A group of top U.S. tech CEOs arrived in Beijing alongside President Trump’s visit, hoping to further penetrate the Chinese market. Yet, they now face a more challenging landscape than ever before—due to the rapid rise of domestic Chinese enterprises.
This reflects China’s success in nurturing and developing a large number of homegrown companies through its drive toward technological advancement, manufacturing self-reliance, and domestic consumption growth.
Take NVIDIA as an example. Its CEO, Jensen Huang, was only added to the official delegation list shortly before the trip. He attempted to lobby the U.S. government to allow NVIDIA to sell less advanced chips to China. However, Chinese buyers have yet to make purchases, largely because they now prefer supporting their own chip manufacturers.
Consider Tesla. CEO Elon Musk also came to Beijing, but data shows Tesla’s share in China’s electric vehicle market has dropped from 14% a year ago to just 10% in the final quarter of 2025. Moreover, Tesla lost its title as the world’s largest electric vehicle seller last year, overtaken by China’s BYD.
Apple CEO Tim Cook also accompanied Trump on the visit. He has noticed intense competition from Chinese smartphone makers such as Huawei and Xiaomi. According to IDC data, Apple’s market share in China’s smartphone sector stood at around 22% by the end of last year. Nevertheless, Apple still maintains a substantial electronics assembly presence in China.
In the end, compared to the past, today’s United States—including its largest corporations—is no longer as indispensable to China as it once was.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1865243306853515/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.