Top CEOs Join Trump on High-Stakes Beijing Trip
BBC Business reported Wednesday that more than a dozen senior US executives have joined President Donald Trump on his official visit to Beijing, where he is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
A Who’s Who of US Business Boards the Delegation
The roster spans technology, finance, and industrial sectors. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk, and BlackRock chairman Larry Fink are among the most prominent names. Also travelling with the president are executives from Meta, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Boeing, Visa, Mastercard, Citigroup, Blackstone, Cargill, GE Aerospace, and Coherent. Illumina CEO Jacob Thaysen is also part of the group. A spokeswoman for Illumina said Thaysen is honoured to attend and views the trip as a chance to advance precision medicine globally.
Huang’s Inclusion Came Down to a Presidential Phone Call
Huang’s participation drew particular attention. Nvidia’s chips sit at the very centre of the technology competition between Washington and Beijing. The Nvidia chief was not originally on the delegation list. According to BBC Business, Trump personally called Huang on Tuesday morning after learning of the omission and extended a direct invitation. Huang subsequently boarded Air Force One during a refuelling stop in Anchorage, Alaska. A Nvidia spokesperson said Huang was attending at Trump’s request to support US goals at the summit.
Background: A Fragile Truce Between Two Rivals
Trump’s Beijing visit is the first by a sitting US president in nearly a decade. It follows a damaging tit-for-tat tariff exchange that pushed levies above 100% at their peak. A pause was agreed in October 2025 following a Trump-Xi meeting held in South Korea. Semiconductor export controls have remained a persistent flashpoint. Beijing previously barred Micron Technology chips from critical infrastructure on national security grounds. Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra is also part of the current delegation, making his inclusion symbolically significant.
Iran War Adds Pressure to the Agenda
Beyond trade and technology, the ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran is expected to dominate bilateral discussions. China sources cheap oil from Iran and has an economic interest in ending the conflict. Trump is expected to press Xi to use that leverage in facilitating a ceasefire agreement. Beijing has already curtailed some oil supplies to Iran, creating ripple effects across global commodity markets. Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins was invited but could not attend due to a scheduled earnings release.
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