BEIJING, CHINA—On May 13, President Donald J. Trump was welcomed to China with much fanfare as he landed in China to begin trade negotiations with the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping. Those traveling with President Trump were some of the largest business moguls in the United States who had vested interests in proper trade agreements with China. President Trump was greeted with flowers and flags on a red carpet.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/videos/president-trump-arrives-in-beijing-china/
Talk show host, broadcaster, and close friend to President Trump, Sean Hannity, announced beforehand that he would be traveling with the President. Hannity interviewed Marco Rubio for the Fox News Channel en route to China. Here is a more comprehensive list of those who traveled aboard Air Force with President Trump.
From the White House
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer
White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair
White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller
White House Communications Director Stephen Cheung
Director of White House Office of Science, Michael Kratsios
Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley
Chief Executive to the President Walt Nauta Jr.
The First Lady, Melania Trump, did not accompany the President to China. She opted instead to focus on her child welfare initiative, “Fostering the Future.” Family members in attendance included Eric and Lara Trump.
Vice President JD Vance stayed at the White House as he does not travel with the President when he leaves the country.
Many of the U.S. Business Leaders and Corporate Executives in attendance, such as Boeing, were involved in business deals with China.
CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, joined the flight at a refueling stop at Ted Stephens Anchorage International Airport in Alaska. The President did not deplane during this stop.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
Blackstone Group CEO, Stephen A. Schwarzman
Apple CEO, Tim Cook
General Electric CEO Larry Culp
Larry Finke, CEO of BlackRock
Boeing CEO, Kelly Ortberg
Goldman Sach’s CEO David Solomon
CEO of Citigroup, Jane Fraser
Passengers on the International flight were not exclusively White House cabinet members and guests. Trump supporter, Greg Burgess, @GOP_is_Gutless, operates Grandpa’s Free Advice on X, posted the following message.
“So apparently, Jill and I are on a plane to China with Trump, Elon Musk, half the cabinet, and a collection of CEOs whose combined net worth could probably refinance the moon. Totally normal day for Gen X.” The full post is on X and has garnered 445K views.
President Trump and President Xi Jinping reportedly made progress in their discussions on Iran, Taiwan, U.S. Arms, and Global Trade disruptions in the Straight of Hormuz.
White House Correspondents and some reporters, including The New York Post’s Emily Goodin, were also aboard the flight.
Passengers boarding Air Force One on the return flight were not permitted to bring gifts, lapel pins, and flags from the Chinese government aboard Air Force One for security reasons.
