Citi CEO Jane Fraser joins likes of Elon Musk, Jamie Dimon in visiting China after its reopening

Citibank CEO Jane Fraser has followed in the footsteps of Tesla's Elon Musk and other CEOs from the West by making a beeline to China.

Fraser met Li Yunze, director of the National Administration of Financial Regulation (NAFR), on Monday, according to a statement by China's new financial regulator on Wednesday. She expressed "full confidence in China's economic and financial development" and pledged to expand business in the country, the statement added. The Chinese regulator also added that the country's financial industry will open up further to the rest of the world.

Citi, which first opened for business in China in 1902, announced late last year that it would wind down its consumer banking business in the country as part of a global strategy adjustment.

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The long list of similar visits by CEOs from the technology, banking, fashion and manufacturing sectors indicates major western businesses with interests in the world's second-largest economy are keen to re-engage after its reopening.

A file photo of Citibank CEO Jane Fraser. Photo: Reuters alt=A file photo of Citibank CEO Jane Fraser. Photo: Reuters>

Fraser also met the head of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries on Tuesday, the association said on Wednesday. She said the United States and China should strengthen dialogue and cooperation in areas of common interest, according to a statement by the association.

Fraser's trip came on the heels of a visit to China by Musk, who last week said Tesla opposed a decoupling between the US and China. The carmaker - a runaway leader in China's premium electric vehicles segment - was willing to continue expanding its operations in the country, Musk said during his brief visit.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon also said during a recent visit to China that there "won't be a decoupling" between Washington and Beijing.

Roland Busch, the Siemens CEO, will be in China this month for his second visit this year, according to Chinese official media Global Times. Busch is expected to announce new plans for the Chinese market and attend a digital economy forum in Beijing, according to the report.

In March, Busch joined a slew of CEOs such as Apple's Tim Cook, Saudi Aramco's Amin H Nasser and Mercedes-Benz's Ola Kallenius at Beijing's high-profile China Development Forum, casting a vote of confidence in the Chinese market despite lingering concerns about the country's progress with economic reforms and geopolitical tensions.

Francois-Henri Pinault, the CEO of French luxury group Kerry, was in China in February to gauge the market himself.

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