Chinese companies may join Xi visit to Washington amid U.S. market access push

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Chinese firms join Xi visit

Highlights

Chinese delegation for Xi's upcoming Washington visit may include BYD, Xiaomi, CATL, Gotion, Hisense, Wanxiang Group, and Bank of China, with final invitations pending after the weekend meeting.
Xi plans to bring companies facing U.S. sanctions or regulatory scrutiny, including CATL and BYD—recently added to Pentagon lists—and Gotion, which faces ongoing legal disputes in Michigan.
White House aims for a Board of Trade agreement, rare-earth export licences, and an extension of last October’s trade truce, while business leaders will attend a state dinner but no CEOs' roundtable.

Delegation plans and companies under consideration

As first reported by Reuters, final invitations to Chinese companies are due in the coming days, while the U.S. State Department is expected to approve visas for the delegation, according to sources familiar with the planning.

Companies under consideration include EV maker BYD, smartphone and EV group Xiaomi, battery producers CATL and Gotion, consumer electronics manufacturer Hisense, auto parts supplier Wanxiang Group and state-owned Bank of China. The final makeup of the delegation is not yet settled, and several companies either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.

Sources say Chinese companies have been told to prepare, pending confirmation after this weekend's meeting between U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. A Treasury spokesperson referred questions to the White House, which did not respond, while China's foreign ministry says it has no information and the commerce ministry has not replied.

Trade tensions shape summit business agenda

Bringing a large business delegation to the U.S. would be unusual at a time when Washington remains wary of Chinese investment and Beijing maintains tighter oversight of private enterprise. One source says Xi plans to include companies facing U.S. sanctions, blacklists or other regulatory pressure, mirroring Trump's decision to bring executives from U.S. companies under Chinese scrutiny during his Beijing visit in May.

A Biden-era rule bars China-linked manufacturers from selling new connected passenger vehicles in the United States from model year 2027, while Washington also imposes a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs. U.S. automakers have urged Trump not to open the market to Chinese carmakers, though Trump says last week he would support Chinese companies building cars in the U.S.

CATL and BYD were added to a Pentagon list over alleged links to China's military in January 2025 and June 2026 respectively. Gotion is suing Michigan's Green Charter Township over its planned $2.36 billion EV-components plant, while Wanxiang agreed in December to pay more than $53 million to settle a Justice Department case tied to customs and anti-dumping duties on Chinese auto parts.

Chinese executives are not expected to meet think tanks or business groups during Xi's visit after the White House rejected Beijing's proposal for a U.S.-China CEOs' roundtable, sources say. They are expected to attend a White House state dinner, alongside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Expectations for the summit remain modest. Washington is seeking an agreement on a Board of Trade, additional rare-earth export licences for U.S. companies and an extension of the trade truce reached last October in South Korea, according to the sources.

Our earlier coverage of a House Republican budget hearing on U.S. trade and investment agencies looked at how federal funding is being scrutinized for measurable returns, stronger supply chains, and tighter economic-security safeguards. Lawmakers pressed agencies on accountability and coordination, with a particular focus on countering China’s growing economic influence in developing markets through targeted strategic investment.

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