Elon Musk, Tim Cook, and Boeing CEO among executives joining Trump on China trip

US President Donald Trump will be accompanied by several top American business leaders during his visit to China this week, as Washington and Beijing seek to strengthen economic ties and extend a fragile trade truce.

According to a White House official cited by Reuters, the delegation will include Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook, GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp and Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg. Senior executives from major US firms including Meta, BlackRock, Blackstone, Micron, Mastercard, Qualcomm and Visa are also expected to join the trip, a White House official told Reuters.

The visit comes as the US and China prepare to discuss mechanisms aimed at facilitating mutual trade and investment. Reuters earlier reported that China is expected to announce purchases involving Boeing aircraft, American agricultural products and energy supplies during the summit.

Industry sources said Boeing and Chinese officials have been in talks over a potential deal involving about 500 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft along with dozens of widebody jets powered by GE engines. If finalised, the agreement would mark China’s first major Boeing order since 2017 and could become the largest aircraft order in aviation history.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg had earlier expressed optimism that the Trump administration could help secure the long-awaited China order.

The two sides are also expected to discuss extending a trade truce that currently allows the flow of rare earth minerals from China to the US. However, it remains unclear whether any extension agreement will be finalised during the trip.

Others attending the visit include Cargill CEO Brian Sikes, Coherent CEO Jim Anderson and Illumina CEO Jacob Thaysen. Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins was invited but will not attend because of the company’s earnings release schedule, according to a spokesperson.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will not be part of the delegation. A source familiar with the matter said Huang was not invited, as the White House is focusing the visit more on agriculture and commercial aviation issues.

Trump and Huang have maintained close ties during Trump’s presidency, with the administration earlier approving exports of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips to China. However, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in April that Chinese firms were still facing regulatory hurdles in obtaining permission from Beijing to purchase the chips.

Trump’s upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping follows their last encounter in October in South Korea, where both leaders agreed to pause an escalating trade war marked by steep US tariffs on Chinese imports and Chinese threats to curb rare earth exports.

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