Jamie Dimon, CEO of the major bank JP Morgan, is hosting a summit in Shanghai this week with around 2600 participants. Some of the more prominent participants include former US Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Condoleeza Rice and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla.
However, the media is not welcome to document the event.
In addition to the above-mentioned participants, a large number of US and Chinese business leaders will attend the conference, which takes place at a time when Sino-American relations are worse than they have been for a long time.
“The event follows a Chinese crackdown on consultancy firms that has rattled western companies that rely on their advice, and Beijing’s banning of operators of key infrastructure from buying US chipmaker Micron Technology’s products. The US has been making it harder for China’s tech sector to access cutting-edge components and machinery”, the Financial Times writes.
Professor Han Lin of New York University in Shanghai says the timing of the summit is no coincidence and that President Joe Biden has called for a “thaw” in relations between the two countries.
– We’ve seen this story before, where things improve and then get worse, and it’s the uncertainty that keeps multinational corporations on edge, he said.
JP Morgan CEO Daniel Pinto said earlier in May that tensions between China and the US are “something that we have to learn to live with because it’s not resolvable, but hopefully through dialogue that tension becomes constructive”.
Politicians and business profiles
Despite the large number of participants, no official representative of the Chinese government will speak at the conference.
High-profile globalist and former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who turned 100 this week, will join Condoleezza Rice by video link to hold a ‘Dialogue on Diplomacy’. Other topics to be discussed include healthcare, decarbonization and supply chain resilience.
Alongside Pfizer boss Albert Bourla, other participants include Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan, Robin Li, founder of Chinese internet giant Baidu, car manufacturer Geely’s CEO Daniel Li and Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest.
“The gathering comes at a time when corporate ties between the two superpowers are fraying and doubts growing over the strength of China’s post-pandemic rebound. However, many global corporations are still looking to China’s economy to drive their growth”, the Financial Times adds.