Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk attends a state dinner between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14, 2026.
Brendan Smialowski AFP | Getty Images
Chinese President Xi Jinping told U.S. CEOs accompanying President Donald Trump that the door to doing business in China will “open even wider.”
“President Xi said American companies are deeply involved in China’s reform and opening-up, and both sides are benefiting from this,” state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
Noting that China’s door will be opened wider, President Xi said that China welcomes the United States to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with China, and expressed confidence that American companies will enjoy broader prospects in China.
tesla and Elon Musk, president of SpaceX. NvidiaWith Jensen Huang, CEO of apple CEO Tim Cook was one of the top technology companies to visit China with President Trump. According to Xinhua News Agency, President Trump introduced them to Mr. Xi one by one.
“The American entrepreneurs said they attach great importance to the Chinese market and would like to deepen their business operations in China and strengthen cooperation with China,” the paper said.
The White House appears to be responding to sentiment around market access by posting to X.
“The two sides discussed ways to strengthen economic cooperation between their countries, including expanding market access for U.S. companies and investment from China,” the White House said in a statement on X.
Xi’s comments “are a strong statement to businesses around the world that they will continue to invest in China,” George Chen, partner and co-chair of the Asia Group’s digital practice, told CNBC.
“I don’t think President Xi’s statements about opening up are just propaganda. China needs to remain attractive for foreign investment.”
Focus on AI
Both China and the United States are developing artificial intelligence at a rapid pace.
The United States has sought to cut China off from a range of technologies that could advance the country’s AI, including Nvidia chips. China is doubling down on its domestic technology supply chain, with domestic semiconductor companies stepping in to fill the gap.
Chinese AI models from companies like Alibaba have been able to compete with some of the technology released by major US companies.
On Thursday, Reuters reported that the US government had given Nvidia the green light to supply one of its more advanced products, the H200, to some Chinese tech companies.
Nvidia is subject to export restrictions to China, but there have been several reports over the past year suggesting the United States will allow the company to sell chips to China. However, none of that appears to have materialized, as China reportedly encouraged local companies to buy domestically produced semiconductors.
“This is news to me,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said when asked by CNBC’s Joe Kernen about reports about Nvidia’s H200s.
“I know there’s been a lot of back and forth…and we’ll have to look at that. That’s the role of the Department of Commerce,” Bessent added.
Huang, who was a late addition to the trip to China, told reporters that the meeting in Beijing was “one of the most important summits in human history.” But he declined to comment on Nvidia’s chip sales in China, saying instead that Trump and Xi had been welcoming.
“This morning’s ceremony was very uplifting. President Xi was very inspiring and welcoming, and President Trump was very inspiring and very welcoming,” Huang said.
Bessent told CNBC that China and the US intend to cooperate on security protocols on “AI best practices to ensure that non-state actors cannot obtain these models.”
