By Laurie Chen
BEIJING, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Washington and Beijing are finalising a group of Chinese business leaders to join President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Washington, three sources familiar with the matter said, potentially including companies facing US regulatory scrutiny as they seek greater market access.
Final invitations will go out to companies in the coming days, the sources said. The State Department is expected to green-light US visas for the delegation, one of them added.
Leading Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, smartphone maker Xiaomi, which has also expanded into EVs, battery giants CATL and Gotion, consumer electronics manufacturer Hisense, automotive parts supplier Wanxiang Group and state-owned Bank of China are among companies under consideration, two of the sources and four other people briefed on the matter said.
Taking a large business delegation to the US would be an unusual move, given Washington’s wariness of Chinese investment and Beijing’s tighter oversight of private enterprise.
The delegation’s members have yet to be finalised, the sources said.
BYD declined to comment. CATL, Xiaomi, Wanxiang, Hisense, Gotion and Bank of China did not respond to requests for comment.
Chinese companies have been told to prepare, pending confirmation at this weekend’s meeting between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, the sources said. They declined to be identified because the plans are not public.
A US Treasury spokesperson referred Reuters’ questions to the White House, which did not respond. China’s foreign ministry said it had no information in response to Reuters’ questions. The commerce ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
CHINESE COMPANIES IN DELEGATION FACE ISSUES IN US
Xi plans to bring companies facing US sanctions, blacklists or other regulatory pressure, one source said, mirroring Trump’s decision to bring executives from U.S. firms under Chinese scrutiny on his Beijing visit in May.
A Biden-era rule will bar China-linked manufacturers from selling new connected passenger vehicles in the United States from model year 2027, including vehicles made in the country, while restricting Chinese software and hardware in such cars. Washington also imposes a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs.
US automakers have urged Trump not to open the market to Chinese automakers. Trump said last week he would support Chinese companies building cars in the US.
CATL and BYD were added to a Pentagon list of companies in January 2025 and June 2026 respectively over alleged links to China’s military. Ford licenses CATL technology for batteries made at its Michigan plant, a partnership criticised by US lawmakers.
Gotion is suing Michigan’s Green Charter Township, alleging officials blocked its planned $2.36 billion EV-components plant. Wanxiang agreed in December to pay more than $53 million to resolve a Justice Department case over customs and anti-dumping duties on Chinese auto parts.
CHINA SEEKS RECIPROCITY AFTER TRUMP’S BEIJING TRIP
Trump’s May Beijing delegation included the chief executives of chipmakers Micron and Qualcomm and genetic sequencing firm Illumina, all of which have faced Chinese regulatory or market-access pressure.
China’s business delegation is likely to be similar in size to Trump’s May entourage as Beijing seeks reciprocity in visit arrangements, one source said, adding that China’s commerce ministry had been tasked with contacting companies.
Chinese executives are not expected to meet with think tanks or business groups during Xi’s visit, two sources said. Beijing had proposed a US-China CEOs’ roundtable, but the White House rejected the idea, one source added.
The executives are expected to attend a White House state dinner, the two sources said. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who went to China with Trump, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are also set to attend.
Nvidia has struggled to sell its advanced H200 semiconductors in China amid Beijing’s regulatory scrutiny.
Expectations for the summit remain modest, Reuters previously reported.
An agreement on a Board of Trade is among Washington’s main objectives for the summit, along with securing additional rare-earth export licences for US companies and extending the trade truce reached last October in South Korea, the sources said.
(Reporting by Laurie Chen in Beijing; Additional reporting by David Lawder and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington, Joe Cash in Beijing, Zhang Yan in Shanghai; Editing by Eduardo Baptista and Sonali Paul)
