US-China relations

Source: Elon Musk and Tim Cook accompany Trump to China

The White House has invited Tesla's Elon Musk and Apple's Tim Cook to Donald Trump's trip to China, a source told Bloomberg.

A dozen other company executives are also expected to join them. Trump hopes to reach an agreement with Beijing on several business deals during the trip. 

Analysis: Trump's meeting with Xi could affect us all

Ahead of the meeting between US President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping this week, smaller countries are worried that Trump will give up security guarantees in exchange for better trade terms with Beijing. The New York Times' Damien Cave writes in an analysis.

To protect themselves, many countries have in recent weeks, somewhat in the background, concluded trade and security agreements with each other, he points out. But everything must be done discreetly, so as not to anger the two giants.

“Nobody wants to be the one to step outside the box,” he writes.

Yvonne Murray, global security reporter for the Irish public service channel RTE, writes that the meeting between Trump and Xi could have major global consequences. She points out that there has been speculation that the US and China will conclude an agreement that secures trade between themselves at the expense of everyone else, a G2.

At the same time, she points out that this week’s meeting is the first of two planned for this year, which could indicate that any agreements will be delayed.

“It could at least give other countries a little more time to decide what role they want to play in this century’s great power game,” she writes.