#Xi Jinping pledges Chinese business reforms to global CEOs

Chinese President Xi Jinping tried to assure CEOs that he is committed to supporting foreign companies as the Trump administration works to crimp China’s role in global commerce.

In a Wednesday letter to the Global CEO Council, Xi pledged that Beijing will continue reform efforts to “provide a better business environment for the investment and development of Chinese and foreign enterprises,” according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.

“China will foster new opportunities and create new prospects for Chinese and foreign enterprises,” Xi told the executives, adding that they “have made the right choice to stay rooted in China,” Xinhua reported Thursday.

Xi was responding to a letter from 18 members of the multinational business leader group in which they offered suggestions for Chinese economic development and foreign relations amid the coronavirus pandemic that hammered the nation’s economy, according to Xinhua.

Xi’s statement came as the US stepped up pressure against dealing with Chinese companies while reportedly pushing firms in other countries to weaken their business ties with China amid growing political and economic tensions between Washington and Beijing.

The Trump administration has pressed American companies to extract their supply chains from China, and Trump signed a law this week to sanction Chinese officials who crack down on protests in Hong Kong.

The UK also banned Chinese tech giant Huawei from its 5G wireless network this week after US officials raised national security concerns about the company’s technology.

With Post wires