Video of Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun approaching and taking photos with billionaire Elon Musk after a state banquet in Beijing quickly attracted attention on social networks.
“Fans often approach Musk to ask to take pictures with him, he constantly makes funny faces. This will be the first person to own a $1,000 billion fortune, he deserves it,” Eric Daugherty, a reporter in the delegation accompanying US President Donald Trump to visit China, said in a post on X on May 14.
The accompanying video shows billionaire Elon Musk sitting at the banquet table after a state banquet hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping to entertain President Trump. After that, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun (Lei Quan) came close and took a photo with him, while Musk winked and smiled. The smartphone model used by Mr. Jun is Xiaomi 17 Pro series launched at the end of 2025.
CEO Loi Quan took a selfie with Elon Musk in the video released on May 14. Video: X/EricDaugherty
The video quickly attracted more than 1.9 million views after a few hours and was reposted by many people. “This is someone who is about to become the world’s first trillionaire and is still willing to entertain random fans like it’s 2018. No one can compare to his charisma,” one account wrote.
With the last-minute participation of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, 17 business leaders in the US technology, finance, aerospace and semiconductor industries accompanied President Trump on his state visit to China on May 12-14. The total personal assets of the business group reached 1,070 billion USD, according to data from Forbes and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings compiled by Quiver Quantitative. They became the richest delegation ever to visit China.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, leads the group with 827 billion USD, accounting for more than 77% of the delegation’s total assets. He is seeking a license to sell self-driving taxis in China and increase robot sales in the world’s second-most populous country, according to Arthur Kroeber, head of research at Gavekal Dragonomics.