China's Xi Jinping meets with US executives

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday met with US business representatives in Beijing.

"On the morning of March 27, President Xi Jinping met with representatives from the US business community... at the Great Hall of the People," state broadcaster CCTV said, referring to the building that houses China's legislature.

CCTV said that representatives from academia also attended. It did not name who was at the meeting.

Apple's Tim Cook: China 'opening up'

The meeting comes a few days after the China Development Forum in Beijing, which was attended by Apple CEO Tim Cook and other top executives.

"I think China's really opening up, and I'm so happy to be here," Cook told China's state-run CGTN broadcaster last week.

Chinese authorities are seeking to spur growth in the world's second-largest economy, which has been grappling with a crisis in the property sector, rising youth unemployment and decreasing demand for Chinese exports.

This month, China set an annual GDP target of "around 5%," significantly lower than the growth rates that fueled the country's economic rise.

US-China tensions

Economic relations between the US and China have suffered as a result of tensions between the two powers.

The US and its allies have worked to limit China's access to advanced semiconductors and equipment.

Beijing and Washington have also clashed over the self-ruled island of Taiwan and the South China Sea.

US companies in China have increasingly pointed to what they describe as an unfair business environment.

Earlier this month, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly backed a law that would give TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance six months to sell the app's US assets or see it banned in the country.

Last year, Beijing cracked down on US consulting firms operating in China.

sdi/jsi (AFP, Reuters)