Trump Called Jensen Huang to Join Air Force One: The Last-Minute Trip to China

Translation result [Herald Business = Moon Young-gyu] NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang described how he came to board Air Force One in Alaska during President Donald Trump’s state visit to China.

Huang told Singapore’s Channel NewsAsia (CNA) on the 25th (local time), “The president called me in the morning. He didn’t know I wasn’t going. He insisted I get on the plane, so I hurriedly packed.”

Huang said, “He called as he was leaving and assumed I was in Washington, D.C., ready to board Air Force One. But I was on the West Coast.”

He added, “He told me, ‘Let’s meet in Alaska,’ so I flew there, joined Air Force One, and then flew to China.”

Trump traveled to China on a state visit from the 13th to the 15th and held summit talks with President Xi Jinping. The White House viewed the semiconductor and artificial intelligence sectors—and NVIDIA’s role in them—as critical to the U.S. economy and national competitiveness, which helps explain the urgency to get Huang on the plane in Alaska.

At the time, CNBC reported that Huang had not been invited. The president called that a “false report,” saying, “I’m on Air Force One right now. This is fake news unless I tell him to leave.”

Huang was not visible when Air Force One took off from Joint Base Andrews near Washington, D.C., and because his name did not appear on the list of business leaders traveling with the president, Trump asked him to join. Huang boarded after Air Force One made a refueling stop in Alaska.

The delegation of U.S. business leaders included Huang, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, among other top executives.

Huang said, “I believe about 16 other CEOs were present,” and described the group as “a strong lineup of companies spanning consumer electronics, industrials, automotive, finance, and biotechnology.”

He called it “a gathering that truly represented a broad range of industries” and said the reception felt very warm.

“President Xi and Premier Li Chang extended a warm welcome,” he said. “They spoke about cooperation and stable relations, and said China would be an open market—pledging broader openness to encourage investment.”

“We were there to genuinely represent the United States and to support the president,” Huang said. “They had a good meeting. The atmosphere was polite and cordial, and the pageantry and official ceremonies were quite impressive.”

Still, he expressed some disappointment that the talks lacked depth.

“But that was essentially it. That was the substance,” Huang said. “We stayed there for several days, and I didn’t get much sleep.”

He added, “After President Trump departed to return home, I went to Beijing’s old town and enjoyed a very good meal.”

On the 15th, as Trump’s China trip concluded, he visited the Fangzongchang No. 69 Beijing Jajangmyeon restaurant in the Nánluógǔxiāng commercial area in central Beijing and was photographed eating its signature “black pork fried sauce noodles.”

He chatted with nearby diners, asking, “Have you been here before?” and repeatedly exclaiming “Hǎo chī” (delicious) and “Really good.” The restaurant has since rebranded a menu set inspired by his visit as the “War God in a Leather Jacket” set.