The summit between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping begun on Thursday with much ceremony in front of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, but they now close the conference room doors in search of substance.
The group of U.S. company executives picked for Trump’s second state visit to China since 2017 offers a glimpse of the deals he hopes to strike there.
Trump said earlier this week that he wanted to “open up” China American business. In opening remarks ahead of what he called the “biggest summit ever,” he told Xi that the U.S. offer would be “totally reciprocal.”
“Every single one of them said yes,” Trump said of the delegation of senior executives representing sectors including aerospace, IT and agriculture. “They’re here today to pay respects to you and to China.”
His proposal was a throwback to the early 2000s, when the U.S. backed China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in the hope of tapping a market with massive potential—before the Chinese economy grew to become America’s fiercest rival.
This is a developing story. Updates to follow.
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