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President Donald Trump said Thursday that American technology executives who accompanied him to China are expected to help bring jobs back to the United States after Chinese officials agreed to invest “hundreds of billions” of dollars into their companies.
The president made the remarks during an interview with Sean Hannity following a two-day summit in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The U.S. delegation included several high-profile technology leaders, among them Elon Musk and Tim Cook.
“Those business people are here to make deals and to bring back jobs,” President Trump told Hannity. “China’s going to invest hundreds of billions of dollars with those people that were in that room today. That’s why they came.”
The president said the meeting between Chinese officials and the American executives was not part of the original summit schedule, catching Chinese officials off guard.
“They were surprised, because it wasn’t, you know, it wasn’t scheduled,” he added.
The president added that the meeting ultimately proved successful and said Xi reacted positively to the unexpected gathering.
“Xi actually said that was very good. That was a good idea, but it was very different from what the schedule had,” President Trump said.
The president also stated that he and Xi discussed the importance of maintaining stable relations between the United States and China despite ongoing geopolitical tensions.
According to President Trump, the two leaders also found common ground regarding Iran. He said China committed to withholding weapons support from Iran and pledged to help prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
When asked about the many American CEOs who traveled with him, the president said, “Those business people are here to make deals and to bring back jobs.”
“They’re bringing back massive numbers, you know, China is going to invest hundreds of billions of dollars with those people that were in that room today. That’s why they came,” he continued.