Warren Accuses Trump of Using China Visit to Benefit Billionaire Allies
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has accused President Donald Trump of using his recent trip to China to benefit billionaire allies and corporate donors, calling the visit “a corruption tour disguised as diplomacy.”
The allegation was made in a report released by Democratic minority staff on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, where Warren is the ranking member. The report argued that Trump’s China policy has favored wealthy business interests over American workers, farmers and families.
“President Trump didn’t go to China to fight for American workers or farmers — he went to cut deals for the billionaires who funded his campaign and his ballroom,” Warren said in a statement. “The American people will not forget this brazen display of corruption.”
The report said Trump traveled to China with a delegation of billionaire executives whose combined wealth “approaches $1 trillion.” It said the executives and their companies had direct business interests tied to the outcome of trade and regulatory talks with Beijing.
Executives named in the report included Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, Blackstone Chairman Stephen Schwarzman and Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser.
The report alleged that Trump owned stock in several companies represented on the trip. It also said many of the executives or their companies had donated to Trump’s inauguration fund or White House ballroom project.
“These billionaires and CEOs are fighting for carveouts from rules and special treatment, while workers and households pay the price,” the report said.
The report also criticized Trump’s tariff policy toward China, arguing that American households, rather than China, have borne the cost of tariffs imposed during the trade dispute.
According to the report, tariffs cost the average American household $1,700 in 2025 and could cost families an average of $2,500 in 2026. The report also said farm bankruptcies rose 46% in 2025, including a 70% increase in the Midwest.
The report said Trump failed to secure commitments from China to end “unfair trade practices” or “currency manipulation.”
A major section of the report focused on NVIDIA and sales of advanced artificial intelligence chips to China. The report said Huang joined the trip after lobbying the administration to allow additional AI chip exports to Chinese companies.
Committee Democrats said senior U.S. military and intelligence officials had warned that exporting advanced AI chips to China could pose national security risks. The report cited warnings from Adm. Samuel Paparo, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and Gen. Joshua Rudd of the National Security Agency.
“American families pay more, farmers make less, and national security warnings are brushed aside so that the President and his billionaire allies can profit,” the report said.
Trump has defended his China trade strategy as necessary to counter Beijing’s economic practices and protect American manufacturing. The White House has said its tariff and trade policies are intended to strengthen U.S. industry and supply chains.
The report comes as Washington and Beijing remain at odds over trade, tariffs, technology controls and national security. China remains one of the United States’ largest trading partners, even as the two countries compete for influence in technology, manufacturing and global supply chains. (Source: IANS)
