BEIJING — As corporate giants navigate U.S.-China tensions, more than 80 global executives, from Apple to Eli Lilly, traveled to Beijing this weekend for the annual state-organized China Development Forum.
The executives' remarks reflected renewed interest in capturing the Chinese consumer, after years of uncertainty from the Covid-19 pandemic, slower growth and U.S. trade tensions.
Fresh off a recovery in Apple iPhone sales in China, the company's CEO Tim Cook took the stage after Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday, praising the "extraordinary" pace of technological progress in the country, such as factory automation.
He said: "We are proud to be part of that progress, and we're committed to working alongside our supplier partners to push it even further." He added that more than 90% of Apple's production in China is powered by clean energy.
Apple still manufactures most of its iPhones in China, which accounted for nearly 18% of Apple's revenue in the December quarter. Thanks to the iPhone 17 release, Apple smartphone sales in the first nine weeks of the year were up 23% year-on-year, bucking a 4% decline in China's overall smartphone market, according to Counterpoint Research.
On his way to Beijing, Cook also visited Chengdu, China, as Apple has been pressured to cut its China App Store fees.
According to an official delegate list seen by CNBC, attendees included more than 30 executives of U.S. companies, including McDonald's, Coach parent Tapestry, and Mastercard, along with representatives of British, South Korean and German corporations.
Their trips to Beijing come as the U.S. and China reached a trade truce in October that lowered the effective tariff rate to less than 50% for a year. It remains unclear whether the two countries can extend the truce and whether Beijing will agree to allow more critically needed rare earths to leave the country.
U.S. President Donald Trump was scheduled to visit Beijing later this month for trade talks, but delayed the plans by at least a few weeks due to the Iran war.
U.S. companies have pushed ahead with plans to invest in China, even as the White House has sought to encourage more of that spending to return home.
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly announced in March plans to invest $3 billion in China over the next decade. The company reported that just under 3% of its revenue came from China last year.
CEO David A. Ricks told CNBC's Eunice Yoon that he sees "significant" potential in China for the company's GLP-1 obesity drug, if there are better reimbursement systems.
Beijing has made incremental improvements to foreign access.
Eli Lilly's Mounjaro weight-loss drug was added to China's list for reimbursements under the state-run health insurance this year.
On Sunday, China's Premier Li said Beijing would make it easier for foreign businesses to access the country's services sector. He added that China would also buy more healthcare and digital technology products from abroad.
He also pushed back on the idea that state subsidies drove China's technological development, while stating that the country has never pursued a trade surplus. Li noted that many products made in China by foreign companies are exported back to their home markets, with profits accruing to investors.
China reported a record trade surplus in 2025. This year, China began its 15th five-year development plan, with a focus on boosting tech self-sufficiency as well as domestic demand. Measures to support consumption have focused on trade-in subsidies and incremental increases to social welfare.
But the high-level China Development Forum didn't reflect all views. Stephen Roach, an economist and senior fellow at Yale Law School, said he was not invited this year, after 25 years of attending the event.
"My focus on consumer-led rebalancing was always presented as constructive criticism," he told CNBC by email. "Ironically, it is something they have finally embraced in the 15th five-year plan — albeit with inadequate policies."
But executives that were still invited have businesses at stake. Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume has now visited Beijing twice in just four weeks. He accompanied German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on a state visit in late February.
"Our long-standing partnership provides an opportunity to address challenges clearly at the China Development Forum as well: volatile supply chains, an imbalance between supply and demand, and high price pressure in the market," Blume said in a statement distributed to media.
"As China's largest foreign investor, we rely on stable framework conditions," he said. "That is why we welcome measures to sustainably improve domestic demand and fair competition, as well as the stabilization of supply chains."
“This year will be a very crucial one," Blume told CNBC's Eunice Yoon on the sidelines of the forum Sunday.
After a three-year effort to build up local manufacturing and tech capabilities, Volkswagen is launching 20 new models in China this year. The automaker reported an 8% drop in China passenger car sales last year.
Facts Only
More than 80 global executives attended the China Development Forum in Beijing, including CEOs from Apple, Eli Lilly, McDonald’s, and Volkswagen.
Apple CEO Tim Cook praised China’s technological progress and stated that over 90% of Apple’s production in China uses clean energy.
Apple’s iPhone sales in China rose 23% year-on-year in early 2025, despite a 4% decline in China’s overall smartphone market.
Eli Lilly announced a $3 billion investment in China over the next decade and reported that China accounted for nearly 3% of its 2024 revenue.
