Trump has left Joint Base Andrews for China on Air Force One.
He is expected to discuss trade, the Iran war, and Taiwan with Xi Jinping.
Jensen Huang is joining the trip after Trump personally asked the Nvidia CEO to come.
Elon Musk, Tim Cook, and more than a dozen US executives are also heading to Beijing.
Live Reporting
02:00Tech CEOs joined Trump in China trip
Trump is bringing more than a dozen US business leaders to Beijing. The White House list released on 11 May included Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook.
After media coverage noted Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was missing from the delegation, Trump called Jensen and asked him to join, a source familiar with the situation allegedly told reporters.
Jensen then flew to Alaska to board Air Force One, the source said.
“Jensen is attending the summit at the invitation of President Trump to support America and the administration’s goals,” a spokesperson for Nvidia said.
The company gave the same statement when asked why Jensen joined mid-journey in Alaska, but did not give a separate reason.
01:22Trump heads to historic China summit with president Xi Jinping
Trump has taken off from Joint Base Andrews on Air Force One for China, starting his first trip to Beijing since his 2017 visit as president.
He is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday and Friday, with trade, the Iran war, and Taiwan expected to be the main issues on the table.
Speaking before the trip, Trump said he planned to have “a long talk” with Xi Jinping, then referred to Xi by first name as he discussed China’s position around the war.
“I think he’s been relatively good, to be honest with you. You look at the blockade, no problem. They get a lot of their oil from that area. We’ve had no problem,” Trump said.
Asked whether Xi needed to step in on Iran, Trump dismissed the idea.
“I don’t think we need any help with Iran. We’ll win it one way or the other. We’ll win it peacefully or otherwise. Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Every single element of their war machine is gone,” he said.
The Taiwan issue is also set to come up. US principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said Trump will visit the Temple of Heaven and attend a state banquet during the trip.
On 11 May, Trump said he would discuss arms sales to Taiwan with Xi, breaking with the Six Assurances. He also posted on Truth Social that he was looking forward to visiting China, calling it “an amazing country.”
What to know
Trump’s first Beijing trip since 2017 is starting with major political talks and a heavy business delegation led by top US tech chiefs.
