Video Shows American Elites Heaping Praise On China’s Xi, Applauding His ‘Strength’

A video on Wednesday depicted American business executives lauding Chinese President Xi Jinping’s leadership and efforts to bolster the U.S.-China relationship.

The American executives had traveled to Beijing to attend the China Development Forum earlier in the week and met with Xi on Wednesday to discuss the importance of fostering a bilateral relationship between the U.S. and China on several fronts, including the economy. A video of the meeting posted by Chinese-state media shows the American executives sitting at a large table and heaping praise on Xi — who is sitting at the head of the table — and his leadership “strength.”

The video begins with Xi delivering remarks while the American executives take notes. Among the executives present at the meeting were Evan Greenberg, CEO of Chubb; Stephen Schwarzman, the founder of the Blackstone Group; Mark Carney, chair of Bloomberg; Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm; Rajesh Subramaniam, CEO of FedEx; Craig Allen, president of the U.S.-China Business Council and Graham Allison, founding dean of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

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“I commend your personal engagement in the U.S.-China relationship, including a meeting like this,” Greenberg can be seen telling Xi in the video. “Engagement is how relationships are built and knowledge is shared… you have the vision and the strength of leadership to pursue a more sustainable and quality path. We would also benefit from your insight and better understanding your broad perspective.”

“I’ve been a careful reader of your thoughts and speeches, press conferences and discussions for many years,” Allison told Xi. “Thank you for what you and President Biden achieved in San Francisco, (referring to a bilateral meeting between Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden in November) which was not simply to [unintelligble] a relationship that had been systematically deteriorating, but the [unintelligble] of a foundation on which to build a stable, sustainable and productive relationship for the future.”

State media and reporters captured the discussion as it unfolded. Top Beijing officials such as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and National Development of Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie can be seen sitting alongside Xi.

“We were delighted by the outcome of your meeting with President Biden,” Allen told Xi. “Now I count some 15 bilateral dialogues announced at that time. And the U.S. business community will actively support all of these bilateral initiatives.”

China’s economy struggled to gain traction in 2023, growing by 5.2% by the end of the year and failing to regain growth levels seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic that shut the country down; China’s stock indexes also had the worst performance of any major global index in 2023. Tens of billions in foreign investment pulled out of China in 2023 as Beijing officials raided offices and arrested employees, often without explanation.