Chinese executives may join Xi’s US trip, as trade truce extension ‘almost certain’

Chinese and US officials are discussing whether business leaders will join President Xi Jinping’s delegation to the United States next month, as the two sides prepare to extend a one-year trade agreement reached in Busan last October, according to people familiar with the talks.

The negotiations come as Xi is expected to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on September 24. Trump travelled to Beijing in May with a large group of top American CEOs, including the heads of Tesla, Apple, Nvidia and Boeing.

In a meeting with US ambassador to China David Perdue in Beijing on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for both sides to implement the leaders’ consensus, manage differences and remove obstacles to high-level exchanges, so ties could become “stable, healthy and sustainable”.

Perdue said Trump and Xi had provided “important strategic guidance” and described Trump’s May visit to China as “very successful”. Washington was ready to strengthen communication, advance cooperation and prepare for “important high-level interactions in the next phase”, he said, calling for a constructive and stable relationship based on “respect and reciprocity”.

Trump’s envoy later wrote on social media that the meeting was part of preparations for Xi’s visit.

Against that backdrop, four people with knowledge of the discussions said the inclusion of Chinese business leaders was being negotiated, with the idea framed around reciprocity after the US executives joined Trump in May. Accounts differed as to which side was driving the request, and a final decision had yet to be reached.