The president is bringing 16 CEOs, a freshly un-sanctioned Secretary of State, and what looks very much like a message: the window for a deal is closing fast.

Air Force One en route to Beijing for what could be one of the most consequential summits of Trump’s second term. (Photo: suggested stock / wire)

Air Force One lifted off Tuesday with a passenger list that reads less like a diplomatic delegation and more like a Forbes cover shoot. Rubio, Hegseth, Scott Bessent, Elon Musk, and chief executives from Apple, Boeing, Goldman Sachs, and Visa are all making the trip to Beijing — where, for once, the Chinese are actually rolling out a welcome mat.

The timing isn’t subtle. Marco Rubio had been banned and sanctioned by China for six years. They quietly lifted it just before departure. That’s not a coincidence — that’s Beijing signaling it wants this meeting to go well, at least on the surface.

“We make a lot of money with China. Good things are going to happen. A very exciting trip.”

Trump framed the visit in characteristically optimistic terms, but the agenda is anything but light. Taiwan, AI dominance, and — crucially — Iran are all on the table. And that last item is where things get genuinely complicated.

Iran’s latest negotiating proposal was rejected by Trump as “unacceptable,” and the ceasefire that had been holding is now, in the words of people close to the talks, on life support. The administration isn’t hiding its frustration. NBC News is reporting that the Pentagon already has a name ready for a resumed bombing campaign: Operation Sledgehammer. That’s not the kind of codename you assign to a backup plan nobody intends to use.