Trump Heads To China With 17 US CEOs; Elon Musk, Tim Cook And Wall Street Chiefs Join Delegation – Republic World
Washington: US President Donald Trump is set to begin a state visit to China on Wednesday, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump and a delegation of 17 senior American business leaders. Trump’s trip to China comes at a tense moment for global markets, with the conflict in Iran disrupting oil supplies and trade routes.
As per reports, the high-level delegation included figures from technology, finance and industry, among them Apple’s Tim Cook, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman and Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg. Furthermore, former Trump administration official and billionaire Elon Musk is also listed, alongside executives from Goldman Sachs, Meta, Micron, Qualcomm, Illumina, Mastercard, Visa, Cargill, Citi, Cisco, Coherent and GE Aerospace.
During his visit, Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing for talks expected to focus on economic and energy cooperation. The visit followed a delay caused by the escalation of hostilities with Iran, and it coincided with US efforts to stabilise relations with Beijing while managing strategic competition.
The White House confirmed that the delegation features chief executives and senior leaders with massive commercial interests in China. Alongside Cook, Fink and Schwarzman, the group includes Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon, Meta’s Dina Powell McCormick, Micron’s Sanjay Mehrotra, Qualcomm’s Christiano Amon and Illumina’s Jacob Thaysen.
The White House stated that the financial and industrial representation is strong, with Mastercard’s Michael Miebach, Visa’s Ryan McInerney, Cargill’s Brian Sikes, Citi’s Jane Fraser, Cisco’s Chuck Robbins, Coherent’s Jim Anderson and GE Aerospace’s H Lawrence Culp also travelling. The officials said that the presence of these executives reflected the administration’s intent to link diplomacy with commercial engagement.
Donald Trump, while talking to media personnel in the Oval Office on Monday, stated that he would discuss economic and energy matters with Xi. He called their relationship strong, saying, “I have a great relationship with President Xi… We’re doing a lot of business, but it’s smart business.”
Also, the US president criticised Iran’s response to a US proposal to end the war, calling it “unacceptable” and “garbage”. He termed the current ceasefire as “unbelievably weak” and “on life support”, showing the urgency of securing broader regional stability during his time in Beijing.
The US officials indicated that Trump would explore new structures for economic engagement with China, including possible investment and trade-focused boards to deepen structured cooperation. The approach is intended to balance efforts to stabilise ties with Beijing against ongoing competition in sensitive sectors.
Notably, the timing of the visit is important, as Washington seeks to manage economic and technological frictions while encouraging Beijing to use its influence with Tehran. China remains a major buyer of Iranian oil, giving it leverage in any negotiations to end the conflict.
Trump’s trip to China is deemed a test of whether economic dialogue can advance amid geopolitical strain. The Trump administration, with supply chains and energy markets under pressure from the Iran war, appeared keen to secure commitments that would insulate US-China trade from further disruption.
The US president’s delegation signalled that business remains central to the relationship, even as both governments navigate rivalry in technology and security.