From left: Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and U.S. President Donald Trump in a trip to Qatar in May, 2025.Brian Snyder/Reuters
Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, GE Aerospace’s Larry Culp and Boeing’s BA-N Kelly Ortberg will join U.S. President Donald Trump on his visit to China this week, a White House official told Reuters.
Others taking part include Meta’s Dina Powell McCormick, Blackrock’s Larry Fink, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, Cisco’s Chuck Robbins, Micron’s Sanjay Mehrota, Mastercard’s Michael Miebach, Qualcomm’s Christiano Amon and Visa’s Ryan McInerney, the official said.
Ortberg told Reuters in April that Boeing was counting on the Trump administration to help unlock a long-awaited major order from China.
China and the U.S. plane maker have been in prolonged talks for a deal that industry sources say could include 500 737 MAX jets, plus dozens of widebody jets powered by GE engines. It would be the country’s first major Boeing order since 2017, and any announcement of the order would be viewed as a major win for the leaders’ summit. It could also represent the single largest airplane order in history.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is not going to Beijing with Trump, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday.
A Boeing 737 MAX aircraft being assembled at a factory in Renton, Wash., in June, 2024. An announcement of a jet order by China could represent the single largest airplane order in history.JENNIFER BUCHANAN/AFP/Getty Images
Huang was not invited, the source said, with the White House focusing more on agriculture and commercial aviation matters on the current trip. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump has developed a strong relationship with Huang since he has been in office and agreed to allow the company’s H200 AI chips to be exported to China.
But they have not yet been sold, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on April 22nd, citing difficulties with Chinese companies getting permission to buy them from the Chinese government.