BEIJING—Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Monday made good on a pledge to interact more with foreign businesses, amid growing complaints that the investment environment in China is souring.
Mr. Wen fielded a series of polite questions from a meeting with more than 60 foreign executives, who were in Beijing to attend a business summit. Among the companies represented were HSBC Holdings PLC, Dow Chemical Co. and Morgan Stanley. The topics, ranging from climate change to fiscal policy, provided no new insights into Beijing's thinking.
"It's important to reinforce your confidence in China," Mr. Wen told the businessmen in a 90-minute question-and-answer session in the Great Hall of the People. "And I believe we can do it."
The same day, the American Chamber of Commerce in China released a survey showing that growing numbers of its members feel unwelcome in China.
At the gathering, Mr. Wen reiterated his desire to reduce China's carbon emissions and his opposition to protectionism.
He also pledged further reforms of China's financial system and to reduce China's dependency on exports, a policy some have said contributed to the global trade imbalance.
But in some ways, these statements were unimportant; the meeting itself was the message.
The session was held on the same day as the start of a trial involving an Australian mining executive, Stern Hu, that had come to symbolize an increasingly negative opinion in the foreign business community. Mr. Wen's goal seemed to be to allay these concerns, with him explicitly stating that foreign businesses are still vital to China's development.
Although Mr. Wen has previously met with foreign business leaders attending the annual China Development Forum, it was the first time that his question-and-answer session was open to the foreign press. In addition, it was the first time he was flanked by key members of his cabinet in the session. Later, highlights of the session were broadcast nationally on state-run television.
Part of the convivial atmosphere, Mr. Wen noted, was because the questioners were friendly. Indeed, none touched on the fate of Mr. Hu, on Google Inc.'s decisions in China, on import-substitution policies or on surveys that have shown a bleak attitude toward doing business in China.
Private sessions didn't raise these issues either, said Doug DeVos, president of Amway Corp.
"None of that came up," Mr. DeVos said. "It was all policy and directional. It was a very positive forum."
