Tim Cook
President Xi Jinping of China hosted a dinner in San Francisco on November 15, 2023, intent on convincing top business people including Apple’s Tim Cook, that China is force for good in the world.
It’s not the first time that Tim Cook has met President Xi. But significantly, Cook was only of a very few Big Tech business leaders included at the private dinner.
“China does not seek spheres of influence, and will not fight a cold war or a hot war with anyone,” President Xi told guests, according to Bloomberg.
The meal took place in San Francisco, following President Xi’s afternoon of talks with President Biden. According to Bloomberg, some 21 people were on the guest list.
That list did include representatives from technology firms such as Broadcom, Honeywell, and Qualcomm. But there was no Microsoft, Amazon, Google, or Meta/Facebook on the guest list.
Bloomberg says that guests presenter were kept away from President Xi, by bodyguards who sat near him. Reportedly, the guests were served “a menu of seasonal vegetables in a champagne vinaigrette, black Angus flat iron steak and vanilla custard tart, from approaching him.”
What the guests did not get was a discussion of China’s military aggression against Taiwan. However, even though President Xi avoided saying the word Taiwan, he did seek to reassure business leaders that there will be no conflict.
