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Tag: Li Qiang

  • Merz arrives in China seeking deeper economic, diplomatic ties

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    German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday he aims to expand economic and diplomatic ties with China, stressing the need for closer cooperation as global tensions remain elevated.

    “I attach great importance to maintaining and deepening these relations wherever possible,” Merz said at the start of his inaugural two-day visit to China as chancellor, speaking alongside Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang at a meeting in Beijing.

    Merz underlined the importance of working closely with China at a European level. “We share responsibility in the world, and we should live up to that responsibility together,” he said, adding there was “great potential for further growth” on both sides.

    Open channels of communication were essential, he said, announcing visits by several ministers in the coming months.

    Li described ties with Berlin as “stable.”

    He pointed to “changes in the international situation” and, in light of unilateralism and protectionism “in some countries and regions,” called for “jointly safeguarding multilateralism and free trade.”

    Five intergovernmental agreements were signed in the presence of Li and Merz, including accords to continue cooperation on climate change and the fight against animal diseases. Agreements were also concluded between the two countries’ football and table tennis associations.

    Merz arrived in Beijing earlier in the day and was received with military honours at the Great Hall of the People.

    Merz to address fair competition, security issues

    He is later due to meet President Xi Jinping for talks and a dinner expected to focus on economic cooperation and security issues, including Russia’s war in Ukraine. China is regarded as a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    Concerns over fair competition are expected to be on top on the agenda. German businesses have called on Merz to raise issues such as overcapacity and export controls on critical raw materials in China, which overtook the US as Germany’s main trading partner in 2025.

    German carmakers in particular have long complained of fierce Chinese competition boosted by domestic subsidies and unequal market access.

    Export restrictions introduced last year on rare earths – critical raw materials used in products such as mobile phones and electric motors – have added to the woes and fuelled tensions between Berlin and Beijing.

    Merz is being accompanied by a delegation of top business representatives and is also scheduled to visit the southern city of Hangzhou.

    He underscored the importance of maintaining a stable relationship with Beijing ahead of his departure on Tuesday evening.

    “It would be a mistake to seek to decouple from China,” Merz said. By severing ties with China “we would be shooting ourselves in the foot. We would be ruining our own economic opportunities,” while failing to make the world “a safer place.”

    Merz’s first visit to a major Asian power as chancellor was a trip to India in January, in a sign that Germany is looking to diversify its alliances amid a rapidly changing political landscape.

    At the Munich Security Conference earlier this month, Merz proclaimed the end of the old rules-based international order and also pointed the finger at Beijing, saying it “systematically exploits the dependencies of others” while trying to reshape the international system to suit its own purposes.

    Merz to move Xi on Ukraine?

    Germany has long criticized Beijing for maintaining an outwardly neutral stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine, with Merz hoping to convince Xi to back negotiations to an end to the conflict.

    “If Xi Jinping were to tell Putin tomorrow to stop, then he would have to stop the day after tomorrow,” the German leader said on Monday at an editorial conference hosted by dpa, noting that China continues to support Russia by purchasing oil and gas and supplying technology for the war.

    Beijing is considered Russia’s most important backer since most Western nations cut ties with Moscow following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago.

    The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday stressed that the war in Ukraine should not strain relations between Europe and China and that Beijing supports diplomatic efforts to find a political solution.

    Merz said he was hoping for “open discussions” with Xi.

    “I simply want to try to understand the president. Conversely, I want to try to explain our position, my personal position in Germany and in Europe, how I view certain global developments, and what we might be able to do together.”

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  • Las Vegas Sands Among Businesses That Met With China Premier

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    Posted on: September 27, 2025, 03:08h. 

    Last updated on: September 27, 2025, 03:09h.

    • Las Vegas Sands CEO Rob Goldstein met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang
    • The Chinese leader expressed enthusiasm for strengthening his country’s relationship with the US
    • Sands operates five casinos in China’s Macau

    Robert Goldstein, the chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands, who assumed the roles in January 2021 following the death of his longtime boss and mentor, Sheldon Adelson, was among the American business leaders who met last week with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

    Las Vegas Sands Robert Goldstein China
    The Venetian on the Cotai Strip in Macau, owned by Las Vegas Sands, is seen. Sands’ top executive, Robert Goldstein, met recently with Chinese Premier Li Qiang. (Image: Shutterstock)

    For decades, Goldstein was Adelson’s right-hand man. Adelson, the founder and longtime chair and CEO of Sands, was responsible for overhauling China’s Macau into the world’s richest gaming hub by developing the ultra-luxurious Cotai Strip.

