Why China’s frontier AI pioneers are expected to miss this week’s Xi-Trump summit

As President Xi Jinping prepares to travel to the United States to meet his American counterpart Donald Trump, attention is turning to the group of business leaders who could join him.The South China Morning Post previously reported that executives from electric vehicle maker BYD, smart manufacturing giant Xiaomi and battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited were likely to accompany Xi on the trip – though Beijing has yet to officially confirm the delegation.What has raised eyebrows, however, is the omission of leaders from China’s frontier AI companies – such as DeepSeek’s Liang Wenfeng and Moonshot AI’s Yang Zhilin – from all reported versions of the delegation.While it remains unclear who will ultimately accompany Xi, observers offered several possible explanations. These largely centre on protecting leading AI talent amid geopolitical tensions and the different levels of urgency with which Beijing and Washington approach talks on the technology.“It is to protect them, because their presence at this stage could put them in a difficult position,” said Chen Zhiwu, chair professor of finance at the University of Hong Kong.Another think tank analyst, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, echoed the sentiment that leading researchers and entrepreneurs in cutting-edge technologies like AI were particularly vulnerable in the current geopolitical climate.“Travelling overseas could expose them to unforeseen risks, so the absence could be a form of protection,” he said.