Donald Trump will travel to China on Wednesday with a high-profile delegation of American business leaders, including Elon Musk and Tim Cook, as Washington and Beijing seek to stabilise trade ties and deepen investment cooperation.
The delegation includes executives from technology, aviation, finance, semiconductors and manufacturing sectors, underlining the economic significance of Trump’s May 14-15 summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
The White House released a list of executives accompanying Trump, including:
Executives from companies such as Tesla, Apple, Boeing, BlackRock and Qualcomm are expected to participate in discussions focused on trade, supply chains, market access and sensitive technology flows.
The summit comes amid efforts by both countries to prevent fresh escalation in the long-running US-China trade conflict.
One of the key proposals expected to feature in the talks is the creation of a US-China Board of Trade and Board of Investment. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer recently said such a mechanism could help optimise bilateral trade in non-sensitive goods.
The visit was originally planned for March but was postponed after tensions in the Middle East escalated following US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
According to reports, Beijing may announce major purchases of American goods during the visit, including Boeing aircraft, agricultural products and energy supplies.
If confirmed, it would mark China’s first significant Boeing order since 2017.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg had earlier indicated that the company was hopeful the Trump administration could help secure fresh aircraft deals from China.
This will be Trump’s first visit to China since his 2017 state trip during his first presidential term. Trump and Xi last met in South Korea in October 2025, where both sides agreed to ease trade tensions.
White House said the participation of leading CEOs showed that Trump’s visit was aimed at securing concrete economic outcomes rather than symbolic diplomacy. The administration expects progress in aerospace, energy and agriculture agreements while also advancing efforts to strengthen domestic American manufacturing and jobs.