Trump Takes 6 Tech CEOs to China as White House Weighs AI Model Reviews
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 12
Trump Takes 6 Tech CEOs to China as White House Weighs AI Model Reviews
7 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 12
Tim Cook, Elon Musk and four other tech chiefs will join Donald Trump in China this week, signaling technology talks with Xi Jinping alongside broader diplomacy after the Iran war.
A semiconductor breakthrough looks less likely because Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is not traveling, though Micron could still announce something and Apple brings leverage through its strong China business and manufacturing footprint.
The trip comes as Trump considers an executive order requiring AI companies to submit new models for White House review, echoing China’s tighter system for security and politically sensitive content.
Google DeepMind, Microsoft and xAI already agreed to national-security reviews by the Commerce Department’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation, while Anthropic remains in a court fight with the Pentagon over military use and supply-chain risk.
With US tech leaders in China, will their conflicting agendas on export controls doom any chance for deals?
As AI learns to hack secure systems, is the US-China tech race becoming an uncontrollable threat?
Is America's reliance on China's rare earths the ultimate vulnerability in its high-stakes technology rivalry?
Trump’s May 2026 China Visit and AI Policy Reversal: New Oversight Framework Reshapes US Tech Strategy
Overview
In May 2026, the Trump administration is managing major policy changes and international negotiations, highlighted by an upcoming trip to China. The main goal is to persuade China to buy more American energy, helping China reduce its dependence on countries like Iran and Russia. This move is part of a broader effort to strengthen U.S.-China commercial ties and address ongoing trade and technology issues. A large Boeing aircraft order is also on the table, but Boeing’s CEO has stressed that such a deal depends on strong support from the administration, showing how closely business and government actions are linked.