Bernie Sanders blasts tech billionaires for joining Trump in Beijing, cites China ties

Bernie Sanders used a May 13 post on X to attack the presence of Elon Musk and Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang on President Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing, tying the visit to his long-running warnings about billionaire power, automation and China-linked job losses. Sanders’ post circulated as Trump arrived in China for a two-day summit with President Xi Jinping that included a delegation of top U.S. executives. Musk and Huang were among the best-known business figures on the trip, according to media reports and White House travel coverage. Sanders did not appear to issue a separate Senate statement on the post by Thursday. ### What exactly did Sanders object to? Bernie Sanders framed the Beijing trip as another example of wealthy technology executives gaining influence while U.S. workers face pressure from trade and automation. Sanders has repeatedly argued that artificial intelligence and robotics could wipe out jobs unless the gains are shared more broadly, and he renewed that line days before the summit in a May 11 Senate statement on U.S.-China AI talks. The May 13 X post singled out Musk and Huang as Trump traveled to meet Xi. Sanders’ criticism matched his broader message that billionaires and corporate executives are shaping policy while workers bear the costs, a theme he has pressed in speeches, Senate materials and opinion pieces. ### Why were Musk and Huang in Beijing with Trump? (sanders.senate.gov) President Donald Trump landed in Beijing on May 13 with a group of executives from major U.S. companies, including Tesla chief Musk and Nvidia chief Huang, ahead of meetings with Xi. CNBC reported that tariffs, rare earths, artificial intelligence, the Iran war and Taiwan were expected to be on the agenda. Reuters also reported that Trump said he planned to urge Xi to “open up” China to U.S. business during the two-day summit. (sanders.senate.gov) Forbes reported that 17 executives were attending the summit and listed Musk, Huang, Apple’s Tim Cook, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon and Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg among the participants. Forbes said the billionaires on the trip were worth a combined $1.07 trillion by its estimates. (cnbc.com) ### Why did Sanders focus on China ties and jobs? Sanders has spent years criticizing trade arrangements and corporate offshoring that he says hollowed out U.S. manufacturing. His recent AI comments have folded that argument into a new warning: that technology companies could use automation to cut both blue-collar and white-collar jobs while concentrating wealth in fewer hands. On May 11, Sanders said Trump and Xi should make clear that “humans, not machines, come first” in any AI discussions. (forbes.com) Nvidia’s China business has been under close scrutiny. Forbes reported that Nvidia has been seeking approval in Washington and Beijing to sell advanced artificial intelligence chips into China, while Boeing was reported to be pursuing a large aircraft order that could coincide with the summit. Those open commercial interests gave Sanders an opening to connect the trip to corporate priorities he says conflict with worker interests. (sanders.senate.gov) ### How large were the fortunes Sanders was pointing to? Forbes estimated Elon Musk’s net worth at $829.8 billion and Jensen Huang’s at $195.5 billion in its May 13 roundup of the delegation. Those figures were close to the numbers cited in social-media discussion of Sanders’ post and underscored the scale of wealth attached to Trump’s business entourage. (forbes.com) Forbes’ broader 2026 billionaire rankings listed Musk as the world’s richest person at $839 billion as of March 1, while its real-time rankings continue to update daily. Separate wealth trackers, including Bloomberg’s billionaire index, use different methodologies and can produce different totals. (forbes.com) ### What comes next in Beijing? Trump was scheduled to take part in a welcome ceremony and bilateral meeting with Xi on May 14, followed by a state banquet, according to CNBC’s itinerary for the visit. Reuters reported that the summit was expected to focus on trade, technology and access for U.S. companies in China. (forbes.com) May 15 is the next concrete marker. CNBC said Trump was due to leave China on Friday after tea and a working lunch with Xi, while any announcements on trade, aviation or technology would likely emerge from the meetings in Beijing. (cnbc.com)