By Laurie Chen, Michael Martina BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -When the leaders of some of the world's largest companies flocked to Beijing for a business forum last month, their main purpose was a coveted meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Trump's erratic, and often confusing, rollout of tariffs has hit countries ranging from the largest U.S. trading partners, like Canada, Mexico and China. The result has been almost unprecedented market volatility and serious damage to investor trust in U.S. assets.