    During his trip to the US to attend a meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York, Li, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s right-hand man, who is the second most important leader in China, met with several executives from major American companies that do business with China, with LVS among them.

    Las Vegas-based Sands no longer has any resorts in Las Vegas or anywhere else in the US. The firm instead relies primarily on Macau, along with its Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

    Chinese Meeting

    Goldstein was one of at least eight business leaders who met privately with Li in New York on Thursday after the UN gathering. Goldstein’s attendance was first reported by Bloomberg.

    Looking forward, China and the US need to find the right way to get along in this new era,” Li said at the event hosted by the National Committee on US-China Relations, according to a readout posted by the Chinese government. “Economic and trade relations are an important part of our bilateral relationship.”

    Li said that the world’s two largest economies “can and should become friends and partners.”

    Those are welcome comments for Sands, which owns and operates five integrated resort casino properties in China — The Venetian, Sands, The Londoner, The Plaza & Four Seasons Hotel, and The Parisian. In 2024, Sands’ Macau operations generated net revenue of more than $7.1 billion for the company.

    President Donald Trump’s tariff war and ongoing threats to the Chinese economy have caused some concern among the three US-based gaming operators invested in Macau that they could be targeted for retaliation. Along with Sands, MGM Resorts and Wynn Resorts own casinos in Macau.

    Li’s comments, however, suggest the Chinese Communist Party is seeking to strengthen its US relationship.

    Regardless of changes in the external environment, China will make every possible effort to ensure greater certainty for the growth of foreign companies,” Li added.

    The premier said the Pacific Ocean is “wide enough” to accommodate a strong bilateral relationship between the US and China, but also additional countries. Li urged both sides and parties to “strengthen cooperation.”

    Li Power

    Along with Goldstein and Sands, Li reportedly invited leaders from BlackRock, Citadel Securities, Visa, FedEx, Estee Lauder, and Amphenol.

    As premier, a position he’s held since March 2023, Li has been considered pro-business. The premier is the head of the People’s Republic of China government and leads the State Council.

    Goldstein plans to step down next year. He’s set to be replaced by Sands President and COO Patrick Dumont, the son-in-law of Sands’ largest shareholder, Dr. Miriam Adelson, the widow of the late Sheldon Adelson.

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    Devin O’Connor

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  • Xi’s Markets Shakeup Surprised Insiders, Showing Alarm Over Rout

    Xi’s Markets Shakeup Surprised Insiders, Showing Alarm Over Rout

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    (Bloomberg) — Staffers at China’s main securities regulator had been working around the clock for weeks on ways to prop up the nation’s tumbling stock market when the bombshell dropped.

    Most Read from Bloomberg

    Late Wednesday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported that their boss Yi Huiman had been ousted, becoming the biggest Communist Party casualty of a $5 trillion selloff that’s undermining confidence in the fragile economy.

    The announcement sent shockwaves across the industry and within the China Securities Regulatory Commission, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Prior to the Xinhua news, there had been no internal announcement from the Communist Party’s organization department, which typically shares key personnel changes internally before they go public, the people said.

    The departure of Yi, a surprise to even high-ranking CSRC officials, underscores the growing sense of alarm within President Xi Jinping’s government over the speed and scope of the market meltdown that’s now entering its fourth year. Wu Qing, a close ally of Premier Li Qiang, is taking over as chairman of the regulator.

    The CSRC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

    China watchers say the move may signal additional measures to revive the world’s second-largest stock market. An earlier flurry of support in the runup to the Lunar New Year holiday, when exchanges are closed for six days beginning Friday, had failed to restore investor confidence.

    “This is long overdue in my opinion, if one chief cannot do the job, then maybe we should give someone else a chance,” said Jiang Liangqing, managing director at Zhuhai Greenbamboo Private Fund Management. “At the minimum, a new broom sweeps clean and he could be more bold in taking action instead of just words.”

    Anticipation of more fulsome efforts to end the rout had been mounting for days, after Bloomberg News reported that regulators led by the CSRC planned to brief President Xi on the markets as soon as Tuesday. There’s been no public disclosure yet on whether Xi had that briefing. It was not known what role Yi had, if any, in that planned briefing.

    China’s latest measures, including curbs on short-selling and purchases by state-owned entities, had some effect this week as the main equity gauge jumped three straight sessions to pare declines for the year. China’s “national team” bought about 70 billion yuan ($9.7 billion) in shares over the past month, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimated in a report Monday. At least 200 billion yuan is needed to stabilize the market, according to the US bank.

