China this week looked to woo American business leaders in a conference that emphasized the nation’s economic potential despite the ongoing tariff war with President Donald Trump.
CEOs from top American companies like Apple, Pfizer, Boeing and Citi traveled to meet with Vice Premier He Lifeng, China’s economy tsar, as Beijing attempts to stabilize foreign investment following Trump’s 10% tariffs on all imports from China and the looming second round of tariffs expected to be implemented on April 2.
The tariffs Trump enacted in February were in addition to the 10% tariffs already in place that he implemented during his first term.
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It is unclear how the April 2 tariffs could impact China’s economy and American pockets, though Beijing is looking to offset the effects of the tariff war by boosting its own domestic production, in part through continued foreign investment.
China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng described China’s economy as “highly resilient” and “full of vitality” and told business leaders that “China will continue to improve the business environment and welcome more investment by multinational companies in China, sharing opportunities for development.”
GOP Montana Sen. Steve Daines, a top Trump ally, was also in attendance, and on Sunday, met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and he acknowledged the importance of U.S. business ties with Beijing but once again called on China to block the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.
“I was glad to carry President Trump’s America First message to China,” Daines told Fox News Digital. “I made it very clear that President Trump is a results-oriented president and China needs to stop the flow of raw materials used to make fentanyl to Mexico and Canada.
“I also spoke directly to the Vice Premier about China’s decision to let American beef export permits expire, causing U.S. beef sales to drop 92 percent. This is a critical market, and it must be available to American producers,” he added.
While Daines carried Trump’s “America first investment policy” to China, Beijing looked to make sure that it also got its message across, warning that trade wars harm all.
“Chinese Premier Li Qiang said trade wars produce no winners. No country can achieve development and prosperity through imposing tariffs, but only through openness and cooperation,” a Chinese spokesman told Fox News Digital. “Li Qiang called on the two sides to solve problems such as trade imbalance by making the pie of cooperation bigger and creating more incremental benefits.”
China is not the only country Trump has clapped back at through tariffs over what he has claimed have been unfair trading practices, hitting Canada and Mexico with 25% tariffs, the European Union with 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, and a new threat to hit any country importing Venezuelan oil with a 25% tariff.
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Additionally, more are expected to come in just one week as Trump pledges April 2 will be “liberation day,” when he is set to announce reciprocal tariffs on nations who have implemented their own import fees on the U.S., as well as new tariffs on imported cars.
Ken Griffin, CEO of hedge fund Citadel, told an official panel at the forum that there was a sense of “increased optimism this year compared to last year.”
“[Trump] is committed to American companies having access to a global market,” he added. “And the President is willing to use tariffs to seek to enforce this worldview.”
However, it is not the tariff war that is the biggest threat U.S. companies face in China, explained Isaac Stone Fish, CEO and founder of Strategy Risks.
“The biggest risks of doing business in China is not tariff-related, but of personally offending or irritating President Trump by one’s China exposure,” the expert explained. “The President hasn’t prioritized reducing China exposure, but many of his senior advisors and cabinet members want U.S. companies to reduce their China exposure.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday traveled to eastern China to visit a tech hub and welcomed “the next generation of developers” according to a report by Techxplore.
The trip came just two days after Cook met with Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao, who, according to Reuters, encouraged the top American businesses to expand investment in China.
Apple fell in the ranks as the top smartphone in China last year to local manufacturers Vivo and Huawei, but Cook appears undeterred in advancing the tech giant in China.
The company also announced on Wednesday it would donate some $4.1 million to Zhejiang University, which is based in the eastern city of Hangzhou and is known for its development of top tech gurus, including Liang Wenfeng, the founder of AI startup DeepSeek, which turned the AI race on its head last year.
However, Stone Fish argued that as the university is overseen by the Chinese Communist Party, this is “in effect a donation” to the ruling party.
“On the Chinese side, U.S. companies need to understand that Beijing often goes after U.S. companies not because they’ve done anything wrong, but to make an example of them,” Stone Fish said. “The point is to send the message: no one is safe.”
“Many top U.S. businesses will remain heavily exposed to China until the Trump administration implements policies to push them to reduce that exposure,” he continued. “But many top U.S. companies overlook and misprice the risks of their China exposure.
“This includes not only running afoul of U.S. regulations, but also stiff Chinese competition, IP theft, a domestic market heavily stacked towards Chinese companies, and the possibility of a war between the U.S. and China,” Stone Fish warned.
Apple did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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