US President Donald Trump will be on a state visit to China with his wife, Melania Trump, and a high-profile delegation including 17 top CEOs from Wednesday onwards. Former Trump administration official and billionaire Elon Musk will be among the high-powered business leaders in the US delegation to China, according to a White House official. The delegation includes high-profile figures from the technology, finance, and industrial sectors.

President Trump will be meeting his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Beijing even as the Iran war has disrupted global oil markets and supply chains. Musk and other business leaders in the US delegation have significant business interests in China.

Among the high-profile business leaders in the delegation are Apple’s Tim Cook, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg, Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon, Meta’s Dina Powell McCormick, Micron’s Sanjay Mehrotra, Qualcomm’s Christiano Amon, Illumina’s Jacob Thaysen, 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.

“I have a great relationship with President Xi,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office. “We’re doing a lot of business, but it’s smart business. We used to be taken advantage of for years with our previous presidents. And now we’re doing great with China. We make a lot of money with China.”

The president delayed his trip to China due to the war with Iran.

On Monday, Trump blasted the Iranians’ response to a US proposal to bring the war to an end, calling it “unacceptable” and “garbage”. He also said the ongoing ceasefire is “unbelievably weak” and “on life support.”

A number of US officials noted that Trump is seeking to explore new frameworks for economic engagement with China, including potential investment and trade-focused boards designed to deepen structured cooperation between the two economies.

The visit comes amid broader efforts by Washington to stabilise economic ties with Beijing while maintaining competition across strategic sectors.

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.
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.