Washington: Chinese President Xi Jinping is preparing a large delegation of business executives for his planned visit to Washington, where he is expected to meet United States President Donald Trump on September 24.
The planned delegation is an unusual move for Xi and comes as China and the United States seek to strengthen economic ties while continuing to face serious disagreements over trade, investment, technology and national security.
Two people familiar with the discussions said Xi was preparing the business delegation. The final size and membership of the group remain unclear, and no public announcement has been made naming the executives who would accompany him.
Trump has repeatedly said Xi will visit Washington on September 24. On September 4, Trump also said he plans to host a state dinner for the Chinese president during the visit. China has not publicly announced the final details of Xi's trip.
The possible business delegation would give Chinese companies a more visible role in the summit. Xi has rarely travelled abroad with large groups of corporate executives in recent years, particularly after Beijing began regulatory crackdowns on the technology, education and property sectors in 2020.
The move also comes after Trump travelled to China in May with a large group of American business leaders. Eighteen American executives accompanied Trump, including Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang and Elon Musk.
Xi last took a sizeable group of Chinese business leaders to the United States in 2015. The group included Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Tencent founder Pony Ma, executives from Chinese banks and leaders of state owned companies.
During that visit, China signed a $38 billion agreement for 300 Boeing aircraft. Xi also met American technology executives including Apple chief executive Tim Cook, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
The latest proposed delegation comes at a different point in the relationship. Chinese companies have faced increasing scrutiny of their investments and business operations in the United States, while Washington has maintained restrictions on several Chinese companies and products.
Despite these tensions, both governments have been working to manage their economic relationship.
Trump and Xi met in Beijing in May, during Trump's visit to China. The two sides agreed to establish formal mechanisms for handling trade and investment issues.
One of those mechanisms is the Board of Trade, which is intended to address trade involving non sensitive goods. The United States and China remain divided over which products should qualify for the arrangement. Around 10 categories of goods are being discussed, although the list could change before the summit.
Another mechanism is the Board of Investment. However, it is not expected to produce major results during the September meeting because of the difficult environment facing Chinese investment in the United States.
Trade remains one of the main issues between Washington and Beijing. China has been seeking further tariff relief, while the United States is seeking progress on market access and the implementation of earlier agreements.
China's Commerce Ministry said in July that the two sides were exploring reciprocal tariff reductions covering about $30 billion worth of products. This remains under discussion and is not a completed agreement.
Washington is also seeking greater access to rare earth export licences for American companies.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on September 3 that the United States and China were expected to make some announcements on agriculture and non tariff barriers during Xi's visit. He did not give details of the possible announcements.
The two governments are also expected to continue discussions on other sensitive issues, including technology and artificial intelligence. Separate US China discussions on AI safety are being prepared for September, although the participants and agenda have not been finalised.
The proposed Chinese business delegation could therefore provide an important commercial element to the September summit. It could also signal Beijing's interest in maintaining investment and business links with the United States despite continuing strategic competition.
However, the delegation should not yet be treated as a confirmed list of Chinese corporate leaders. The names of the executives who may attend have not been established, and the Chinese government has not publicly announced the final composition of the group.
The September 24 summit is also unlikely to resolve all major disputes between the world's two largest economies. Current discussions point instead to efforts to manage disagreements and achieve limited progress in areas such as trade, agriculture, investment and non tariff barriers.
For now, the proposed business delegation is best understood as a sign of renewed economic engagement between Washington and Beijing, rather than evidence that their wider political and economic rivalry has ended.