President Donald Trump has assembled a high-powered delegation of American business leaders to accompany him on his diplomatic mission to China this week, a White House source confirmed.
The president departed Tuesday for Beijing, where he will hold discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping covering topics ranging from Iran policy to trade relations and artificial intelligence development.
A White House insider, speaking anonymously due to lack of authorization for public statements, revealed the roster of business executives joining the presidential delegation.
Tesla and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk will participate in the China visit. The billionaire entrepreneur previously headed Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency before departing in spring 2025, months before the temporary agency closed in November. Musk, who controls social media platform X, engaged in public disputes with Trump last summer, including unsubstantiated allegations about the president’s connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The tech mogul later expressed remorse for his social media statements regarding Trump.
Currently, Musk has redirected his attention to Tesla and his other business ventures. Tesla maintains significant operations in China, where Musk has conducted business visits. He faces ongoing legal challenges from French authorities regarding X’s handling of child exploitation content, artificial manipulation, false information, and potential complicity in crimes against humanity through the platform’s AI system Grok. Additionally, Musk is engaged in litigation against OpenAI’s Sam Altman.
Apple’s Tim Cook joins the delegation as his leadership tenure nears completion. Cook revealed last month his intention to step down from his 15-year role as chief executive on September 1, transferring responsibilities to hardware engineering head John Ternus. Under Cook’s leadership, Apple’s market capitalization increased by over $3.6 trillion during the iPhone-driven growth period. Cook will transition to executive chairman following his CEO departure.
Cook’s management of Apple’s global manufacturing relationships demanded sophisticated political navigation skills, especially during Trump’s trade conflicts with China across both presidential terms. After successfully securing iPhone and other product exemptions from Trump’s initial tariff policies, Cook confronted greater obstacles during the current administration.
Despite Trump’s demands for Apple to relocate iPhone production from China to America, the administration implemented some device tariffs. Cook mitigated these costs by transferring US-bound iPhone manufacturing to India and securing additional exemptions after committing Apple to $600 billion in American investments during Trump’s second term.
Boeing’s Robert “Kelly” Ortberg, former Rockwell Collins chief executive, assumed Boeing’s leadership in 2024. His focus centers on Boeing’s rehabilitation efforts following the aerospace giant’s legal, regulatory, and manufacturing difficulties, along with significant financial consequences he inherited.
Last year, Ortberg stated his belief that US-China trade tensions would not derail Boeing’s financial recovery or prevent achieving delivery goals with Chinese carriers who had rejected the company’s aircraft. Beijing escalated import duties on American products to 125% in April 2025, responding to Trump’s decision to raise Chinese product tariffs to 145%. China’s tariff policy would more than double costs for passenger aircraft that Boeing, America’s largest exporter, sells for tens of millions each. However, Beijing poses reduced threats to Boeing compared to previous periods, as the company has gradually decreased shipments to that market.
Boeing continues negotiations with China regarding a potential major aircraft purchase agreement.
The business delegation also includes BlackRock’s Chairman and CEO Larry Fink, Blackstone’s Chairman, CEO and co-founder Stephen Schwarzman, Cargill’s Chairman and CEO Brian Sikes, Citi’s Chairman and CEO Jane Fraser, Coherent’s CEO Jim Anderson, GE Aerospace’s Chairman and CEO H. Lawrence Culp, Goldman Sachs’ Chairman and CEO David Solomon, Illumina’s CEO Jacob Thaysen, Mastercard’s CEO Michael Miebach, Meta’s President and Vice Chairman Dina Powell McCormick, Micron’s Chairman, President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, Qualcomm’s President and CEO Cristiano Amon, and Visa’s CEO Ryan McInerney.
