Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, will meet with a bipartisan committee of lawmakers on Wednesday to discuss recent tensions between the U.S. and China over intellectual property and trade issues, according to Axios.
- The delegation of lawmakers, with members from both the Republican and Democratic parties, will begin a three-day tour of Hollywood and Silicon Valley to meet with various CEOs and other top executives.
- Iger will be their first meeting on Wednesday.
- The meeting is said to focus on Disney’s complicated relationship with China, which has seen the country blocking many of Disney’s films, specifically during the pandemic.
- That trend has reversed as of late with Marvel films Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania both securing releases in China earlier this year.
- The delegation, which is to be led by Rep. Mike Gallagher, will hold these conversations privately and simply intends to “hear mostly from them about how they're thinking about various issues” with no legislative agenda.
- Iger is the only CEO of a major studio with whom this delegation will meet, but their conversation is set to be followed by meetings with Hollywood producers, former studio executives and screenwriters.
- The group also plans to meet with Microsoft president Brad Smith and Apple CEO Tim Cook.