Jensen Huang Joins Trump’s China Trip After All, Reversing Earlier Reports He Would Skip the Visit
NVIDIA chief executive Jensen Huang is now confirmed to be part of President Donald Trump’s China delegation, overturning earlier reporting that said he would not attend. Reuters reported on May 13, 2026 that Huang joined the trip as a last minute addition, boarded Air Force One during a refueling stop in Alaska, and then traveled onward with Trump to Beijing. Reuters later also reported that Trump landed in China with an entourage that included Huang and Elon Musk, confirming that NVIDIA’s chief was not left off the final trip after all.
The visual confirmation first came through White House correspondent Emily Goodin’s Alaska post, which showed Huang arriving to board Air Force One. Bloomberg reporter Annmarie Hordern then said the White House confirmed Huang was joining the trip, and Reuters reported that Trump personally called Huang after media coverage highlighted that he had not been invited in the original plan. NVIDIA later said Huang was attending at Trump’s invitation to support the administration’s goals.
President Trump is off to China. Eric and Lara Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio boarding after him pic.twitter.com/HdXvU5scTS
— Emily Goodin (@Emilylgoodin) May 12, 2026
That change is significant because Huang had originally been absent from the first executive roster tied to the visit. Reuters reported that more than a dozen major business leaders were expected to travel with Trump, including Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon, Micron’s Sanjay Mehrotra, Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, Citi’s Jane Fraser, Meta’s Dina Powell McCormick, and others. Huang’s eventual inclusion turned him into one of the most closely watched additions to the group.
Hi from the Alaska refuel. Navida CEO Jensen Huang boarding Air Force One here to join President Trump on China trip. Elon Musk is also on the plane pic.twitter.com/KKp9TaJTS8
— Emily Goodin (@Emilylgoodin) May 13, 2026
His presence matters because NVIDIA sits at the center of the current United States and China technology standoff. Reuters reported that Huang’s trip is already fueling hopes in China that there could be movement around NVIDIA’s H200 AI chip sales, which remain stalled despite prior authorization under conditions. Reuters also noted that China once accounted for 13% of NVIDIA’s total revenue, which helps explain why Huang’s appearance on this trip instantly raised the temperature around the semiconductor side of the summit.
The broader visit itself is high stakes. Reuters reported that Trump’s May 13 to May 15, 2026 trip is the first visit by a United States president to China in nearly a decade, and that the talks with Xi Jinping are expected to cover trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan, and the Iran conflict, along with efforts by Washington to expand exports such as aircraft, agricultural goods, and energy. AP separately reported that Musk and Huang both traveled aboard Air Force One, reinforcing just how heavily this visit is weighted toward corporate and technology diplomacy.
For NVIDIA, this is more than a photo opportunity. Huang joining the delegation places the world’s most important AI chip company directly inside one of the most sensitive US China economic meetings of the year. That does not guarantee any breakthrough, but it does show that NVIDIA’s interests were important enough to force a change in the trip’s business lineup at the final hour. In practical terms, that makes Huang’s presence one of the most revealing developments of the entire visit.
Do you think Jensen Huang joining at the last minute signals real momentum for NVIDIA in China, or was this mainly a political and symbolic move?
