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

DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng and Moonshot AI founder Yang Zhilin are absent from all reported versions of the business delegation expected to accompany Chinese President Xi Jinping to meet U.S. President Donald Trump this week, according to the South China Morning Post. Beijing has not officially confirmed the delegation, but reported attendees include executives from BYD, Xiaomi and battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited. The omission of China's frontier AI leaders from the trip has drawn attention as the two presidents prepare to meet.

Advertisement Why China’s frontier AI pioneers are expected to miss this week’s Xi-Trump summit Beijing has not officially announced details of the delegation, but the leaders of DeepSeek and Moonshot AI are absent from the reported list 2-MIN READ2-MIN 2 Listen Sylvia Ma https://www.scmp.com/author/sylvia-ma in Shanghai 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 https://www.scmp.com/topics/liang-wenfeng?module=inline&pgtype=article and Moonshot AI’s Yang Zhilin – from all reported versions of the delegation. Select Voice Select Speed 1x AI-generated voice