Donald Trump's 'CEO crew' to Beijing is almost as rich as the world's third-largest economy

On 13 May 2026, US President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing for a summit with China's Xi Jinping, with the Iran war, trade, US arms sales to Taiwan and AI on the agenda. Trump was accompanied by a group of business leaders, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who was invited at the last minute, as well as Elon Musk, Tim Cook and Kelly Ortberg. Trump said the mission was to 'open up' China to US business. Rubio, who has a new Chinese name, also travelled to Beijing despite sanctions.

Before the summit, US Treasury Secretary Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng held talks in South Korea, which China described as candid, in-depth and constructive. During the summit, Trump said Xi promised not to give Iran arms. Trump left Beijing after a short visit and praised his ties with Xi.