By Eduardo Baptista and Che Pan
BEIJING, May 16 (Reuters) – The chairman of China’s securities regulator and Beijing’s party secretary held talks with Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser in China and discussed enhancing cooperation in wealth management and cross-border financing, state-backed media said on Saturday.
Fraser was part of a delegation accompanying U.S. President Donald Trump on the first visit to China by an American president since Trump’s last visit in 2017.
The presence of some of the most powerful U.S. corporate leaders – representing companies like Apple, Meta, Boeing, Cargill and Goldman Sachs – underscores the importance of the Chinese market, even as political leaders navigate strained ties over trade, artificial intelligence and broader geopolitical tensions.
“The summit served as a crucial window for attending U.S. CEOs to reinforce corporate diplomacy and directly position their strategic asks with top Chinese authorities,” said Alfredo Montufar-Helu, a Beijing-based managing director at Ankura China Advisors.
Beijing Party Secretary Yin Li said China welcomed Citigroup to expand its business further and help attract more international companies and investment to the country, the state-backed Beijing Youth Daily reported.
Wu Qing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), also met Fraser, the regulatory body said. The two exchanged views on issues including the global economic and financial environment and the opening up of China’s capital markets.
Separately, the vice governor of the People’s Bank of China and the director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange met with David Solomon, chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, the foreign exchange regulator said in a statement.
After leaving Beijing on Friday, Trump told reporters on board Air Force One that China had agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets, with a potential for the order to rise to as many as 750 planes. The orders, if finalised, would mark Boeing’s first major Chinese deal in nearly a decade.
(Reporting By Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree, William Mallard and Tom Hogue)
