President Donald Trump appears to have patched things up with Elon Musk after inviting the billionaire to join him on his trip to China.
The CEOs of Apple, BlackRock, and Boeing will also accompany the president on his trip. Trump hopes this visit will lead to a series of trade deals and purchase agreements with Beijing.
“I am very much looking forward to my trip to China, an amazing Country, with a Leader, President Xi, respected by all,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Great things will happen for both Countries!“
Discussions at the summit are likely to focus on trade, artificial intelligence, export controls, Taiwan, and the war in Iran. Notably absent from the attendees is Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who said last week that “We should let the president announce whatever he decides to announce … If invited, it would be a privilege, it would be a great honor to represent the United States.”
• Inside biocontainment units for hantavirus cruise ship passengers as they enter 42-day isolation
• American tests positive as deadly Hantavirus confirmed en route to US
General Motors, Disney, and Alphabet also have interests in China that the White House didn’t list as having executives expected to attend.
Click here to follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sports and entertainment stories.
Jane Fraser, the CEO of Citigroup, told CNBC last week, “I think it’s very important to see engagement” between the two economic superpowers, adding, “We all need that engagement to be occurring.”
Musk is joined by other CEOs to join Trump on his visit to China -Credit:Getty Images
Trump and Musk’s turbulent relationship
Musk’s involvement in the summit follows an apparent truce he and the president reached last month in their on-again, off-again friendship. Trump named Musk as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency shortly after his inauguration last year.
However, the department faced widespread opposition from the government and the public. By May of 2025, Musk announced that he would leave the department.
Musk had a major fallout with Trump last year -Credit:Getty Images
That same month, Musk criticized Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which was passed by Congress. Trump said he was “disappointed” by Musk’s comments because he “always liked Elon.”
Things came to a head last June when Musk alleged on X, without evidence, that the reason the White House hadn’t fully released files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case at that time was due to Trump’s implication in them. In another tweet, Musk endorsed another user’s suggestion that Trump be impeached.
However, the two seemed to have made amends following the death of Charlie Kirk -Credit:AFP via Getty Images
However, Musk later said he regretted his comments about Trump, writing, “They went too far.” Trump remained relatively calm about Musk’s comment at first, but later called the CEO “ridiculous” after he attempted to launch his own political party.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said he was “saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK.”
Following the death of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, the two men seemed to have made amends. Musk posted a picture of himself and Trump at Kirk’s memorial service on X, captioned “For Charlie.”