Around 16 senior US executives, including Elon Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook, are expected to accompany President Donald Trump to Beijing for a mid-May summit with Xi Jinping. White House-linked lists and officials familiar with the plans say the delegation is heavy on commercial players, aimed at pushing trade, aviation and agricultural deals and at lengthening a trade truce. Reports name a core group of finance and industry chiefs from Boeing, BlackRock, Blackstone, Micron, Mastercard, Visa, Meta and Qualcomm among others. The visit, most commonly dated May 13-15, could include public purchase announcements and talks on rare-earth minerals alongside broader economic ties.

President Trump will travel to Beijing this month with a substantial US business delegation, according to White House-linked lists and officials familiar with the plans. The roster, reported by multiple outlets, reportedly features a who’s who of corporate America and is being presented as a commercial-heavy mission to bolster trade ties with China while the leaders meet.

Who is travelling

Named executives expected to be on the trip include Elon Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook. The lists also identify Boeing president and chief executive Kelly Ortberg, BlackRock chair and CEO Larry Fink, and Blackstone chair and CEO Stephen Schwarzman. Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra is listed, as are Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach and Visa CEO Ryan McInerney. Meta president and vice chair Dina Powell McCormick and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon appear on the roster as well.

Banking chiefs are represented too, with Jane Fraser of Citi and David Solomon of Goldman Sachs among those named. Industry CEOs cited on various lists include Jacob Thaysen of Illumina, Jim Anderson of Coherent and Brian Sikes of Cargill. Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins was invited but won't travel because the company is due to report earnings this week, a corporate spokesperson said. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang won't be part of the trip; outlets reporting the roster said he was not invited as the White House emphasised agriculture and commercial aviation on this visit.

Different accounts vary slightly on the exact size of the delegation. Two outlets reported a 17-executive roster, while another described a 16-person group drawn from a separate list. Coverage also gives slightly different trip dates: one account sets the summit on May 14-15, while others report the visit running from May 13 to May 15.

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What the delegation will probably seek

Industry and White House reporting link the business presence to planned commercial announcements and to efforts to stabilise US-China trade ties. There's specific expectation that China may announce purchases related to Boeing aircraft as well as agricultural and energy products during the summit.

Some industry sources cited in reporting said prolonged talks between China and Boeing could involve very large orders of narrowbody and widebody jets, including discussions predating the trip that mentioned up to 500 737 MAX aircraft.

Semiconductors and artificial intelligence remain live strategic issues in coverage of the visit. Micron’s Sanjay Mehrotra joining the delegation drew attention given prior Chinese restrictions on Micron chips, and reporters noted Nvidia’s absence reflected a narrower trade and aviation focus for The mission. The delegation’s composition suggests the White House is prioritising commercial aviation, agriculture and energy sales alongside the geopolitics of critical minerals.

Reporting also references earlier diplomatic groundwork. Coverage recalls the October meeting between Mr Trump and Xi in South Korea where the leaders agreed to pause an escalatory trade confrontation. Sources say the administration and Beijing will discuss lengthening that trade truce and mechanisms for rare-earth mineral flows alongside commercial deals.

Not every claim about the delegates is supported across accounts. For example, one outlet’s roster summary included an item saying Elon Musk donated more than $280 million to Mr Trump’s campaign. That donation figure appears only in that single report. Another single account included a timeline item saying Tim Cook plans to step down on September 1. Those particulars aren't yet corroborated across the wider reporting on the trip.

Organisers and delegation members will be on site for talks where reported agenda items include commercial purchase announcements and discussions on the trade truce, rare-earth minerals and broader economic ties. Corporate attendees and White House officials are likely to use the trip to pursue concrete contracts while the two presidents address strategic questions face to face.

The presence of senior bankers and fund managers alongside industrial chiefs signals an attempt to blend commercial opportunity with diplomatic repair. It also shows Washington pitching private-sector actors as part of statecraft, sending a message that the US wants to stabilise trade relations through deals as well as through diplomacy.

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The summit is most commonly dated May 13-15, when delegation members are expected to be on hand for commercial purchase announcements and talks on extending the trade truce and rare-earth mineral flows.

This article was created with AI assistance.