President Xi Jinping officially welcomed a delegation of US corporate leaders to Beijing on Thursday, marking the start of a two-day summit with President Donald Trump. In a meeting at the Great Hall of the People, Xi assured that China would accelerate its economic “reform and opening up” to allow US companies to play a greater role in their domestic markets.
Among the key figures attending the meeting were Elon Musk (Tesla), Jensen Huang (Nvidia), and Tim Cook (Apple). The presence of the tech giants reflects a key focus of Trump’s visit, which is to secure fairer market access and reduce bureaucratic hurdles that have long plagued American firms operating in China.
Elon Musk described his talks with Xi as “extraordinary,” while Jensen Huang praised the leadership of both presidents. The positive reaction provided some relief to tech stocks that had been worried about trade tensions and cybersecurity issues between the two world powers.
The White House, however, remains cautious given China’s past track record of delivering on promises of economic opening. Systemic issues such as forced technology transfers and intellectual property theft have yet to find a definitive resolution, with the looming Iran conflict and the Taiwan issue further complicating diplomatic negotiations.
As of the first day, a formal announcement of a “US-China Trade Council” is in the works to manage future disputes. Global markets are now waiting to see whether the cordiality shown on Thursday will translate into concrete agreements on tariffs and rare earth supplies before Trump leaves Beijing on Friday.
