President Donald Trump wrapped a two-day state visit to Beijing on Friday with China’s agreement to purchase 200 Boeing jets and a pledge from Xi Jinping not to arm Iran — the only concrete results from a summit that produced no signed agreements and sent U.S. stock futures lower before Air Force One left Chinese airspace.
Trump arrived Wednesday with a delegation of 17 corporate executives representing the largest names in American technology and finance. Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX flew on Air Force One with Trump. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, initially left off the invitation list, boarded at a refueling stop in Anchorage — a late addition that drew attention given ongoing U.S. semiconductor export controls limiting China’s access to advanced chips. Apple CEO Tim Cook, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Goldman Sachs’s David Solomon, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, and Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg rounded out the delegation, along with leaders from Mastercard, Micron, Qualcomm, Meta, and Visa.
Trump introduced the group to Xi at the Great Hall of the People as “distinguished representatives from the American business community” who “all respect and value China,” according to China’s state news agency Xinhua. Xi met separately with the executives and told them China’s door would “only open wider.” No specific agreements came from that session.
The Boeing order was the summit’s clearest business result. Trump told Fox News that Xi “is going to order 200 jets — 200 big ones.” Boeing had entered the summit expecting a commitment of roughly 150 aircraft. The last major Chinese order came during Trump’s 2017 Beijing visit, when China agreed to buy 300 planes — a commitment that went largely unfulfilled as relations deteriorated. Boeing shares fell 4% Friday on the 200-jet announcement. China also expressed interest in purchasing more U.S. oil, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said China committed to agricultural purchases in the “double-digit billions” with no further specifics. China had not confirmed any U.S. statements by the time Trump departed.
Trump claimed China would invest “hundreds of billions of dollars” in companies run by the CEOs in his delegation but provided no details. Analyst Gary Dvorchak of Blueshirt Group told CNBC the delegation’s purpose was as much symbolic as transactional. “I don’t think the purpose was to have every CEO sign a deal,” Dvorchak said. “The purpose was to flex America’s muscles and show what a powerhouse we are.”
Markets reflected the gap between expectations and outcomes. Dow futures fell more than 300 points, S&P 500 futures dropped 1%, and Nasdaq futures fell 1.4% as details emerged. Brent crude rose above $108 a barrel with no resolution on the Strait of Hormuz. The two sides agreed to establish a joint Board of Trade and a framework both governments described as “constructive strategic stability.” Xi accepted Trump’s invitation to visit the United States in September.
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