By Julie Zhu and Elisa Martinuzzi
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang met with global finance and business leaders including Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon during a private lunch in Davos on Tuesday.
The lunch, hosted by World Economic Forum (WEF) founder Klaus Schwab, was also attended by BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters and Visa CEO Ryan Mclnerney.
Several Chinese government officials who are part of the country’s delegation in Switzerland were also present at the event. U.S. financial firms have been keen to maintain good relations with Beijing, even as Chinese growth has waned.
“All the indicators are positive, but the market is waiting to see how much conviction there is and how much follows through,” an executive who attended the meeting told Reuters.
“There was a determination to complete all the transformations that they (the Chinese) set out,” said the executive, adding the key goals for Beijing include stabilizing the property market and stimulating the domestic demand.
Chinese policymakers are intensifying efforts to stimulate a faltering economy in the face of concerns over potential U.S. tariff hikes following President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Trump unexpectedly held off from imposing tariffs on China on his first day back in the White House.
Ding on Tuesday welcomed more investment by foreign companies in the country, adding that China was willing to solve problems encountered by domestic and foreign firms.
He is the second-highest-ranking Chinese official to rub shoulders with global business and political leaders at the Davos summit since President Xi Jinping attended in 2017.
(Reporting by Julie Zhu，Echo Wang, Elisa Martinuzzi and Lananh Nguyen; Editing by Alexander Smith)
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