Washington, May 28 (IANS) US Senator Elizabeth Warren has accused President Donald Trump of using his recent China trip to benefit billionaire allies and corporate donors, saying the visit amounted to “a corruption tour disguised as diplomacy”.

The report, released by the minority staff of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee led by Warren, alleged that Trump’s China policy favoured 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 travelled 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 discussions 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 chief Cristiano Amon, Blackstone chairman Stephen Schwarzman and Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser.

The report alleged that Trump owned stock in several of the companies represented on the trip and said many executives or 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 criticised Trump’s tariff policies towards China. It said American households, not China, were paying the cost of the 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 said farm bankruptcies rose 46 per cent in 2025, including a 70 per cent increase in the Midwest.

It also 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 advanced artificial intelligence chip sales to China. The report said Huang joined the trip after lobbying the administration to allow additional AI chip exports to Chinese firms.

The committee report said senior US military and intelligence officials had warned that exporting advanced AI chips to China could threaten American national security. It cited warnings from Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and General 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 concluded.

Trump has repeatedly 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 measures are aimed at strengthening the US industry and supply chains.

The report comes amid continuing tensions between Washington and Beijing 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.

--IANS

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