Xi Jinping plans to bring large business delegation to Washington — CNA
Chinese President Xi Jinping is preparing a large business delegation for a visit to Washington scheduled for September 24. Channel NewsAsia reports, citing Reuters and two sources. Reuters was unable to establish the names of company executives who may join the delegation.
According to one source familiar with the discussions, the participation of business representatives is intended in part to demonstrate Beijing’s willingness to maintain investment and commercial ties with the United States. It could also give the White House an opportunity to showcase economic results ahead of the US midterm elections.
A rare format for the visit
Xi Jinping rarely takes corporate executives on foreign trips. Many private-sector representatives have fallen out of favor with the authorities following regulatory restrictions on the technology, education and real estate sectors that Beijing began introducing in 2020.
The last time Xi Jinping arrived in the United States with a large business delegation was in 2015. It included Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Tencent founder Pony Ma, as well as executives from Chinese banks and state-owned companies. During that visit, China concluded a $38 billion deal for 300 Boeing aircraft, and Xi Jinping met with the heads of US technology companies Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos.
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US President Donald Trump, for his part, visited China with large delegations of American executives in 2017 and in May 2026. According to sources, 18 US top executives arrived in China with Trump in May, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Elon Musk.
Expectations for the summit
In May, Beijing and Washington announced formal mechanisms for regulating trade and investment relations. At the same time, three sources informed about the talks said the investment council was unlikely to deliver significant results at the summit due to difficult conditions for Chinese investment in the United States.
The sides are also discussing a list of goods that could be considered “non-sensitive” within the trade council. According to one interlocutor, this concerns about ten product categories, but the list may change before the summit. Among US priorities are reaching an agreement on the trade council and obtaining more rare-earth export licenses for American companies.
An unnamed US official said the administration continues to demand that China fulfill the agreements announced in Busan in October. China’s Ministry of Commerce said in July that the sides were exploring the possibility of mutually reducing tariffs on goods with a total value of $30 billion.
