Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung visited China again this year, following last year.
According to the industry on the 22nd, the two will attend the China Development Forum (CDF), which opened the same day at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. It is their second straight year attending.
CDF is an annual event hosted by the China State Council's Development Research Center and is regarded as a leading external economic channel where China's top economic officials and global businesspeople meet face to face.
Given that Samsung Electronics and SK hynix both have production and sales footholds in the United States and China, they need a strategic balance between the two countries. China is a key production base and major market for the two corporations, and this attendance is seen as an effort to maintain ties with the Chinese government and assess future investment and business conditions.
After the forum last year, a meeting between President Xi Jinping and some business leaders drew attention. Chairman Lee visited Xiaomi's electric vehicle plant in Beijing and the headquarters of BYD in Shenzhen in succession to discuss cooperation plans for the vehicle electronics business.
This year's forum will also draw a large number of global CEOs from major corporations such as Apple, Aramco, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and HSBC. In semiconductors, executives from major corporations including Qualcomm and Broadcom are also on the list.
Industry watchers see China as moving to expand a cooperation base centered on European and Asian corporations amid U.S. tariff pressure.