Two sources familiar with the discussions said President Xi Jinping is preparing to travel to Washington with a sizeable delegation of business leaders for the summit scheduled on September 24. The formation of a large corporate contingent would be notable given current U.S. skepticism about Chinese investment and the recent chill in relations between Beijing and private enterprise.
Xi has rarely travelled overseas accompanied by business executives since Beijing launched high-profile regulatory actions beginning in 2020 that targeted technology, education and property companies. Many private-sector leaders fell out of favour during those crackdowns, making this proposed business presence on a state visit an uncommon development.
The plan to include a substantial business group for the late-September meeting has not previously been disclosed. The two sources could not confirm which individual executives would be part of the delegation.
Purpose and political context
One source involved in the discussions said the inclusion of corporate leaders aims in part to demonstrate Chinas readiness to back investment and commercial ties with the United States. The move could also provide potential economic announcements that might be valuable to the White House ahead of midterm elections, the source added.
That effort comes against a backdrop of heightened U.S. measures that have increased scrutiny of Chinese companies operating or investing in the United States. Actions cited by officials include a 100% tariff on imported Chinese electric vehicles, bans on certain foreign drone, router and robot imports, and the forced divestiture of a Chinese-owned social media platforms U.S. operations. In addition, major Chinese technology firms have been placed on U.S. export control lists and blacklists maintained by the Pentagon.
How this compares to past exchanges
The last time Xi travelled to the United States with a sizeable business contingent was in 2015, when his delegation included prominent private-sector founders and executives, such as Alibaba's Jack Ma and Tencent's Pony Ma, alongside leaders from Chinese banks and state-owned firms. During that visit, China signed a $38 billion deal for 300 Boeing aircraft and Xi met with senior U.S. technology executives including Apples Tim Cook, Facebook-owner Metas Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
By contrast, U.S. presidents have more recently travelled to China with large American business delegations. For example, in 2017 and again in May this year, a U.S. president visited China accompanied by a sizeable group of American executives seeking greater commercial access to Chinese markets. In May, the U.S. delegation included 18 executives, among them the Nvidia chief executive and a major electric vehicle entrepreneur, according to sources.
Expert reaction
"My sense is that the Chinese... are going to be more intentional about the role of these business people in having them join the delegation," said Scott Kennedy, a China business expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He added that executive participation could be "really valuable."
Kennedy contrasted this approach with how the U.S. business group was organised in May, describing that U.S. delegation as put together on short notice, with executives who were "more wallflowers than serious participants."
Expectations for the summit and negotiating tracks
Officials announced formal mechanisms in May to better manage trade and investment ties, but three separate sources told those close to negotiations that the Board of Investment is unlikely to deliver major outcomes at the summit. The sources cited the difficult U.S. environment for Chinese investment as a constraint on substantive progress.
Overall expectations for the summit are modest, with limited prospects for major breakthroughs, the sources said. Beijing and Washington remain divided over which products should be classified as "non-sensitive" under a proposed Board of Trade. Approximately 10 categories of goods are under discussion for potential inclusion, but one source cautioned that the list could still change as the summit approaches.
For U.S. negotiators, reaching agreement on the Board of Trade is a primary objective alongside securing additional rare earth export licences for American companies, the sources added. An unnamed U.S. official said the administration continues to press Chinese counterparts to address concerns about Beijing's compliance with an agreement announced in Busan last October, which had produced a one-year trade truce that paused some export controls and tariffs. Beijing, for its part, has sought further tariff relief.
China's commerce ministry said in July that both sides were exploring reciprocal tariff reductions covering $30 billion worth of products. Meanwhile, after the U.S. Supreme Court in February struck down prior China-related tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Washington introduced a 10% global import tariff.
Announcements, meetings and unanswered queries
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on a recent Thursday that both countries plan to make "some announcements on agriculture and non-tariff barriers" at the summit, without offering further detail.
Four sources said U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Greer and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are scheduled to meet in early September to discuss summit deliverables. The sources did not provide a specific date or location for those talks.
Requests for comment to the U.S. Treasury, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the State Department were not answered. China's foreign and commerce ministries also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Outlook
With senior officials and business leaders potentially travelling together to Washington, the summit will likely be as much about symbolism and signalling as about concrete, near-term policy outcomes. Sources close to the negotiations suggest that any major deliverables are unlikely, while a set of modest, targeted announcements on areas such as agriculture, tariffs and non-tariff barriers could still emerge.