Who's Going With Trump on the Trip
The delegation's most recognizable names include Apple chief executive Tim Cook, Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk, and BlackRock chief Larry Fink. They are joined by Dina Powell McCormick, president and vice chair of Meta; Kelly Ortberg, president and chief executive of Boeing; Ryan McInerney, chief executive of Visa; Stephen Schwarzman, chief executive of Blackstone; and Brian Sikes, chief executive and chairman of Cargill.
The Full List of Executives
Other members of the delegation include Citi's Jane Fraser, Coherent's Jim Anderson, GE Aerospace's Henry Lawrence Culp, Goldman Sachs' David Solomon, Illumina's Jacob Thaysen, Mastercard's Michael Miebach, and Micron Technology's Sanjay Mehrotra. Cisco's chief executive, Chuck Robbins, had been invited but could not attend because of scheduled earnings obligations.
A surprise addition: 1. Jensen Huang, of Nvidia
In a notable development, the chief executive of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, was seen boarding Air Force One when the presidential aircraft made a refueling stop in Anchorage, Alaska. Huang was not supposed to be on the official delegation. A spokesperson for Nvidia confirmed that Huang is attending the summit at the invitation of President Trump, who personally invited him to support American interests and the administration's agenda. NVIDIA is at the center of the US-China battle over semiconductors and artificial intelligence.
Why Micron's Presence Counts
It is especially notable that Sanjay Mehrotra, chief executive of Micron Technology, is included. In 2023, Chinese authorities limited the use of some Micron chips in critical infrastructure for reasons of national security, a decision the company said affected its China business negatively. His participation in this diplomatic visit indicates that semiconductors remain a core and delicate matter in the US-China economic relationship, even as both sides make progress on export controls and technology rivalry.
What Trump is hoping to do
This is the first visit to China by a sitting US president in almost a decade. The announcement comes at a sensitive time after a punishing tit-for-tat trade war that saw the two countries impose more than 100% tariffs on each other's goods at their height. Trump and Xi last met in South Korea in October 2025, when they agreed on a fragile trade truce, and the summit in Beijing will be seen as a key test of whether that ceasefire can hold. The delegation's executives represent a broad cross-section of American industry, from social media and consumer technology to finance, biotechnology, aviation, and commercial manufacturing.
The Iran Factor and More Global Geopolitics
The US, Israel, and Iran continue to clash, and this is overshadowing the economic agenda. Trump likely will push China, which depends on Iran for cheap oil, to help broker a deal to end the war. China also has an interest in having the conflict resolved and has already taken steps to limit its oil imports from Iran. But China has so far been better able to cushion the economic blow than many of its regional neighbors, with large oil reserves and a diverse energy mix, giving it some leverage as these high-stakes diplomatic talks play out.
