US President Donald Trump said that “great things“ await both Washington and Beijing during his visit to China.
“I look forward to my trip to China, an incredible country, with the respected leader, President Xi Jinping. Great things will happen for both countries“, he wrote on Truth Social.
Trump will make a state visit to China from May 13 to 15. The trip to Beijing will be the first visit by a US president to the Chinese capital since 2017. The two leaders were originally scheduled to meet in late March, but the war in Iran postponed the trip. The leaders previously met last fall on the sidelines of the APEC summit.
CNBC, citing a White House spokesman, reported that Trump has invited executives from major U.S. companies to accompany him on his trip to China, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg.
A number of other senior executives from major corporations are also expected to attend, including representatives from Blackstone, Mastercard, Meta, Micron, Qualcomm and Visa, although a full list has not been released.
According to the network, Trump is expected to discuss trade, artificial intelligence, export controls, Taiwan and the situation around Iran with the Chinese side.
The talks come amid a recent escalation in tensions between the countries. On May 10, Politico reported that relations between the United States and China have entered a new phase of tension due to Washington's accusations of aiding Iran and the imposition of sanctions by the US State Department on three Chinese companies.
The restrictions were imposed on Meentropy Technology (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd, The Earth Eye and Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., which Washington says provided Iran with satellite imagery for strikes against US forces in the Middle East.
Politico previously reported that Trump's trip to Beijing will be a serious test for the US delegation.