Thursday, March 28, 2024

‘Xi Beckoned, They Came’: U.S. Tech CEOs Fawned Over Chinese Communist Premier… ‘Did You Feel the Room Shake?’

A 2015 New York Times article reveals how CEOs from America’s largest technology and social media companies – including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook, and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos – fawned over meeting Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping.

The article – “The Most Memorable Moment of Xi’s America Trip” – describes how, during Xi’s visit to a Microsoft Headquarters in September 2015, CEOs from America’s big tech companies cozied up to the Chinese Communist Party leader.

As the New York Times put it, the tech bigwigs “paid homage” to Xi.

According to the establishment rag, after posing for a picture with Xi, Apple’s Tim Cook was “impressed” and, with a smile, inquired “did you feel the room shake?”:

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Bezos, Cook, and Tencent’s Pony Ma talking with Xi.

Zuckerberg also remarked earlier in the day that meeting with Xi was “a meaningful personal milestone” and an “honor”:

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Zuckerberg with Xi.

The New York Times article recounts how “$2.5 trillion of American corporate power paid homage to the Chinese president”:

“Looking back at the trip, the most memorable moment – and maybe the most important – was watching $2.5 trillion of American corporate power pay homage to the Chinese president.”

The article describes how the CEOs posed for a picture alongside the brutal dictator, noting “these executives are not accustomed to being beckoned” but when “Mr. Xi beckoned, they came”:

“Suddenly, the chief executives of America’s top 10 technology companies – market value about $2.5 trillion – accompanied by the heads of more than a dozen Chinese tech companies, arrived. They lined up in three rows. These executives are not accustomed to being beckoned – they turn down invitations to business summits, the World Economic Forum and more. But Mr. Xi beckoned, and they came.”

What’s more, the New York Times’ version of the story insists that for the American tech giants “the allure of being in Mr. Xi’s orbit was clearly too tantalizing for the executives to miss”:

“The allure of being in Mr. Xi’s orbit was clearly too tantalizing for the executives to miss. After they arrived, the executives cooled their heels for more than 10 minutes, waiting for Mr. Xi to finish his tour of Microsoft. It was hard to imagine these execs waiting idly for 10 minutes anywhere else.”

In addition to Xi, other Chinese Communist Party members in attendance included Alibaba’s Jack Ma and Tencent’s Pony Ma.

American big tech corporates with Xi and CCP members.
Top row: Sugon CEO Li Jun; Didi-Kuaidi CEO Cheng Wei; Broadband Capital CEO Tian Suning; CEC CEO Liu Liehong; Baidu CEO Zhang Yaqin; AME Cloud Ventures CEO Jerry Yang; Inspur CEO Sun Pishu; Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky; Sequoia Capital China founder Shen Nanpeng.
Middle row: Sohu CEO Zhang Chaoyang; AMD CEO Lisa Su; Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing; Microsoft VP Harry Shum; Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf; CETC CEO Xiong Qunli; Intel CEO Brian Krzanich; Qihoo 360 CEO Zhou Hongyi; LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman; SINA CEO Cao Guowei.
Bottom row: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg; JD.com CEO Liu Qiangdong; Cisco Chairman John Chambers; Alibaba founder Jack Ma; IBM CEO Ginni Rometty; President Xi; Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella; China Minister Lu Wei; Apple CEO Tim Cook; Tencent CEO Pony Ma; Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
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