In recent months China saw a real parade of leaders of American giants, including Elon Musk Tesla and David Solomon from Goldman Sachs. A common feature of the visits was that US business leaders spoke little about their trip, limited to meetings with government officials, local authorities, and businesses with which they do business.

After all, events for the press, which used to be frequent, have become very rare. Even Elon Musk, known for his Twitter jokes, is unusually tight-lipped about his trip. In 2020, he celebrated the delivery of the first Tesla vehicles from the Shanghai plant by dancing in front of reporters. This time journalists were not invited to cover the visit to the factory. Solomon’s attitude was the same. In 2019, he gave interviews and participated in many events. But this time, he only had closed-door meetings with officials from regulators, the China Sovereign Wealth Fund and the university.

Whoever does business in China must show that he is committed enough to it…

Chamber of Commerce and trade association officials attribute this lack of awareness to the fact that Sino-US political and trade relations have deteriorated to their worst point in decades. Moreover, President Xi Jinping’s emphasis on national security, and in particular the measures he has taken against some foreign companies, is causing uncertainty among many companies, who fear they may have violated Chinese law. Noah Fraser, CEO of the Canada-China Business Council, notes that entrepreneurs are no longer looking for new opportunities, but are focusing on how to keep existing partnerships to do so and avoid the media, big dinners or public speaking. Prior to visiting China, leaders sought advice and information on how expanding China’s counterintelligence laws might affect them, a US trade association official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. They also asked to be briefed on how to deal with Chinese government officials and ask questions about their trip, as it is not in their interest to talk to the media and risk being interrogated about the positions of Washington and Beijing.

The EU Chamber of Commerce said in a statement that businesses operating in China have always been somewhat cautious and are now adapting to impending changes in some sensitive sectors. For its part, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the numerous visits of US business leaders to China are a “vote of confidence” in the Chinese economy. And while President Biden said last month that he foresees an immediate improvement in the “frozen” relationship with Beijing, no one disputes the fact that tensions have escalated this year over Washington’s ban on the export of microprocessor technology.

However, the fact is that after three years of anti-pandemic restrictions that effectively banned foreigners from entering China, American business leaders are rushing to visit it. As Christopher Johnson, president of consulting firm China Strategies Group, comments, “The bottom line is that anyone who works in China has to show that they are committed enough to the cause.”