The presence of Exxon, Visa, Citigroup and Blackstone, on the other hand, shows that the journey is not only about technology and semiconductors, but also about energy, finance and investment. While Boeing’s has a different value. The company based in Arlington, Virginia, could take advantage of the Trump administration’s support to unblock a maxi Chinese order that has been held up for years. On the table would be some 500 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, as well as dozens of widebody planes. It would be the first large Chinese order for Boeing since 2017, if Beijing relents. For the American aerospace group, this would be a major achievement after complex years marked both by the 737 MAX crisis and the deterioration of trade relations between the United States and China.
Trump, in short, wears his best clothes: those of a businessman, rather than a politician. And this move has already drawn a new narrative perimeter. Because for China it is the confirmation of a certainty. And that is that the country, despite strategic competition and tensions over chips, remains central for big American companies.
It is hard to know what will happen in Beijing, but the Chinese government could use the trip to show economic openness and at the same time demonstrate that the US industrial system remains strongly interconnected with the Chinese economy. While Trump, will try to bring home as many results as possible to regain trust in the American electorate, dressing the role of the great negotiator.
At the same time, however, the trip also highlights something that has become increasingly clear in recent years. And that is that the United States, while seeking to reduce its strategic dependence on China, is still unable to separate itself from the Chinese market. The presence of iconic companies in artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and global finance shows how the economic link between the two superpowers remains deep. But also a return to reality. The one for which business and economics always come before propaganda.