Las Vegas Sands CEO Robert Goldstein Among US Business Brass Who Met With Chinese Premier
Posted on: September 27, 2025, 03:08h.
Last updated on: September 27, 2025, 03:09h.
- Las Vegas Sands CEO Rob Goldstein met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang
- The Chinese leader expressed enthusiasm for strengthening his country’s relationship with the US
- Sands operates five casinos in China’s Macau
Robert Goldstein, the chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands, who assumed the roles in January 2021 following the death of his longtime boss and mentor, Sheldon Adelson, was among the American business leaders who met last week with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
For decades, Goldstein was Adelson’s right-hand man. Adelson, the founder and longtime chair and CEO of Sands, was responsible for overhauling China’s Macau into the world’s richest gaming hub by developing the ultra-luxurious Cotai Strip.
During his trip to the US to attend a meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York, Li, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s right-hand man, who is the second most important leader in China, met with several executives from major American companies that do business with China, with LVS among them.
Las Vegas-based Sands no longer has any resorts in Las Vegas or anywhere else in the US. The firm instead relies primarily on Macau, along with its Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.
Chinese Meeting
Goldstein was one of at least eight business leaders who met privately with Li in New York on Thursday after the UN gathering. Goldstein’s attendance was first reported by Bloomberg.
Looking forward, China and the US need to find the right way to get along in this new era,” Li said at the event hosted by the National Committee on US-China Relations, according to a readout posted by the Chinese government. “Economic and trade relations are an important part of our bilateral relationship.”
Li said that the world’s two largest economies “can and should become friends and partners.”
Those are welcome comments for Sands, which owns and operates five integrated resort casino properties in China — The Venetian, Sands, The Londoner, The Plaza & Four Seasons Hotel, and The Parisian. In 2024, Sands’ Macau operations generated net revenue of more than $7.1 billion for the company.
President Donald Trump’s tariff war and ongoing threats to the Chinese economy have caused some concern among the three US-based gaming operators invested in Macau that they could be targeted for retaliation. Along with Sands, MGM Resorts and Wynn Resorts own casinos in Macau.
Li’s comments, however, suggest the Chinese Communist Party is seeking to strengthen its US relationship.
Regardless of changes in the external environment, China will make every possible effort to ensure greater certainty for the growth of foreign companies,” Li added.
The premier said the Pacific Ocean is “wide enough” to accommodate a strong bilateral relationship between the US and China, but also additional countries. Li urged both sides and parties to “strengthen cooperation.”
Li Power
Along with Goldstein and Sands, Li reportedly invited leaders from BlackRock, Citadel Securities, Visa, FedEx, Estee Lauder, and Amphenol.
As premier, a position he’s held since March 2023, Li has been considered pro-business. The premier is the head of the People’s Republic of China government and leads the State Council.
Goldstein plans to step down next year. He’s set to be replaced by Sands President and COO Patrick Dumont, the son-in-law of Sands’ largest shareholder, Dr. Miriam Adelson, the widow of the late Sheldon Adelson.
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