BEIJING – Dozens of foreign CEOs will visit Beijing in March for a flagship development conference, where some are expected to meet President Xi Jinping, according to a draft agenda and three sources familiar with the matter.
The annual China Development Forum will take place on March 23 and 24 at Beijing's Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, two sources told Reuters.
Attendees include the chief executives of FedEx, Siemens, carmakers BMW and Mercedes-Benz, chip designer Qualcomm, AstraZeneca, Nestle, Saudi Aramco, Citadel, Rio Tinto, Deutsche Bank, McKinsey, Estee Lauder, Standard Chartered and KPMG, according to a draft agenda seen by Reuters.
Top executives of several major mining, engineering and healthcare firms will also take part, according to the draft agenda, which could be subject to last-minute changes, one of the sources said.
Compared with previous years, a higher proportion of European CEOs are represented.
Mr Xi is likely to meet a select group of foreign chief executives days after the summit, which could include European and British CEOs, said one source, adding that the timing and the list of attendees could still change.
Beijing is desperate to attract foreign investment at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions as policymakers try to boost domestic consumption to offset fresh US tariff pressure.
US President Donald Trump launched 20 per cent tariffs on Chinese exports in March, prompting China to retaliate with additional duties on US agriculture products.
Foreign direct investment into China fell 13.4 per cent year on year in January, according to official data released in February.
"Any trip to China by American CEOs would be very low-key given the current heightened scrutiny on American investment in China from Washington," said the source, adding that fewer US CEOs would attend this year.
The CEOs of US chip giants Micron and AMD are not listed on the draft agenda, despite having attended in 2024.
US firms subject to current investigations or scrutiny by the Chinese authorities, including Google, Illumina, PVH and Walmart, also do not appear on the draft agenda.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is not likely to meet foreign CEOs in 2025, the source added, after he skipped a customary meeting in 2024 – one of the rare opportunities for foreign executives to have face time with a top Chinese official.
A Mercedes-Benz spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that CEO and chairman Ola Kallenius will attend the forum.
Notable domestic attendees listed on the draft agenda include Unitree Robotics CEO Wang Xingxing and Mr Qu Fang, the CEO of social media app RedNote, which became a sensation in the US earlier in 2025 as ByteDance-owned TikTok was on the cusp of being banned by the authorities there.
RedNote and Unitree did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mr Wang attended a rare meeting Mr Xi held with some of China's biggest tech firm CEOs in February.
The tightly choreographed pro-business rally sent a strong signal of support to China's embattled tech sector and reflected policymakers' concern about US efforts to limit China's technological development, analysts said.
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan, as well as senior officials from the IMF and World Bank, will also attend the forum, according to the draft agenda. REUTERS
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