BEIJING—Chinese leaders are stepping up a charm offensive with U.S. multinationals and dropping earlier threats of retaliation as Beijing changes tack to keep the trade fight with Washington from scaring off foreign investors.

Beijing is offering a reassuring message in its outreach to American companies. At a meeting last month, Liu He, President Xi Jinping’s economic-policy chief, told visiting American business executives that U.S. companies’ China operations won’t be targeted in Beijing’s trade counterattacks.

“We...