple chief executive Tim Cook, visited stores and factories, shared their visions at the forum and met with top government officials.
Their in-person visit is being regarded as recovered investment confidence in the Chinese market in the post-pandemic era, industry insiders said.
Apple's Tim Cook visited an Apple store in Beijing and posed with singer Huang Ling. It's "wonderful to see our amazing customers and teams," he said on Weibo.
During the forum, Cook praised China for its rapid innovation and booming supply chain and app store development, according to media reports.
On Monday, the American met the minister of the Ministry of Commerce Wang Wentao. Wang emphasized that China has steadfastly pushed forward a high level of opening up and is willing to provide a good environment and services for foreign-funded enterprises. The two sides exchanged views on Apple's development in China and the stabilization of the supply chain.
More than 100 overseas executives, including leaders from BMW, Bosch, Qualcomm, Samsung, and Siemens, attended the forum and shared their visions on economic development and cooperation.
Lee Jae-yong, executive chairman of Samsung, came to China for the first time in the last three years. Apart from attending the forum, he visited a Samsung factory in neighboring Tianjin City.
Cook visited Apple stores in Beijing to "see our amazing customers and teams," according to his Weibo account.
