Trump invites top US CEOs to join China trip

U.S. President Donald Trump has invited executives from some of the largest U.S. companies to join his trip to China this week for meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to a White House official. The invite list includes Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, the official said.

The official said the delegation is expected to take part in discussions and related events alongside Trump during the visit. Trump has said he hopes the trip will produce business deals and purchase agreements with Beijing.

The planned meetings come after weeks of escalating friction between Washington and Beijing over artificial intelligence technology, sanctions and rare earth exports, according to the official. The talks are expected to cover trade, artificial intelligence, export controls, Taiwan and the Iran war.

Other executives expected to join include Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone, Brian Sikes of Cargill, Jane Fraser of Citigroup, Jim Anderson of Coherent, H. Lawrence Culp Jr. of GE Aerospace, David Solomon of Goldman Sachs, Jacob Thaysen of Illumina, Michael Miebach of Mastercard, Dina Powell McCormick of Meta Platforms, Sanjay Mehrotra of Micron Technology, Cristiano Amon of Qualcomm, and Ryan McInerney of Visa, the official said.

Guest list reflects business focus during high-stakes talks

A spokesperson for Cisco said CEO Chuck Robbins had been invited by the White House but could not attend because of the company’s earnings schedule. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the list had not been announced, said the broader group includes leaders from finance, technology, aerospace and consumer payments.

Trump’s decision to include prominent business leaders highlights the administration’s effort to pair diplomatic talks with commercial engagement as the two countries manage tensions over sensitive technologies and supply chains.

Notable absence from the delegation

Notably absent from the expected attendees is Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who said last week in an interview that there is “no drama,” according to the source material accompanying the report.

Markets and businesses will be watching for any signals from the meetings on trade policy and restrictions affecting technology and critical materials.