The White House invited the heads of major corporations to accompany Donald Trump on his trip to China, which will take place at the end of the week.
In particular, this concerns Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, Boeing Co.’s Kelly Ortberg, and others.
Among those who may meet with Xi Jinping are the heads of Goldman Sachs Group, Blackstone, Citigroup, General Electric, Visa, Mastercard — and this is far from the complete list. After the entire list of companies was published, their stocks surged.
The Final Reconciliation of Trump and Musk
Bloomberg notes that "Musk's inclusion on the list is the latest sign that relations between the U.S. president and the world's richest man have improved."
The quarrel between them, which has been honored with a separate Wikipedia article, occurred when Musk left the Trump administration, criticizing the "Great Beautiful Bill" that was supposed to be a hallmark for Trump. From June to September 2025, they exchanged barbs. The public reconciliation took place at the funeral of political activist Charlie Kirk: after the meeting at the mourning event, Elon Musk and the White House exchanged posts indicating that the conflict was resolved.
Objectives of the Visit
The journey of the richest people on the planet alongside Trump, as the American president hopes, will help finalize a number of business deals and procurement agreements with Beijing. In particular, Trump wants to agree on the details of establishing a trade chamber with China.
Sources from the publication reported that during the visit, Boeing will close one of its largest deals — the sale of 500 737 Max airplanes.
For Tesla, this visit is also very important, as the company faces stiff competition from Chinese manufacturers and hopes to gain approval for its autopilot technology from Chinese regulatory bodies.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed the U.S. president's visit to Beijing on May 13–15.
