US President Donald Trump will visit China this week to meet with Xi Jinping on May 13-15, the first state visit by a US president in nearly a decade, according to Bloomberg. Trump will bring several businessmen from the world of finance and technology, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Tim Cook, who have big interests in the country.
Musk, the world’s richest man with $822 billion, has continued to be closely involved in White House affairs even after falling out with President Trump last year. Trump has brought Musk back into line and has been reaching out to other world leaders, including a phone call with Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March. New York Times. The call reportedly focused on the war in Iran, and as the Times noted, it is highly unusual for a private citizen to engage in such a call.
Musk’s interests in China include his massive Tesla factory in Shanghai, first built in 2019 and expanded in 2025. Tim Cook’s interest in China is related to Apple’s presence in the country. Despite efforts to diversify some of its production to countries like Vietnam, the tech giant still makes most of its equipment in China.
Meta will also be present in China, but it is unclear whether Mark Zuckerberg will be present. Meta’s Dina Powell McCormick, formerly President Trump’s deputy national security adviser for strategy, will also be there, according to Bloomberg.
A list of famous people who reportedly traveled to China with Trump Bloomberg:
- Kelly Ortberg (Boeing)
- Dina Powell McCormick (Meta)
- Chuck Robbins (Cisco)
- Sanjay Mehrotra (Micron)
- Cristiano Amon (Qualcomm)
- David Solomon (Goldman Sachs)
- Stephen Schwarzman (Blackstone)
- Larry Fink (BlackRock)
- Jane Fraser (Citigroup)
- Larry Culp (General Electric)
- Brian Sykes (Cargill)
- Ryan McInerney (Visa)
- Michael Miebach (Mastercard)
- Jacob Thaysen (Illumina)
- Jim Anderson (Now)
So far, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is not on the guest list, notable given the company’s efforts to sell its advanced AI chips to China. President Trump’s meeting with Xi will be important for US businesses, but the elephant in the room will be America’s war on Iran.
The United States last week imposed new sanctions on several Chinese companies for allegedly providing Iran with satellite imagery to launch military strikes against U.S. forces in the Middle East and aiding Iran’s ballistic missile and drone programs. China denies the allegations.
“We have always required Chinese enterprises to conduct business in accordance with laws and regulations, and we will resolutely protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises,” government spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a press briefing on Monday. Reuters.
