BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese Premier Li Qiang does not intend to hold a meeting with visiting foreign CEOs at the upcoming China Development Forum (CDF) in late March, three sources briefed on the matter said, raising concerns about Beijing's commitment to attract investment from abroad at a time of souring sentiment.
Organised annually by Beijing since 2000 at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, the high-level forum traditionally serves as an opportunity for global CEOs and Chinese policymakers to meet and discuss foreign investment. Regular attendees include Apple CEO Tim Cook and Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates.
A key element of the forum each year has been a meeting between the Chinese premier and the visiting CEOs for them to exchange questions and views. While Li still plans to attend the March 24-25 forum this year, he will not be holding that meeting, the three sources said.
The sources declined to be named as they were not permitted to speak to the press. Plans for the forum are still being finalised and could be in flux, they also added.
The CDF's organisers and the State Council Information Office, which handles media queries for the council, China's cabinet, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The decision to not hold the CDF meeting comes shortly after China announced that it would scrap the premier's post-parliament news conference last week, one of the most widely-followed events on its economic and policy calendar, in a move seen by some observers as a sign of the country's increasingly inward focus and centralised control.
"From a global CEO perspective, this development may be somewhat disappointing. During a time of significant uncertainty, company leaders would definitely prefer a direct channel to China's top leaders to voice concerns and receive clear messages," said Yue Su, Principal Economist for China at the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Li held his first and major public meeting with foreign CEOs at the CDF early last year, less than a month after becoming premier when he told them that the country would open up further, according to a readout published by the Chinese foreign ministry.
He has repeated that message at a number of gatherings with foreign business leaders in events through 2023 and early this year, the latest at the World Economic Forum in Davos where he had a private lunch with the likes of JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan.
Foreign businesses have been trying to reconcile Chinese leaders' public overtures towards overseas investment with the rolling out of a broader anti-espionage law, raids on consultancies and due diligence firms and exit bans. A weaker-than-expected economic recovery after COVID-19 has also weighed on sentiment.
Foreign investment flows into China shrank 11.7% in January from a year earlier to 112.71 billion yuan ($15.70 billion), China's commerce ministry said last month.
($1 = 7.1773 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(This story has been refiled to fix language in paragraph 2)
(Reporting by Beijing and Hong Kong newsrooms; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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