China ramps up Wall Street meetings as Trump inauguration looms

cnbc.com:

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng has met with several U.S. finance executives in the last month as Beijing seeks to build relationships ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's planned tariffs on China.

He Lifeng is one of China's four vice premiers, and heads the ruling Chinese Communist Party's economic and finance committee.

He met with BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink in Beijing on Dec. 5, and Goldman Sachs President and COO John E. Waldron on Dec. 4, according to state media. That followed a meeting with Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser on Nov. 21, state media said.

«The Chinese are seeking all possible avenues to access those now ascending to power in Washington. The Trump Team,» said Peter Alexander, founder of Shanghai-based consulting firm Z-Ben Advisors. «Back channeling is how China operates, even prefers, when building lines of communications.»

Goldman Sachs said it was aware of the reports. The two other financial firms did not respond to a CNBC request for comment.

Trump has filled his Cabinet picks with at least 10 reported billionaires, including two with a finance-heavy background: hedge fund manager Scott Bessent for treasury secretary and Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick for commerce secretary.

«I do think the Wall Street folks that are coming into commerce and treasury will serve a moderating role on the trade protectionist side,» said Clark Packard, research fellow at the Cato Institute. «It's all relative because I do think there's going to be something protectionist on the trade side. Those voices will be the voices that work to mitigate some of that.»

«Especially at Treasury they're pretty worried about market reaction,» Packard said. «The one thing that can truly maybe scare Trump away from a