    “Government buying might help circuit-break the downward spiral, but we think reforms, policy consistency, and plans to address structural macro headwinds are required to re-rate China equity,” the Goldman analysts wrote.

    Read more: Everything China Is Doing to Rescue Its Battered Stock Market

    If history is any guide, more gains may be afoot. The past two sackings of CSRC chiefs heralded extended equity rallies. The benchmark CSI 300 Index rose more than 40% in almost a two-year span after Liu Shiyu replaced Xiao Gang in 2016. The gauge jumped more than 80% over two years after Liu was ousted for Yi in 2019.

    Major market interventions in China have rarely been smooth, however. And the country’s economy is facing bigger challenges than during previous market slumps: The property crisis shows no sign of ending, geopolitical tensions with the US continue to simmer and foreign investors are wary of a government that has clamped down on private enterprise.

    What’s more, the CSRC is constrained by what it can do to turn markets around, notes 22V Research analyst Michael Hirson. It can’t command an intervention by the “national team” or launch some kind of stabilization fund, and can do little on its own to drive economic growth.

    “Changing the chairmanship at the CSRC alone does not change anything fundamentally,” said Yan Wang, chief China strategist at Alpine Macro in Montreal. “The stock market performance is a reflection of weak growth and poor confidence. Unless Beijing addresses these issues, the stock market will likely continue to struggle.”

    The tall task now rests with Wu, 58, who had been tipped last year to take over the CSRC before he was promoted to deputy party secretary for Shanghai. Before that, he worked closely with Premier Li — President’s Xi’s top deputy — who was previously party secretary in the nation’s financial capital.

    Read more: ‘Broker Butcher’ Set to Be China’s Top Securities Regulator

    Wu is well connected in China’s halls of power. He earlier headed the Shanghai Stock Exchange for almost two years and held various roles at the CSRC, earning him the nickname “broker butcher” after shuttering 31 firms over regulation breaches. He then oversaw the fund industry until 2010.

    Wu also worked at the national planning committee, which later morphed into the National Development and Reform Commission. Wu, who holds a PhD in economics from the Renmin University of China, is known as a low-key technocrat who has zero tolerance for wrongdoing, a person familiar with him has said. Wu sometimes jokes he’s more fit to be a surgeon, the person said.

    “Wu’s background in financial regulation suggests he might do a better job in cracking down on malicious short selling and illicit behaviors in the market,” said Sun Jianbo, president of China Vision Capital. “While that’ll soothe investor nerves in the short term by cultivating a more favorable environment, it requires more policy efforts.”

    –With assistance from April Ma, John Cheng and Jacob Gu.

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    ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

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  • Xi Jinping unveils new cabinet; no woman in top team for the first time in 25 years

    Xi Jinping unveils new cabinet; no woman in top team for the first time in 25 years

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    Xi Jinping, who was once again elected as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party for the third five-year term, will not have any woman member in his top team, according to the new Politburo roster released on Sunday. This is for the first time in 25 years that no woman member has been inducted into the top team, highlighting the stark lack of female representation in the Communist Party’s leadership.

    Sun Chunlan, who was the only woman in the previous Politburo, has retired. The last time there was no woman leader in the top team was in 1997, at the 15th Party Congress. At that time, there was just one female alternate member, who could attend the meetings but didn’t have the power to vote.

    Unveiling his top leadership team on Sunday, Xi, 69, announced the names of his six loyalists — Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, and Li Xi, as the A-team of the Politburo Standing Committee, China’s top decision-making body.  

    For years, there have been several rungs in the Communist Party leadership. The 205-member Central Committee is the main leadership body. This committee appoints the Politburo, which generally has five to nine leaders within that group making up the smaller Standing Committee.

    Xi has also named a new military commander with experience in Taiwan affairs as one of his two deputies.

    As per China’s state media, the party’s elite Central Committee appointed two vice chairmen to the Central Military Commission, which is considered a powerful institution under Xi since he came to power. One of the new appointees is General He Weidong, the former commander of the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command, which oversees forces closest to Taiwan. The party has retained Gen. Zhang Youxia, 72, the son of a former general who is termed a close ally of Xi.

    Xi talks about open China

    During his reappointment speech at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday, XI said an open China was willing to collaborate with the world. “China cannot develop in isolation from the world, and the world also needs China for its development,” Xi said. “We will stay committed to comprehensively deepening reform and opening up, promoting high-quality development, and creating more opportunities for the world through our own development.” He added that China had rapidly developed its economy and achieved “social stability” due to decades of efforts in “reform and opening up.”

