[US-China Summit] "Trump's Men" Gather in Beijing... Administration and Business Leaders Included

Musk, Jensen Huang, and Top Business Leaders Join the Delegation

Diplomacy and Security: Rubio and Hegseth Accompany the Visit

First Time in 54 Years for a U.S. Secretary of Defense to Join a Presidential Trip to China

During U.S. President Donald Trump's state visit to China on the 13th (local time), a large entourage of "Trump's men" from both his administration and the business world accompanied him.

On April 13, 2024 (local time), Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, attended an event held in Los Angeles (LA), United States. Photo by AP Yonhap News

According to the White House press corps, among the business leaders included in the delegation, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla—who recently reconciled with President Trump after a period of conflict—stood out the most. Musk currently operates a large-scale Tesla factory in Shanghai, China.

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, whose business has been affected by the Trump administration's stringent controls on advanced semiconductor exports to China, also joined the delegation at a stopover in Alaska for Air Force One's refueling. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, who has been cooperating with the return of manufacturing bases to the United States, was also included.

Other corporate executives in the delegation included Larry Fink of BlackRock; Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone; Kelly Ortberg of Boeing; Brian Sikes of Cargill; Jane Fraser of Citigroup; Jim Anderson of Coherent; Larry Culp of GE Aerospace; David Solomon of Goldman Sachs; Jacob Thaysen of Illumina; Michael Miebach of Mastercard; Dina Powell McCormick of Meta; Sanjay Mehrotra of Micron; Cristiano Amon of Qualcomm; and Ryan McInerney of Visa.

Among cabinet members, key figures in diplomacy, security, and trade accompanied the delegation: Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio; Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent; and Jamison Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). This indicates that not only trade and diplomatic issues, but also military matters, will be discussed.

Notably, it is rare for an incumbent Secretary of Defense, such as Hegseth, to visit China, which is considered a "potential adversary" of the United States. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), this is the first time in eight years that a sitting U.S. Secretary of Defense has visited China since James Mattis did so in the first Trump administration in 2018, and the first time in 54 years that a sitting Secretary of Defense has accompanied a presidential visit to China since President Richard Nixon's trip in 1972.

Secretary Bessent and USTR Greer appear to be discussing a possible ceasefire in the U.S.-China trade war, as well as coordinating the establishment of a new bilateral Trade and Investment Council. On the 13th, Secretary Bessent held preliminary discussions with He Lifeng, Vice Premier of China's State Council, at Incheon Airport. In addition, First Lady Melania Trump did not accompany the trip, while the President's second son Eric Trump and his wife Lara Trump were included in the entourage.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.