CEOs invited to summit with Obama and Hu

WASHINGTON - Chief executives from Microsoft Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will be among the corporate leaders the Obama administration is gathering today for a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao aimed at expanding U.S. business interests in China.

Microsoft's Steve Ballmer and Goldman's Lloyd Blankfein will be joined by General Electric Co. chief executive Jeffrey Immelt, Jim McNerney of Boeing Co. and 10 other U.S. business leaders, the administration announced.

The White House summit is part of the economic focus President Barack Obama is putting on the first formal state visit for a Chinese leader in more than 13 years.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the session will highlight the "important economic relationship" between the two countries and the role U.S. exporters play in creating jobs.

"You'll see important commercial relationships that our CEOs have and want to expand in China that the president believes is important to make a forceful case in front of both the CEOs from China as well as President Hu," Gibbs said Tuesday.

Separately, the president Tuesday ordered a review of U.S. regulations, both old and new, in a push to blunt criticism from Republicans and businesses that excessive government is hindering economic growth.

Obama ordered government agencies to consider the costs of regulations and to maximize public input in their development, while ensuring they are underpinned by science and that their impact on small businesses is taken into account.

The review excludes "independent agencies" such as the major financial regulators that are implementing most of 2010's Dodd-Frank reforms for Wall Street and the banking industry.

Combined news services