Top CEOs going to China with Trump this week

Daily News Article   —   Posted on May 12, 2026

(by Luke Fountain, CNBC) – President Donald Trump has invited executives from some of the biggest U.S. companies — including Tesla/Space X CEO Elon Musk,  Apple CEO Tim Cook, BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink and Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg — to join his trip to China this week, according to a White House official.

The official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the list has not been announced said that the following are also expected to join Trump’s delegation for meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping:

  • Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman
  • Cargill’s Brian Sikes
  • Citigroup’s Jane Fraser
  • Coherent’s Jim Anderson
  • GE Aerospace’s H. Lawrence Culp Jr.
  • Goldman Sachs’s David Solomon
  • Illumina’s Jacob Thaysen
  • Mastercard’s Michael Miebach
  • Meta Platforms executive Dina Powell McCormick
  • Micron Technology’s Sanjay Mehrotra
  • Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon
  • Visa’s Ryan McInerney

A spokesperson for Cisco said CEO Chuck Robbins had been invited by the White House to join the trip but is unable to attend due to the company’s earnings schedule.

The executives will join Trump on the trip during which he has said he hopes to secure a series of business deals and purchase agreements with Beijing.

The summit agenda is expected to cover trade, artificial intelligence, export controls, Taiwan and the Iran war, with both sides entering the talks after weeks of escalating tensions.

Notably absent from the attendees is Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang who said last week in an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer that “We should let the president announce whatever he decides to announce … If invited, it would be a privilege, ​it would be a great honor to represent the United States.”

[Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is not accompanying President Trump to China because he was not invited, with the White House prioritizing deals in agriculture and commercial aviation, reports Bloomberg. The decision signals a focus on economic sectors other than high-tech chips for this specific diplomatic visit.]

General Motors, Disney and Alphabet are also companies with interests in China that the White House did not list as having executives expected to attend.

On Friday Citigroup’s Fraser told CNBC’s Leslie Picker that “I think it’s very important to see engagement” between the two economic superpowers.” Adding, “we all need that engagement to be occurring.”

Published at CNBC on May 11. Reprinted here for educational purposes only. May not be reproduced without permission.


Questions

1. The first paragraph of a news article should answer the questions who, what, where and when. List the who, what, where and when of this news story. (NOTE: The remainder of a news article provides details on the why and/or how.)

2. a) Define delegation as used in paragraph 2.

b) What types of businesses do the CEOs invited to accompany President Trump operate?

  • Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman
  • Cargill’s Brian Sikes
  • Citigroup’s Jane Fraser
  • Coherent’s Jim Anderson
  • GE Aerospace’s H. Lawrence Culp Jr.
  • Goldman Sachs’s David Solomon
  • Illumina’s Jacob Thaysen
  • Mastercard’s Michael Miebach
  • Meta Platforms executive Dina Powell McCormick
  • Micron Technology’s Sanjay Mehrotra
  • Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon
  • Visa’s Ryan McInerney

3. What is the president's goal for the meetings with Chinese President Xi JinPing?

4. What will be the agenda for this week's summit in Beijing?

5. The president has not invited the heads of several other leading American companies, including Jensen Huang of Nvidia. Why wasn't Huang invited?

CHALLENGE: Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, 78, was sentenced in February to 20 years in prison by China's autocratic regime. His family and supporters are hopeful that President Trump will be able to negotiate his release during his meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Search the news in the week following the president's trip for information. (Read about the courageous Jimmy Lai here.)


Background

The presidential trip to China will be prioritizing specific technology and finance sectors.

The delegation, as described in reports on CNBC and by Reuters, was heavily weighted towards AI, chip technology, and financial services rather than traditional manufacturing.

The delegation was finalized amid internal debates over the size and composition of the group, with the U.S. Trade Representative aiming to keep the focus on "managed trade" rather than a broad business entourage. (excerpted from Google AI, May 11)