Tim Cook and Global CEOs Meet China’s Top Trade Envoy in Beijing

Overview

• State media confirmed the meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse with Vice Premier He Lifeng, naming Tim Cook but withholding other executive identities.
• The session took place days after China unveiled approval rules covering products with trace amounts of certain strategic minerals, drawing concern in Washington.
• He Lifeng said China is prepared to deepen economic ties with all countries and asked council members to support the nation’s economic development.
• The executives were in Beijing for Tsinghua University’s economics school advisory council, which Cook chairs, where corporate leaders regularly discuss policy with Chinese officials.
• Cook separately met Minister Li Lecheng, pledged increased investment in China, and announced a donation to Tsinghua, as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a Trump–Xi meeting in South Korea is still expected this month.