Energy, agribusiness dominate Trump's delegation to China

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US energy and commodities firms will make up a major part of a business delegation visiting Beijing at the same time as US President Donald Trump goes to China in November.

Prominent technology and financial companies are mostly absent from the list, reflecting the slow progress Washington has made in opening up China in those sectors.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who will lead the 29 companies that have been approved to travel on the trade mission starting on November 8, said they will be looking for "immediate results" and "tangible agreements."

Reuters Photo

But, speaking at the Paley International Council Summit in New York on Wednesday, Ross acknowledged that market access, intellectual property rights and tariffs are more complex and will take a longer time to negotiate.

Some major industrial companies – General Electric Co, Honeywell International Inc and Boeing Co – are among the companies on the current list.

Whether executives from all the named companies end up attending could be subject to agreements or deals being negotiated in time for the visit, according to multiple sources whose companies are involved.

One of the few tech companies going with President Trump is Qualcomm, which earns about half of its global revenue in China and faces a series of legal issues there, including a lawsuit with Apple and the Chinese government's review of its pending 38 billion US dollars merger with NXP Semiconductors. Qualcomm said its CEO, Steve Mollenkopf, planned to attend.

Reuters Photo

An industry source told Reuters tech firms were reluctant to go, given China market access issues, the unpredictability of the Trump administration, and a "Section 301" US trade investigation alleging Chinese abuses of intellectual property.

Trump vs. corporate America, a testy relationship

Trump, a real estate magnate who had never before held public office, has had a sometimes testy relationship with corporate America since taking office in January.

He disbanded two high-profile business advisory councils in August after several chief executives quit in protest over his controversial remarks on racist violence in Charlottesville.

US industry sources say it has been years since a major business delegation has gone to China during a US presidential visit.

President Donald Trump ( center) sits next to Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman and GM CEO Mary Barra at the first meeting of the Strategic & Policy Forum on February 3, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Calls for such a delegation during Trump's visit originated in the China-based US business community, according to several sources, who saw a need to match growing efforts by Germany, France and Britain to promote their nation's firms in China.

Trump, who has frequently cited the substantial US trade deficit with China as a reason why Washington should take more protectionist measures, was an easy sell on incorporating a group of executives into the visit, according to the sources.

Beijing agreed in May to grant limited US access in financial services in bilateral talks aimed at reducing China's trade surplus with the United States which reached 347 billion US dollars last year, but business groups complained it was too little, too late.

Agribusiness and energy take lead

Agribusiness and energy firms dominate the delegation list.

They include Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM), one of the world's largest grain companies, and chemicals and agribusiness giant DowDuPont.

Ten of the companies are involved in gas or other energy fields, including Cheniere Energy Inc, which operates the only US liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal, three that are building new projects, and Freepoint Commodities, founded and run by David Messer, who led power utility Sempra's vaunted commodities division.

Their presence underscores the US ambition to sell more of its excess gas abroad as its shale revolution contributes to a global LNG glut.

Others on the list who confirmed plans to attend include GE, Houston-based LNG company Delfin Midstream, SolarReserve, Stine Seed Company, biotech firm Drylet, wastewater-processing firm Viroment and the US Soybean Export Council.

The Asia Vision LNG carrier ship sits docked at the Cheniere Energy Inc. terminal in this aerial photograph taken over Sabine Pass, Texas./Getty Image

Bell Helicopter and crane-maker Terex Corp are also on the delegation list.

Honeywell, DowDuPont and ADM did not respond immediately to a request for comment and Freepoint, Cheniere, Sempra Energy, and Texas LNG Brownsville LLC said they had no comment.

Boeing told Reuters it does not yet have plans to send anyone but that may change. Alaska Gasline Development Corp said it had no information to release.

The US Commerce Department, which is leading the delegation, has not yet issued its own list.

At least one of the companies on the list tried to distance itself from Trump. SolarReserve told Reuters in a statement that it had been selected to participate in the commerce department's delegation but stressed that "we are not part of the business delegation travelling to China with President Trump."

Source(s): Reuters