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Samsung Electronics chief attends global forum in China

Published: 26 Mar. 2023, 16:28 Updated: 26 Mar. 2023, 20:06

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, right, inspects a multilayer ceramic capacitor production plant in Tianjin, China, Friday. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Business titans including the chief of Samsung Electronics and Apple's CEO are flocking to China for the first major international forum in the country since it lifted its Covid-19 restrictions.

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong arrived in Beijing on Thursday to attend China Development Forum (CDF) 2023, which runs from Saturday to Monday in the capital.

The trip is Lee’s first to China in three years since the Samsung chief visited Samsung Electronics’ chip plant in Xi'an in May 2020.

Sponsored by the Development Research Center of China’s State Council and organized by China Development Research Foundation, CDF 2023 is themed “Economic Recovery: Opportunities and Cooperation.”

Aside from Lee, the forum’s attendees include about 100 top executives from global companies such as Apple CEO Tim Cook, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla and BMW Chairman Oliver Zipse.

During his public remarks at the forum, Cook said that “innovation is developing rapidly in China, and I believe it will further accelerate,” according to local media outlets.

Lee did not make official comments during the event. Speculation suggests that the Samsung head is taking a cautious stance amid the intensifying U.S.-China rivalry.

“The latest forum demonstrates China’s confidence that global companies are bound to come to China despite pressure from the United States,” said Jeon Byeong-seo, director of the Institute of Chinese Economic and Financial Research.

A day before the opening of the forum, Lee visited Tianjin, China, where Samsung Electro-Mechanics' production facility is located.

The Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ Tianjin facility, which began operation in 2021, produces multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) for cars and IT devices.

An MLCC is a type of capacitor designed to store electrical energy in various electronic components and devices. MLCC demand is rising fast due to the electric vehicle (EV) market expansion, as an electric car requires some 18,000 to 20,000 MLCCs each, about thrice the amount placed in a combustion engine-powered one.

Global MLCC revenue is forecast to reach $35 billion by 2030, from 2021’s $12 billion, according to market tractor P&S Intelligence.

Lee visited Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ MLCC facility in Busan in 2020 and 2022 as well.

Tianjin is also home to Samsung Display’s mobile organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel manufacturing facility and Samsung SDI’s battery plant.

Lee met with local executives of Samsung companies based in Tianjin before visiting the production facility, according to Samsung Electronics.

BY SHIN HA-NEE, PARK SEONG-HUN [[email protected]]