President Xi's US Visit to Exclude Chinese Business Delegation, Sources Say

Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to arrive in Washington this week without the accompanying delegation of Chinese business executives that Beijing had reportedly planned, according to a Reuters report citing two people familiar with the matter. The absence of a formal business group marks a notable shift in the arrangements for the high-level diplomatic visit.

Reasons for the Change Remain Unconfirmed

It was not immediately clear why the proposed CEO delegation will not be attending. One source suggested the White House has other priorities for the visit, while another indicated that U.S. officials were concerned about the potential inclusion of Chinese companies believed to have links to China's military. Both sources declined to be identified because the plans were not public.

When asked about the business delegation at a regular briefing Wednesday, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson stated, "I do not have the relevant information." The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to the report.

US Tech Executives to Attend State Dinner

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While a Chinese business contingent will be absent, a state dinner hosted by President Donald Trump for President Xi on Thursday is still expected to draw prominent U.S. corporate leaders. The guest list reportedly includes top executives from the technology and pharmaceutical sectors.

Those expected to attend include:

• Jeff Bezos of Amazon
• Sundar Pichai of Alphabet
• Sam Altman of OpenAI
• Tim Cook of Apple
• Elon Musk of Tesla
• Jensen Huang of Nvidia
• Albert Bourla of Pfizer
• Mark Zuckerberg of Meta Platforms

The presence of these high-profile U.S. executives underscores the ongoing, complex engagement between American industry and China, even as official business-to-business dialogue during the visit appears to have been curtailed.