China’s Premier Li Qiang stated that Beijing would ease foreign business access to the services sector and increase imports of healthcare and digital products.
The U.S. and China reached a trade truce in October 2024, lowering tariffs for one year, with uncertainty about its extension.
U.S. President Donald Trump delayed a planned Beijing visit due to the Iran war.
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume visited Beijing twice in four weeks and announced 20 new car models for the Chinese market in 2025.
China reported a record trade surplus in 2025 and launched its 15th five-year plan, focusing on tech self-sufficiency and domestic demand.
Economist Stephen Roach, a longtime forum attendee, was not invited in 2025 after 25 years of participation.
Executive Summary
Over 80 global executives, including leaders from Apple, Eli Lilly, McDonald’s, and Volkswagen, attended the China Development Forum in Beijing, signaling renewed corporate interest in the Chinese market despite ongoing U.S.-China tensions. The event followed a partial recovery in Apple’s iPhone sales in China, with CEO Tim Cook highlighting the country’s technological progress and clean energy adoption in Apple’s supply chain. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly announced a $3 billion investment in China, citing potential for its obesity drugs if reimbursement systems improve. Chinese Premier Li Qiang emphasized easing foreign business access to services and increasing imports of healthcare and digital products, while dismissing claims of state-driven trade surpluses.
The forum occurred amid a temporary U.S.-China trade truce reducing tariffs, though its extension remains uncertain. U.S. companies continue investing in China despite White House efforts to encourage domestic production. However, challenges persist, including supply chain volatility and weak domestic demand. Volkswagen’s CEO underscored the need for stable conditions, while economist Stephen Roach noted China’s belated embrace of consumer-led growth in its latest five-year plan. The event reflected a mix of corporate optimism and lingering economic and geopolitical tensions.
Full Take
The strongest version of this narrative highlights a cautious but tangible corporate pivot back toward China, driven by market opportunities despite geopolitical friction. Executives like Tim Cook and David Ricks frame their investments as pragmatic responses to China’s technological advancements and consumer potential, while Premier Li Qiang’s remarks position Beijing as a willing partner for foreign businesses—albeit with unresolved tensions over trade imbalances and subsidies. The inclusion of multiple perspectives, from corporate optimism to Roach’s critique of China’s slow consumer-led reforms, adds depth. However, the article’s framing risks subtle distortion by juxtaposing corporate enthusiasm with geopolitical uncertainty without interrogating the structural dependencies (e.g., Apple’s reliance on Chinese manufacturing) that limit U.S. firms’ ability to "decouple."
Pattern scan: The piece avoids overt manipulation but leans into a classic "both sides" framing (ARC-0012 False Balance), where corporate optimism and geopolitical risks are presented as equally valid without weighting their actual influence. The absence of labor or human rights concerns in discussions of China’s supply chains also reflects a potential omission bias (ARC-0031 Selective Narrative).
Root cause: The narrative assumes that corporate engagement with China is primarily a rational economic calculation, downplaying the role of coercive interdependence—where firms remain tied to China not just by opportunity but by the lack of viable alternatives. This echoes Cold War-era "engagement vs. containment" debates, where economic integration was presumed to moderate political behavior, a theory now strained by rising nationalism on both sides.
Implications: For human agency, the story underscores how global capital flows often prioritize short-term profits over long-term resilience, leaving workers and smaller firms vulnerable to geopolitical shocks. The beneficiaries are multinational corporations and Chinese state-backed industries, while the costs—such as supply chain fragility or repressed dissent—are externalized. Second-order effects may include accelerated U.S. industrial policy to counter China’s tech self-sufficiency push, further polarizing global trade.
Bridge questions: If China’s consumer market stagnates, will foreign firms’ optimism prove shortsighted? How might U.S. industrial policy evolve if corporate China engagement persists despite decarbonization or human rights concerns? What would it take for a major firm like Apple to meaningfully diversify away from China—and what would the ripple effects be?
Counterstrike scan: A coordinated influence campaign would amplify corporate endorsements of China while downplaying risks (e.g., omitting forced labor allegations or IP theft). This article includes critical voices (Roach, tariff uncertainties) and avoids overt propaganda, suggesting no structural alignment with such a playbook. The closest match is the implicit normalization of corporate reliance on China, which could serve Beijing’s narrative of inevitability—but this appears organic, not orchestrated.
Sentinel — Human
The article shows strong signs of human authorship, with nuanced reporting, specific executive quotes, and minor inconsistencies typical of fast-paced journalism. No significant synthetic signals detected.