President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a highly anticipated summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, accompanied by a group of prominent American business leaders and media personalities aboard Air Force One. The visit is expected to focus on trade relations, artificial intelligence, Taiwan, and growing tensions in the Middle East.
Among the passengers traveling with Trump were Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and Fox News host Sean Hannity. Huang reportedly joined the delegation at the last minute during a refueling stop in Anchorage, Alaska, after earlier reports suggested he was not part of the official guest list.
Trump later responded to those reports in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, confirming that Huang was indeed on board. The president criticized CNBC’s reporting and praised the executives accompanying him to China, describing them as some of the world’s most influential business figures.
The delegation also included Tim Cook of Apple, Larry Fink of BlackRock, Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone, Kelly Ortberg of Boeing, Jane Fraser of Citigroup, David Solomon of Goldman Sachs, and Cristiano Amon of Qualcomm, among others.
In his online message, Trump said one of the first issues he planned to raise with Chinese President Xi Jinping would be opening China’s markets further to American businesses. He argued that increased economic cooperation could strengthen both countries and create new opportunities for U.S. companies operating internationally.
Air Force One landed at Beijing Capital International Airport at approximately 7:51 a.m. ET. Trump exited the aircraft shortly after arrival and was greeted by Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, along with senior Chinese and American diplomatic officials.
The welcoming ceremony featured a military honor guard, a military band, and hundreds of Chinese children waving and chanting greetings as the American delegation entered Beijing for the summit.
