Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk attend a state banquet for US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14, 2026.
Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images
Chinese President Xi Jinping told US officials accompanying President Donald Trump that China’s business door will be “wide open.”
“Xi said that American companies have played a major role in reforming and opening up opportunities in China, and both sides have benefited from this,” said a report in the state-backed Xinhua newspaper.
“Seeing that China’s door will be more open, Xi said that China welcomes the United States to develop a mutually beneficial cooperation with China, and expressed the belief that American companies will enjoy broad opportunities in China.”
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia‘s CEO Jensen Huang and an apple CEO Tim Cook was among the top tech executives accompanying Trump to China. Trump introduced each of them to Xi one by one, Xinhua reported.
“American businessmen say they are paying close attention to the Chinese market, and they hope to deepen their business operations in China and strengthen cooperation with China,” said the newspaper.
The White House, posting on X, appeared to reciprocate the sentiment by reaching out to the market.
“The two sides discussed ways to improve economic cooperation between the countries, including expanding market access for American businesses in China and increasing Chinese investment,” the White House said in a statement on X.
Xi’s comments are “a strong statement to global companies to continue investing in China,” George Chen, partner and co-chairman of digital at Asia Group, told CNBC.
“I think the statement Xi made about opening the door is not just propaganda. China needs to keep attracting foreign investment.”
AI is focused
Both China and the US are developing artificial intelligence at a rapid pace.
The US has sought to cut off China from various technologies that could boost the country’s AI, including Nvidia’s chips. China has doubled down on its domestic technology supply chain and local semiconductor firms are stepping in to fill the gap.
China’s AI brands from companies like Alibaba have been able to compete with other technologies released by leading US firms.
On Thursday, Reuters reported that Washington gave the green light for Nvidia to supply certain technology companies in China with the H200, one of its most advanced products.
Nvidia has been subject to export restrictions in China, but there were several reports last year suggesting that the US would allow the company to sell chips to the country. However, it seems that none of this has happened since China is said to have urged local companies to buy domestic semiconductors.
Asked by CNBC’s Joe Kernen about the report about Nvidia’s H200s, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “This is news to me.”
“I know there’s been a lot of back and forth … and we’ll have to see on that. That’s the job of the Department of Commerce,” Bessent said.
Huang, who arrived late on a trip to China, called the meeting in Beijing “one of the most important summits in human history,” he told reporters. But he declined to comment on Nvidia’s chip sales to China, instead saying Trump and Xi had a say in the deal.
“Today’s morning ceremony is very encouraging. President Xi was very encouraging, very welcoming, and President Trump was very encouraging and very welcoming,” Huang said.
Bessent told CNBC that China and the US will work together on a security agreement on “best AI practices to ensure that non-state actors don’t get these models.”
