China is preparing to send a major delegation of business leaders to Washington alongside President Xi Jinping as Beijing seeks greater access to the United States market and reciprocity ahead of his planned visit.
Three sources familiar with the arrangements said Washington and Beijing were finalising a list of Chinese companies whose executives could accompany Xi, with final invitations expected to be issued in the coming days.
Among the companies being considered are electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, smartphone and EV maker Xiaomi, battery giants CATL and Gotion, consumer electronics manufacturer Hisense, automotive parts supplier Wanxiang Group, state-owned Bank of China and agricultural conglomerate COFCO Group.
The proposed delegation would represent an unusual development given Washington’s continuing scrutiny of Chinese investment and Beijing’s tighter oversight of private businesses. The final composition, however, has yet to be determined.
According to the sources, Chinese companies have been instructed to prepare for the trip pending confirmation of the arrangements at a meeting between United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng expected this weekend.
The move could also bring Chinese companies facing US regulatory pressure directly into discussions over trade and market access. One source said Xi’s delegation could include companies facing US sanctions, blacklists or other restrictions, mirroring former President Donald Trump’s decision to take executives from US companies facing regulatory pressure in China during his May visit to Beijing.
Washington has maintained restrictions on Chinese electric vehicles and technology. A Biden-era rule is due to prevent China-linked manufacturers from selling new connected passenger vehicles in the US from model year 2027, while also restricting Chinese software and hardware in such vehicles.
The United States also imposes a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles, while American automakers have urged Trump not to open the US market further to Chinese car manufacturers. Trump, however, said last week that he would support Chinese companies building vehicles in the United States.
Some companies under consideration for Xi’s delegation have also faced direct scrutiny from US authorities. CATL and BYD were added to a Pentagon list of companies allegedly linked to China’s military in January 2025 and June 2026 respectively.
CATL’s technology partnership with Ford for batteries produced at a Michigan plant has also attracted criticism from some US lawmakers.
Gotion, meanwhile, is suing Michigan’s Green Charter Township over a planned $2.36bn electric-vehicle components plant, alleging that local officials obstructed the project. Wanxiang agreed in December to pay more than $53m to resolve a US Justice Department case involving customs and anti-dumping duties on Chinese auto parts.
Beijing seeks reciprocity
China’s proposed business delegation appears designed partly to mirror the composition of Trump’s May entourage to Beijing, which included executives from US companies such as chipmakers Micron and Qualcomm and genetic-sequencing firm Illumina.
Those companies had also faced regulatory or market-access difficulties in China.
One source said Beijing was seeking reciprocity in the arrangements and that China’s commerce ministry had been tasked with contacting companies for the delegation.
The Chinese executives are not expected to hold meetings with US think tanks or business groups during Xi’s visit. Beijing had proposed a US-China CEOs’ roundtable, but the White House rejected the proposal, according to one source.
The executives are nevertheless expected to attend a White House state dinner.
Among the American business leaders expected at the dinner are Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, both of whom are expected to join Trump at the event.
Nvidia has itself faced difficulties selling its advanced H200 semiconductor products in China amid regulatory scrutiny from Beijing.
The planned business gathering comes as expectations for the Xi-Trump summit remain relatively modest.
Among Washington’s objectives are reportedly an agreement on a Board of Trade, additional rare-earth export licences for US companies and an extension of the trade truce reached last October in South Korea.
The presence of major Chinese companies at the White House could therefore provide an additional channel for discussions over tariffs, technology restrictions, investment and market access, even as broader tensions between the world’s two largest economies remain unresolved.
