Tesla CEO Elon Musk is one of several business executives accompanying President Donald Trump on Air Force One as he travels to Beijing for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Fox News host Sean Hannity is also on the flight, as is Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who was not included on the original guest list and joined as a last-minute addition during a refueling stop in Anchorage, Alaska.
(Trump drops surprise on China moments before landing)
Trump confirmed in a post on Truth Social that Huang was aboard Air Force One.
(Top official quits minutes before Trump lands in China)
The US president also mentioned several other executives who were part of the official trip, including Tim Cook from Apple, Larry Fink from BlackRock, Stephen Schwarzman from Blackstone, Kelly Ortberg from Boeing, Brian Sikes from Cargill, Jane Fraser from Citigroup, Larry Culp from GE Aerospace, David Solomon from Goldman Sachs, Sanjay Mehrotra from Micron, and Cristiano Amon from Qualcomm.
Trump also noted in his Truth Social post that the first thing he would bring up with Xi is to “open up” China to American businesses, and that a CNBC story claiming that Huang was not included in the business leader entourage was wrong.
(Trump stuns with “life support” announcement)
CNBC incorrectly reported that the Great Jensen Huang, of Nvidia, was not invited to the incredible gathering of the World’s Greatest Businessmen/women proudly going to China. 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!
It is an Honor to have Jensen, Elon, Tim Apple, Larry Fink, Stephen Schwarzmann, Kelly Ortberg (Boeing), Brian Sikes (Cargill), Jane Fraser (Citi), Larry Culp (GE Aerospace), David Solomon (Goldman Sachs), Sanjay Mehrotra (Micron), Cristiano Amon (Qualcomm), and many others journeying to the Great Country of China where I will be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to “open up” China so that these brilliant people can work their magic, and help bring the People’s Republic to an even higher level!
In fact, I promise, that when we are together, which will be in a matter of hours, I will make that my very first request. I have never seen or heard of any idea that would be more beneficial to our incredible Countries!
Trade, Taiwan, the Iran war, and artificial intelligence are expected to be the main topics of discussion during the upcoming meeting, as officials from both sides have spent months negotiating the details in preparation.
Trump first announced his plans to visit China during his meeting with Xi at the Busan summit in South Korea on October 30.
Beijing has indicated that it will prioritize U.S. policy on Taiwan during the talks, while Trump is expected to advocate for progress on trade and the security of the Strait of Hormuz, according to reports.
Air Force One landed in Beijing, China, at approximately 7:51 a.m. ET (Wednesday morning U.S. time and Thursday morning in China) at Beijing Capital International Airport. The plane taxied for about eight minutes before the doors opened for the official red-carpet arrival.
President Donald Trump deplaned at 8:08 a.m. ET and was greeted by Chinese Vice President H.E. Han Zheng, U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue, Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. H.E. Xie Feng, and Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs H.E. Ma Zhaoxu.
Following Trump were his son Eric and daughter-in-law Lara Trump, along with a number of other passengers, including SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who did not respond to questions and immediately entered a limousine to head to his hotel.
The welcoming ceremony featured approximately 300 Chinese youth, a military honor guard, and a military band. “Welcome, welcome! Warm welcome!” the children chanted in Chinese.
