Chinese CEOs fly to US on own, await invites to Trump’s state dinner for Xi Jinping
Por Khushboo Razdan,William Zheng,Nayan Seth — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement 2026 Xi-Trump summits China Diplomacy Exclusive Chinese CEOs fly to US on own, await invites to Trump’s state dinner for Xi Jinping
Sources say executives did not fly with Xi’s official party or aboard his aircraft, unlike Trump’s CEO-heavy entourage for May China visit
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Khushboo Razdan , William Zheng in Hong Kong and Nayan Seth in Washington Published: 8:41pm, 24 Sep 2026 Updated: 8:44pm, 24 Sep 2026
A small group of Chinese CEOs holding US visas has arrived in Washington after travelling separately from President Xi Jinping’s official entourage, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
But with the clock ticking and the business optics of the Chinese leader’s White House visit hanging on the final twists of diplomatic negotiations, the executives are still waiting to find out whether they will secure a seat at Thursday’s state dinner for Xi.
“Beijing’s security protocol is very different,” one of the sources said, noting that the executives did not fly with Xi’s official party or aboard his aircraft, unlike the American CEOs who arrived in Beijing alongside President Donald Trump in May.
Two sources said the final decision on whether the Chinese corporate chiefs would join state visit events was tied in part to talks between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, and the matter came up during their meeting on Wednesday.
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