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A powerful alliance of America’s most influential business leaders is flying into the center of global economic tension as President Donald Trump heads to China this week, setting the stage for a high-stakes diplomatic and commercial showdown with President Xi Jinping. With Nvidia, Apple, Tesla, BlackRock and Wall Street giants all represented, the trip signals an extraordinary convergence of politics, technology and global trade pressure at a moment of escalating US-China rivalry.

Massive Corporate Delegation Heads to Beijing

US President Donald Trump has taken a host of top business and technology industry executives on his trip to China this week.

Among those joining the president on his official trip to Beijing are Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Tim Cook of Apple, Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, Larry Fink of BlackRock, as well as other executives from Meta, Visa, JP Morgan, Boeing, Cargill and more.

More than a dozen US executives will join Trump on the trip, a White House official with knowledge of the plans told the BBC.

The trip is seen as important for the US, as Trump will meet with President Xi Jinping at a time of growing economic and technological animosity between the two countries.

AI Chips and Power Politics Take Center Stage

The late addition of Huang to the group is noteworthy as Nvidia's advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips are a major focus of the rivalry between the US and China.

Huang also serves on Trump's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, alongside other business leaders including Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Oracle boss Larry Ellison.

In addition to Huang, Musk, Cook and Fink, the full list of the executives joining Trump as part of the official US delegation to China is as follows:

_ Dina Powell McCormick, president and vice chair of Meta
_ Kelly Ortberg, president and chief executive of Boeing
_ Ryan McInerney, chief executive of Visa
_ Stephen Schwarzman, chief executive of Blackstone
_ Brian Sikes, chief executive and chairman of Cargill
_ Jane Fraser, chief executive of Citi
_ Jim Anderson, chief executive of Coherent
_ Henry Lawrence Culp, chief executive of GE Aerospace
_ David Solomon, chief executive of Goldman Sachs
_ Jacob Thaysen, chief executive of Illumina
_ Michael Miebach, president of Mastercard

It is also notable that Sanjay Mehrotra, the CEO of Micron Technology, will be part of Trump's delegation.

His presence is interesting as Beijing restricted the use of some Micron chips in critical infrastructure in 2023 on national security grounds, a move the firm has said negatively impacted its business in China.

Semiconductors remain central to the US-China economic relationship, despite ongoing tensions over technology and export controls.

Chuck Robbins, chief executive and chairman of Cisco, had been invited to be a part of the trip "but is unable to due to earnings," according to a company spokeswoman.

Together, the executives represent a swath of US business interests, from social media and consumer hardware, to computer chips and commercial manufacturing.

A spokeswoman for Illumina, a biotechnology company based in California, said Thaysen "is honoured to be part of the delegation" and that the company hopes the trip will be "an opportunity to strengthen relationships and shape the future of precision medicine."

Representatives of the other companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Surprise Twist as Jensen Huang Boards Air Force One

Absent from the original list was Nvidia boss Jensen Huang, whose company is central to the US-China rivalry over computer chips and AI.

But in a surprise development, Huang boarded the Beijing-bound Air Force One when it refuelled in Anchorage, Alaska.

"Jensen is attending the summit at the invitation of President Trump to support America and the administration's goals,"

A Nvidia spokesperson told the BBC.

The BBC understands that when Trump learnt that Huang was not on the list of executives set to join the trip, he called the Nvidia boss on Tuesday morning to invite him.

Trump later hit out at a media report that Huang was not invited to the event.

"In actuality, Jensen is currently on Air Force One and, unless I ask him to leave, which is highly unlikely, CNBC's reporting is incorrect or, as they say in politics, FAKE NEWS!"

He posted on social media.

Trade War, Tariffs and a Fragile Truce on the Line

Trump's visit to China will be the first by a US president in nearly a decade and marks a key test of a fragile trade truce between the two countries, following a tit-for-tat trade war which saw them roll out tariffs which at times topped 100%.

The tariffs were paused in October 2025 after Trump's last meeting with Xi, which took place in South Korea.

Looming large over the upcoming meeting will be the US and Israel's war in Iran, which has already forced a delay to Trump and Xi's meeting.

Trump is expected to push China, which relies on Iran for cheap oil, to help facilitate an agreement between Tehran and Washington to end the war.

China also wants the conflict to end. It has limited the supply of oil to the country, hitting the buying power of other countries around the world that import Chinese goods.

But China's vast oil reserves and diverse energy supply have helped it so far in weathering the fallout of the war better than many neighbours.