U.S. executives, from Apple to Eli Lilly, revamp their push into the world’s second-largest economy at the China Development Forum

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 manufacturering 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. 

~ CNBC