Top US CEOs accompany Trump on China visit

US President Donald Trump’s visit to China has sparked wide discussion not only for its diplomatic dimension but also for the presence of leading figures from the corporate world.

According to a White House official, more than a dozen chief executive officers (CEOs) and senior corporate executives accompanied Trump to China, AP reports.

The delegation included prominent companies from technology, finance, aerospace, defense and manufacturing. Apple’s Tim Cook; Elon Musk of SpaceX and Tesla; Larry Fink of BlackRock; and Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone are among the CEOs.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, Cargill’s Brian Sikes, and Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser are also present.

From the tech sector, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon, and Micron Technology’s Sanjay Mehrotra joined the trip. Meta executive Dina Powell McCormick, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, and Visa CEO Ryan McInerney were also part of the delegation.

White House sources said Trump personally invited Nvidia’s Jensen Huang at the last moment. Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins was also invited but did not attend.

Analysts note that the participation of top corporate leaders highlights commercial and technological interests amid strained US–China relations. The presence of companies in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, financial services and manufacturing underscores the economic significance of the trip.

Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook remains busy as his tenure winds down. Last month, he announced he will step aside on September 1 after 15 years at the helm, handing leadership to Apple’s hardware chief John Ternus. Under Cook, Apple’s market value soared by more than $3.6 trillion during an iPhone‑driven era of prosperity. Cook will stay on as executive chairman.

Apple’s reliance on overseas manufacturing forced Cook to master political diplomacy, particularly during Trump’s trade wars with China in both terms. In Trump’s first term, Cook persuaded the administration to exempt iPhones and other products from tariffs.

In Trump’s current term, however, the president insisted Apple shift iPhone production to the US and imposed some tariffs. Cook minimized the impact by moving US‑bound iPhone production to India and securing exemptions after pledging Apple would invest $600 billion domestically during Trump’s second administration.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, previously headed Trump’s short‑lived Department of Government Efficiency until leaving in spring 2025, months before the controversial pop‑up agency was shuttered that November.

The billionaire, who also owns the social media platform X, clashed publicly with Trump last summer in a war of words that included Musk alleging—without evidence—that the government was concealing information about Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Musk later admitted he regretted some of his posts on X about the president.

Since then, Musk has refocused on Tesla and his other ventures. Tesla maintains operations in China, and Musk has visited the country before.

He has also faced scrutiny from French prosecutors seeking charges against him and X over child sexual abuse material, deepfakes, disinformation, and alleged complicity in denying crimes against humanity through the platform’s AI system, Grok.

Musk is additionally locked in a courtroom battle with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Musk traveled to China aboard Air Force One with Trump.

Jensen Huang

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang joined the Beijing trip just months after the company received conditional approval to sell one of its powerful AI chips to China. In January, the Trump administration imposed new security requirements on semiconductor exports but allowed Nvidia to ship its H200 AI chips.

Under the rules, Nvidia must ensure adequate U.S. supply, submit the H200 for third‑party review before export, and restrict sales so China cannot use the chips for military purposes or import more than half the volume sold to US customers.

The H200 is not Nvidia’s most advanced product; its Blackwell and upcoming Rubin chips remain barred from export. Huang also traveled aboard Air Force One with Trump to China.