    (With agency inputs)

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  • China’s Leader Xi Jinping Secures Third Term As His Rivals Fall Away

    China’s Leader Xi Jinping Secures Third Term As His Rivals Fall Away

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    China’s President Xi Jinping did what everyone expected. He extended his rule as the country’s leader for a precedent-breaking third term, while promoting more of his allies into the party’s top leadership positions and maneuvering his rivals into retirement.

    Xi, 69, was re-elected as the general secretary of the Communist Party on Sunday, following China’s national congress that opened a week ago, confirming his status as the country’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. His appointment means that he will be in firm control of the world’s second-largest economy for at least another five years at a time when it increasingly finds itself on a collision course with the U.S.

    On Sunday, Xi said the country “will strive harder to achieve the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation,” a term that largely means transforming the nation into a global power with higher standards of living and advanced technologies comparable with those in the West.

    He made the comments after introducing the new seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, the country’s most powerful decision-making body, to a room filled with carefully selected journalists at Beijing’s Great Hall of People.

    It’s a lineup that reveals Xi has surrounded himself with allies by promoting close associates such as Beijing’s top party official Cai Qi and Guangdong province party chief Li Xi to the Politburo.

    The elevation of Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang is particularly noteworthy and speaks volumes to Xi’s consolidation of power. Li, who has never held a senior central government post, appeared right next to Xi before the leader addressed reporters on Sunday. Li is most well known for overseeing the bruising month-long lockdown of Shanghai earlier this year, which triggered widespread public anger and raised doubts as to whether he might still earn a much-coveted promotion.

    Observers say Xi values loyalty above everything else, and he’s willing to break from the political norms of the past. For example, the name of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang did not appear in the 205-member central committee, which is a prerequisite for joining the Politburo, even though he is still a year away from the usual retirement age.

    The 67-year-old Li is known to have at times issued views on the economy that contradicts those of Xi. And in a rare display of drama at an otherwise highly choreographed event, Hu Jintao, the 79-year-old predecessor to Xi, was unexpectedly escorted out of yesterday’s closing session of the party congress.

    Although Hu appeared to be reluctant to leave, the official Xinhua News Agency later reported via Twitter that Hu left due to health reasons, and he is feeling much better after resting. But the event does not appear on China’s highly censored internet, with searches for Hu Jintao on the country’s Twitter-equivalent Sina Weibo yields zero mentions of his sudden departure.

    Xi, however, did give some reassurances to market watchers. He said on Sunday that China would continue to open up, and resolutely deepen reform. The country’s economy has shown perseverance and great potential, and its strong fundamentals “will not change.”

    Xi’s consolidation of power comes as China faces countless difficulties. This week, Beijing delayed the publishing of the nation’s third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data, adding further to investors’ anxiety over an economy that’s been battered by a spiraling real estate crisis and Xi’s unrelenting Covid policies. In his opening address of the party congress, Xi again praised his Covid-Zero policy as a “people’s war” that has prevented fatalities and protected lives, although he didn’t acknowledge the repeated city-wide lockdowns, food shortages and lack of medical supplies that resulted.

    Shen Meng, managing director of Beijing-based boutique investment bank Chanson & Co., says going into the next five-year period, the leadership would continue to take a rather conservative stance in steering the economy.

    “China would probably continue to crack down on the disorderly expansion of the private-sector economy, and state-owned economic powers would be effectively strengthened, ” he said, adding that this means private enterprises would work in second place to state-owned companies.

    And there is a strong likelihood that the crackdown on the real estate sector will continue. Xi didn’t mention his slogan “housing is for living in, not for speculation” in his opening speech, which had renewed hopes among some that support for the troubled real estate sector may be forthcoming. Xi had rolled out his campaign for more affordable housing in 2017, which set off a wave of policies aimed at taming skyrocketing housing prices and reining in the excessive borrowing that had become common among Chinese property developers. But a transcript of proceedings distributed later repeated the housing slogan, signaling that there would be no let up in the cooling measures in the foreseeable future.

    China’s real estate market is estimated to account for as much as a quarter of the country’s gross domestic product. The real estate slump combined with Covid Zero is expected to drag China’s 2022 GDP growth to just 3.2%, well below Xi’s previous goal of around 5.5%

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    Robert Olsen, Forbes Staff

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