By Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, The Daily Signal | May 12, 2026
President Donald Trump is bringing a slew of top business leaders with him to Beijing for his state visit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
“I am very much looking forward to my trip to China, an amazing Country, with a Leader, President Xi, respected by all,” Trump said Monday on Truth Social.
Joining the president on Air Force One are top executives from American industries, including technology and defense.
From the tech industry, Trump invited Apple CEO Tim Cook; Cisco Chair and CEO Chuck Robbins; Coherent CEO Jim Anderson; Illumina CEO Jacob Thaysen; Meta board member Dina Powell McCormick; Micron Technology President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra; Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon; and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. From the fintech industry, Trump is bringing Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach and Visa CEO Ryan McInerney.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was not invited and will not participate in Trump’s visit to China, according to Bloomberg.
Official talks on the AI race could be on the docket for the president’s trip. The White House and the Chinese government are considering official discussions about AI amid concerns about the competition becoming the newest arms race, The Wall Street Journal reported last week.
Also accompanying the president to China are BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink; Blackstone Chairman and CEO Stephen Schwarzman; Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser; Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon; and Cargill President and CEO Brian Sikes.
Trump is also bringing top advisers and Cabinet officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy Michael Kratsios, Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer, former deputy chief of staff James Blair, deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, communications director Steven Cheung, and speechwriter Ross Worthington.
He is bringing two aerospace and defense industry executives, Boeing President and CEO Kelly Ortberg and H. Lawrence Culp Jr., chairman and CEO of GE Aerospace.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Monday that he plans to discuss the economy, energy, religious freedom, and Taiwan with the Chinese leader.
“I have a great relationship with President Xi,” he said. “We’re doing a lot of business, but it’s smart business. We used to be taken advantage of for years with our previous presidents. And now we’re doing great with China. We make a lot of money with China.”
Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell is the White House correspondent for the Daily Signal.
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