LVMH CEO Visits a Mall in High-Profile Trip to China

LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault kicked off his tour of China with a visit to a high-end shopping mall, with the billionaire’s efforts to woo Chinese consumers coinciding with the government’s push to build ties with foreign companies.

The French entrepreneur was spotted at a mall in Beijing, citing photos taken circulating on a Chinese social media platform. Together with the billionaire were Celine global CEO Séverine Merle, Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016) executive director Maureen Fung Sau-yim, and his daughter Christian Dior global CEO Delphine Arnault. The itinerary includes meetings with local teams in several cities, the people said.

The high-profile visit coincides with a gathering of global executives and world leaders in Tianjin, where Chinese Premier Li Qiang has sought to reset ties with major trading partners and warned of the risk of confrontation amid the campaign to “de-risk” supply chains away from the world’s second-biggest economy. President Xi Jinping separately pledged to do right by foreign investors as the country continues to open up.