Xi Tells Trump and U.S. CEOs China Will Open Further to American Business

Chinese President Xi Jinping told a delegation of U.S. executives accompanying President Donald Trump that China's door to business will "open wider," state-backed newspaper Xinhua reported on May 14, 2026. Xi said U.S. companies are deeply involved in China's reform and opening up, with both sides having benefited from the relationship.

He welcomed enhanced mutually beneficial cooperation and expressed belief that American firms will enjoy broader prospects in China. Trump introduced each executive to Xi one by one during the meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The group included Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and BlackRock's Larry Fink, among more than a dozen others.

These executives, with a combined net worth exceeding $1 trillion, told Xi they attach great importance to the Chinese market and hope to deepen operations there.

The White House said the two sides discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation, including expanding market access for American businesses into China and increasing Chinese investment. Xi's remarks were described by one analyst as a strong statement encouraging continued foreign investment at a time when China seeks to remain attractive.

Both nations are racing to develop artificial intelligence capabilities. The U.S. has imposed export controls on advanced chips to China, while Beijing has bolstered its domestic semiconductor industry. On the same day as the meeting, Reuters reported that Washington had approved Nvidia's sale of its H200 chips to certain Chinese tech companies.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC the approval was news to him and referred questions to the Commerce Department. Nvidia shares rose more than 4 percent Thursday on the report, following a 2.3 percent gain the prior day after Huang's last-minute addition to the trip was announced.

“Xi said that U.S. companies are deeply involved in China's reform and opening up, and both sides have benefited from this. In 2025, the U.S. imposed steep tariffs on Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to restrict rare earth exports. That dispute ended in a one-year truce set to expire this fall. China processes about 85 percent of the world's rare earths and produces over 90 percent of the magnets derived from them. Individual companies in the delegation have faced distinct challenges. Apple has accelerated efforts to shift iPhone production from China to India and Vietnam. Tesla has lost market share in China to local electric vehicle makers such as BYD while navigating data rules. Boeing saw deliveries halted during last year's tariff dispute before they resumed under the truce. Nvidia has been restricted from selling its most advanced AI chips to China on U.S. national security grounds. Huang has lobbied for continued access to a market that once represented a significant portion of the company's data center revenue. His inclusion in the delegation came hours before the H200 approval news. Chinese Premier Li Qiang held a separate meeting with the executives and reiterated that China would continue improving the business environment for foreign companies. Musk described the talks as "awesome" while leaving the meeting.”

In the same session, Xi warned Trump that the U.S. and China will have clashes and even conflicts if the Taiwan issue is not handled carefully. He described Taiwan as the most important issue in bilateral relations. The island is claimed by Beijing as its territory.

The Beijing summit is the first of four planned meetings between the two leaders this year. Expectations for major policy breakthroughs were low, with both sides seeking to stabilize the relationship amid separate geopolitical pressures from the Iran war.

Discussions included possible purchase commitments for U.S. agricultural products, energy and up to 500 Boeing 737 MAX jets. The one-year trade truce established in October 2025 is expected to hold or be extended. Talks on forming a board of trade to facilitate commerce in non-sensitive sectors also progressed.

No immediate changes to tariffs or export controls were announced.