Thought Leadership
Dozens of board members from global corporations have accepted an invitation from China to Beijing. There, the government is heavily promoting itself. But a major issue hovers over the meeting.
In view of growing trade tensions with the USA, China has promoted itself as a safe location at a meeting with dozens of corporate executives from Germany and around the world. Due to increasing economic fragmentation and uncertainty in the world, it is imperative for every country to open up its markets, said Premier Li Qiang in Beijing. “Decoupling and disrupting supply chains will only worsen the crisis,” he explained.
In front of board members such as Tim Cook (Apple), Roland Busch (Siemens), Oliver Zipse (BMW) and Ola Källenius (Mercedes-Benz), who were seated in the front rows next to important Chinese ministers, Li emphasized that a return to the “law of the jungle” would be a “tragedy for humanity”. China has nothing against competition as long as it is rule-based and does not serve to hold others back, Li said.
German CEOs demand fewer barriers
In a short speech, Siemens CEO Busch explained that the global economy is undergoing a “massive transformation”. With its high-tech and high efficiency, China has provided an answer to where growth comes from, said Busch, pointing to artificial intelligence from Deepseek as an example.
BMW CEO Zipse emphasized that he is against protectionism in the face of pressure from trade constraints. He referred to the Munich-based company’s lawsuit against the EU in the case of Brussels’ tariffs on electric cars manufactured in China. Mercedes-Benz board member Källenius also referred to such a lawsuit by his company. He emphasized that opening up markets is the recipe for success. There is a lot to be gained from cooperation between Germany and China. Barriers must be broken down and negotiated solutions found, Källenius demanded.
Is China taking advantage of the US vacuum?
Outside the conference hall, much of the talk this year centered on the role of the US, which under President Donald Trump has kicked off a tariff dispute with Beijing. According to Martin Sorrell, CEO of London-based marketing firm S4 Capital, Li made it “pretty clear in his speech that China is filling the void left by America”. The forum used to be dominated by US-Americans, now it is more dominated by Europeans, said Sorrell, who says he has been attending for years.
The event, the China Development Forum, is an annual summit at which the heads of domestic and foreign companies meet with top Chinese politicians, associations and experts in Beijing. China is an enormously important sales market for many companies, but weak demand in the world’s second-largest economy has recently put a damper on business for many.
dpa
