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Trump to visit China with top US executives
US President Donald Trump will travel to Beijing this week accompanied by a delegation of 17 prominent business leaders, including Apple's Tim Cook, Tesla and SpaceX's Elon Musk, and BlackRock's Larry Fink, a White House official told the BBC.
Key figures in the delegation
The group represents a cross-section of US industries, from technology and finance to aerospace and agriculture. Executives from Meta, Visa, JPMorgan Chase, Boeing, and Cargill are also part of the trip, which aims to strengthen economic ties amid rising US-China tensions.
Notably absent is Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, whose company is at the center of the US-China rivalry over semiconductors and artificial intelligence. Nvidia has not commented on Huang's exclusion. Last week, Huang told CNBC it would be a "privilege" to join the delegation if invited.
Semiconductor tensions take center stage
Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra will be part of the delegation, despite Beijing's 2023 restrictions on Micron chips in critical infrastructure-a move the company said hurt its China business. Semiconductors remain a flashpoint in US-China relations, with both sides imposing export controls.
Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins was invited but declined due to earnings commitments, a company spokesperson said.
Broader business interests at play
The delegation reflects US priorities across multiple sectors. Illumina, a California-based biotech firm, said its representative, Thaysen, hopes the trip will "strengthen relationships and shape the future of precision medicine." Other companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trade truce and geopolitical pressures
Trump's visit marks the first by a US president to China in nearly a decade and tests the fragile trade truce reached in October 2025, when the two leaders met in South Korea and paused tit-for-tat tariffs that had exceeded 100%.
The ongoing US-Israel war in Iran has delayed the Trump-Xi meeting and will likely dominate discussions. Trump is expected to press China, which relies on Iranian oil, to help broker a peace deal. China, which has limited oil exports to stabilize global prices, has weathered the conflict's economic fallout better than many neighbors.
What's next
The trip is seen as a critical opportunity to ease tensions, though both sides remain wary of deepening economic and technological rivalry. Outcomes from the meetings could shape US-China relations for years to come.
