China Says It’s Open for Business. Foreign Firms Find It’s Not That Simple

The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Wednesday welcomed dozens of corporate leaders and foreign dignitaries with one overriding message: China is open for business. The reality on the ground was more complex. China is increasingly presenting itself as a global force: President Xi Jinping surprised the world in January when he told power brokers gathered in Davos, Switzerland, that the country planned to intensify its role in the absence of American leadership. 

That message was echoed at the Guangzhou conference, which was attended by the leaders of companies like Apple, Ford Motor, Philips and Walmart and foreign leaders like Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada.

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