Elon Musk took his six-year-old son X Æ A-Xii to the Great Hall of the People in Beijing this Thursday, during the summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, as reported by CBS News from the Chinese capital.
The presence of the child at one of the year's highest-level diplomatic meetings garnered extensive international media attention, as this event is typically reserved for heads of state, ministers, and top executives.
Musk did not attend merely as a decorative figure: he met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in a meeting alongside the main discussions between Trump and Xi, together with Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, and Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia.
During that meeting, Li Qiang urged the three business leaders to support stable relations between the United States and China, with a direct message: "Cooperation benefits both, while confrontation harms both."
Xi Jinping, for his part, promised that "China's door of opportunities will open wider" for American companies, and described the bilateral relationship as mutually beneficial.
The business delegation that accompanied Trump to Beijing is one of the largest and most powerful ever seen on a presidential visit: in addition to Musk, Cook, and Huang, representatives from Boeing, BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, Meta, and Goldman Sachs were also part of the trip.
Musk has direct interests in China through Tesla, whose gigafactory in Shanghai is one of the most productive in the world, and is awaiting regulatory approval for its autonomous driving system and robotaxis.
X Æ A-Xii is the first child of Musk with Canadian musician Grimes, born on May 4, 2020. His name was originally registered as "X Æ A-12," but California required modifications as it does not allow numbers in people's names, resulting in the version with Roman numerals that is used today.
The summit between Trump and Xi in Beijing, taking place from May 13 to 15, marks the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to China since 2017, and the seventh face-to-face meeting between the two leaders.
The central agenda revolves around extending the trade truce agreed upon in Busan, South Korea, in October 2025, which suspended tariffs of 145% from Washington and 125% from Beijing, following the escalation of the trade war that year.
However, reports indicate that the visit has generated more symbolism than concrete advancements, with both leaders still "very distant" on issues such as Taiwan, Iran, and technological rivalry, and with Xi warning Trump that mishandling the differences over Taiwan could lead to "clashes and even conflicts."
Trump landed in Beijing on Wednesday at 7:50 PM local time aboard Air Force One, where he was welcomed by Chinese Vice President Han Zheng in a ceremony that included 300 young people with flags and a military band.
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