Trump heads to Beijing with slimmed-down CEO delegation as Iran war shadows summit
President Donald Trump will travel to Beijing next week with a noticeably smaller corporate delegation than in 2017, with Boeing, Citigroup and Mastercard CEOs invited. The slimmed-down guest list signals limited expectations for the summit. The Iran war is set to dominate the agenda, with trade and technology talks running in the background.
The White House has confirmed it has invited around a dozen top US executives to accompany President Donald Trump on his visit to Beijing on May 14-15, well below the 29-strong delegation that joined his first China trip in 2017. Boeing, Citigroup, Mastercard, Nvidia and Apple are among the names that have received invitations.
The pared-back guest list reflects cautious expectations for the summit. The US-China relationship is under strain from Taiwan tensions, advanced chip export controls and the Iran crisis. Beijing has continued to press for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen; Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Iranian counterpart Abbas Aragchi in Beijing this week.
On the formal agenda are farm-product purchases, chip-supply rules and dialogue mechanisms on artificial intelligence standards. Investors will watch whether large US tech firms can win clarity on their access to Beijing's export-control regime. S&P 500 futures ticked higher on the summit news.
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