What you need to know about President Trump’s visit to China
President Donald Trump’s visit to China will be overshadowed by the Iran war and the continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
- President Donald Trump is visiting China to meet with President Xi Jinping.
- First Lady Melania Trump accompanied President Trump in 2017, but will she accompany him this time?
President Donald Trump is visiting China for a summit meeting with President Xi Jinping.
“We believe that the U.S.-China relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world. We must make it work and never mess it up,” Xi said through an interpreter at a May 14 dinner, according to the pool report. According to a transcript of the meeting between Trump and Xi, read out by the White House, they discussed the Strait of Hormuz, economic cooperation, and drug control. President Trump has further events planned for May 15 before returning to Washington.
Trump is joined by many CEOs and members of his administration (though not Vice President J.D. Vance, who said the White House feels like “Home Alone”). As with other Trump trips, some of Trump’s family members are also participating. Is First Lady Melania Trump here?
No, according to the pool notes, she is not performing at any events.
She also accompanied President Trump on his 2017 trip. The first lady’s office did not immediately respond to questions about why she did not travel this time.
Who went to China with Trump?
The only family member accompanying him on the trip was his second son, Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization. Eric Trump’s wife, Lara Trump, host of Fox News’ “My View,” also attended.
President Trump will be joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Communications Director Stephen Chan, Elon Musk, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
These CEOs were also scheduled to travel with Trump, Trump wrote in Truth Social ahead of the trip.
- Jensen Huang (NVIDIA)
- Tim Cook (Apple)
- Larry Fink (Blackrock)
- Stephen Schwartzman (Blackstone Inc.)
- Kelly Ortberg (Boeing)
- Brian Sykes (Cargill)
- Jane Fraser (City)
- Larry Culp (GE Aerospace)
- David Solomon (Goldman Sachs)
- Sanjay Mehrotra (Micron)
- Cristiano Amon (Qualcomm)
Contributors: Saleen Martin, James Powell, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is a Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Please contact KCrowley@usatodayco.com. follow her X (Twitter), thread, blue sky and TikTok.
