SpaceX and Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk will join President Donald Trump on his trip to China this week, while NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang was not invited, according to a Reuters report citing a White House official.
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Reuters reported the delegation includes a long list of corporate heavyweights, including:
- Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook
- GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) CEO Larry Culp
- Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) CEO Kelly Ortberg
- BlackRock Inc. (NYSE:BLK) CEO Larry Fink
- Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) CEO Stephen Schwarzman
- Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) CEO Chuck Robbins
- Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) CEO Sanjay Mehrotra
- Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA) CEO Michael Miebach
- Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) CEO Cristiano Amon
- Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) CEO Ryan McInerney
Huang’s absence stands out given Nvidia’s central role in the U.S.-China technology fight.
Trump has developed a strong relationship with the Nvidia chief and previously agreed to allow the company’s H200 artificial intelligence chips to be exported to China.
However, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in April that the chips had not yet been sold due to difficulties with Chinese companies receiving approval from Beijing.
Boeing in Focus
A source told Reuters the White House was focusing more on agriculture and commercial aviation for the current trip, including potential Boeing aircraft orders.
Ortberg told Reuters in April that Boeing was counting on the Trump administration to help secure a long-awaited major aircraft order from China.
China and Boeing have reportedly been in talks over a deal that could include 500 737 MAX jets and dozens of widebody aircraft powered by GE engines.
Such an agreement would mark China’s first major Boeing order since 2017 and could become the largest airplane order in history.
Trump’s Trips Can Create Winners and Losers
Trump’s May 2025 trip to the United Arab Emirates showed why corporate leaders may be reluctant to sit out high-profile presidential visits.
Several executives, including Huang, joined Trump on that trip, which resulted in roughly $200 billion in deals announced between the two countries.
Nvidia was viewed as one of the potential winners after the United Arab Emirates requested 500,000 advanced AI chips from the company annually.
Apple’s CEO was invited to the UAE trip, but Cook declined. According to 9to5Mac, that decision may have strained his relationship with Trump.
“Tim Cook isn’t here, but you are,” Trump said during a speech, praising Huang for attending.
Shortly after Cook skipped the trip, Trump threatened a 25% tariff on Apple iPhones not made in the U.S., a move viewed as potentially retaliatory.
The episode underscored the risks for executives who pass on presidential trade trips, especially when policy decisions, tariffs and major international deals are on the table.
For Nvidia, the lack of an invite could raise questions about where AI chip exports stand in the broader U.S.-China negotiations, even as Musk, Cook and other executives get a seat at the table.
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