This is the web version of CEO Daily, a newsletter from Fortune CEO Alan Murray.
The (bleak) future of globalization is the hot topic this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, founded five decades ago to promote globalization. Putin's invasion of Ukraine is the main culprit. But in private, talks quickly shift from Russia to China. Xi's embrace of Putin, Biden's defense of Taiwan, a zero Covid policy towards the south and a slowdown in the Chinese economy are fueling speculation... although there is no clear end point. Few see a rapprochement on the horizon, but neither do they see war as likely.
Note:- get more information about dovos conversations quickly flow from russia to china.
For business leaders, the main sentiment is one of risk reduction. The recent Wall Street Journal report that Apple is trying to move production out of China is not an outlier.
In our survey of Fortune 500 CEOs this month, we asked if CEOs were:
Reduce our exposure to the Chinese market due to concerns about political and reputational risk."
increase our exposure to the Chinese market due to business opportunities", or
they do not participate in the Chinese market.
A year ago, 23% chose the first option. This year, that figure has risen to 35%. In other words: 61% of those who said their company was involved in the Chinese market said they were looking to reduce their exposure. No one seems to know exactly where the US-China relationship is headed, but many prefer to hedge their bets.
