Gift this articleTwo can play at that game. President Xi Jinping on Monday assembled many of the biggest names in Chinese business representing industries from chipmaking and electric vehicles to AI in a summit designed to demonstrate Beijing’s softer stance toward the companies driving China’s growth, just as Washington ramps up a potentially debilitating campaign of global tariffs.

Xi delivered a speech after hosting Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma, Meituan’s Wang Xing and Xiaomi Corp. chief Lei Jun. Also present were Wang Xingxing of robotics startup Unitree, DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng and Huawei Technologies Co. founder Ren Zhengfei — considered key figures in China’s ambition to reduce its reliance on US technology. Xi shook hands with Unitree’s Wang, Ren and Ma.

Without referencing Trump, China’s leader urged the executives to maintain their competitive spirit and have confidence in the country’s future, emphasizing that the challenges they faced were “temporary.” He promised to abolish unreasonable fees or fines against private firms and level the competitive playing field — a common complaint of entrepreneurs in a state-dominated system. On Monday, China’s parliament said it would review laws centered on promoting the private economy.

The meeting has added significance in a nation where Xi’s every utterance can be make-or-break for entire industries (his phrase that houses are for living in and not for speculation heralded a crackdown on excess leverage in the sector.) Economists at Goldman Sachs were among those to highlight its significance:

“Considering the timing, format and content, we view today’s meeting as a clear signal from the top leadership to stabilize expectations of private enterprises and entrepreneurs, though implementation — including more demand-side stimulus and more market-friendly policy reforms — remains the key to confidence rebuilding.”

Bloomberg Economics’s Eric Zhu had a similar view, seeing the meeting as “a dose of powerful medicine” for ailing animal spirits. He noted the absence of property tycoons at the meeting as a signal of Beijing’s sectoral preferences and the economy’s shifts.

BE analysis shows the contribution of high-tech industries to GDP climbed to about 15% in 2024 while the contribution of the property sector fell to 19%. Meantime, the latest census survey (as of 2023) shows property developers and construction were among the fastest-shrinking sectors from five years earlier, while high-tech manufacturing and services were among the fastest growing areas.