Chinese President Xi Jinping is preparing to travel to Washington with a large delegation of Chinese business executives for a planned September 24 summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
The move would be unusual for Xi, who rarely travels abroad with corporate executives and comes as Chinese companies face growing scrutiny from Washington and Beijing maintains a cautious relationship with private businesses.
The delegation is expected to signal China’s willingness to strengthen investment and commercial ties with the United States while potentially offering the Trump administration economic gains ahead of U.S. midterm elections, one source said. Reuters could not determine which executives would participate.
Both countries have taken steps to manage trade and investment tensions, but major obstacles remain. Washington has imposed restrictions on Chinese electric vehicles and technology companies, while Chinese businesses continue to face heightened scrutiny over their U.S. operations.
Xi last travelled to the United States with a large group of business leaders in 2015. That delegation included Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Tencent founder Pony Ma and executives from Chinese banks and state owned companies. During the visit, China agreed to a $38 billion deal involving 300 Boeing aircraft.
Trump, meanwhile, has travelled to China with American business leaders, including an 18 member delegation in May featuring Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Elon Musk.
Experts said the participation of Chinese executives could give the upcoming summit greater commercial significance, although expectations for major trade breakthroughs remain limited.
The two countries are also negotiating which products should qualify as “non sensitive” under a planned trade framework. About 10 categories are under discussion, although the list could change before the summit.
U.S. officials are seeking greater access to Chinese rare earth exports and progress on trade commitments, while Beijing is pushing for further tariff reductions. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the two sides are expected to announce measures concerning agriculture and non tariff barriers during the summit.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Greer and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are also expected to hold talks in early September on possible agreements to be announced during the Trump Xi summit.
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