BYD, CATL, and Xiaomi Bosses May Join Xi's Trip to the US

Chinese President Xi Jinping is planning a visit to Washington, and he may bring along a group of top Chinese business leaders. The US and China are working together to decide which company executives will be part of the trip. Three sources who know about the plans shared this information, though they asked not to be named because the plans have not been made public yet.

Some well-known Chinese companies are being considered for the delegation, which is the group of people who travel with a leader on an official trip. These include BYD, one of the world's biggest electric vehicle makers, and CATL and Gotion, which make large batteries for electric cars. Smartphone company Xiaomi, home electronics brand Hisense, car parts maker Wanxiang Group, and the state-owned Bank of China are also on the list. The final list of members has not been decided yet.

Chinese companies have been told to get ready for the trip, but everything depends on a meeting between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. That meeting was set for the weekend following this report. If things go well there, formal invitations could go out to the companies within days. The US State Department is also expected to approve visas for the Chinese business group.

Several companies in the possible delegation have faced problems in the United States. Both CATL and BYD were added to a US Pentagon list that connects them to China's military, though the companies deny any military links. The US also puts a 100% tariff, which is a very high tax, on Chinese electric vehicles, making them much more expensive to sell in America. A new rule from the Biden era will also block Chinese-linked car makers from selling connected passenger vehicles in the US starting in 2027.

Other companies in the group have had legal troubles in the US as well. Gotion is suing a township in Michigan, saying local officials blocked its plan to build a $2.36 billion factory that would make parts for electric vehicles. Wanxiang Group agreed to pay more than $53 million to the US Justice Department to settle a case about customs rules and unfair pricing of car parts. These kinds of disputes show how complicated it is for Chinese companies to do business in the United States.

China's move appears to mirror what the US did just months earlier. When President Trump visited Beijing in May, he brought along the chief executives, or CEOs, of several American companies that were facing pressure in China. Those companies included chipmakers Micron and Qualcomm, as well as genetics firm Illumina. China now wants the same kind of treatment for its companies, and one source said the Chinese delegation will likely be about the same size as Trump's group was.

The Chinese executives are expected to attend a White House state dinner during Xi's visit. Two other high-profile guests are also expected at that dinner — Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. However, Chinese executives are not expected to meet with think tanks or business groups. Beijing had suggested holding a US-China CEOs' roundtable, but the White House turned down that idea.

Leaders on both sides are not expecting huge breakthroughs from this summit. Some of the main goals for Washington include setting up a Board of Trade between the two countries, getting more export licenses for rare-earth materials that US companies need, and extending a trade truce that was reached last October in South Korea. Rare-earth materials are minerals used in making electronics and clean energy technology. A trade truce is an agreement where both sides pause new trade restrictions while they keep talking.