India-born semiconductor executive Sanjay Mehrotra accompanied US President Donald Trump on a high-profile visit to China this week, making him the only Indian-origin business leader in a select high-profile delegation of top American corporate executives attending meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping.The two-day summit in Beijing comes at a critical time in US-China relations, particularly as tensions intensify over semiconductors, artificial intelligence, trade restrictions and technology supply chains.According to reports, Mehrotra joined the powerful group of American business leaders travelling with Trump, including Tim Cook of Apple, Elon Musk of Tesla, Larry Fink of BlackRock and Jane Fraser of Citigroup.From Kanpur to Silicon ValleyBorn in Kanpur in 1958, Mehrotra has emerged as one of the most influential Indian-origin executives in the global semiconductor industry.He currently serves as CEO of Micron Technology, one of the world’s leading memory chip manufacturers. Mehrotra joined Micron as chief executive in 2017 after co-founding flash memory giant SanDisk and leading it until its acquisition by Western Digital in 2016.He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from University of California, Berkeley and also completed an executive programme at Stanford Graduate School of Business.Over a career spanning more than four decades, Mehrotra has worked with major technology firms including Intel, Integrated Device Technology and SEEQ Technology.Micron at the centre of US-China chip warMehrotra’s participation in Trump’s China delegation is significant because Micron has become deeply entangled in the growing geopolitical and economic rivalry between Washington and Beijing.The semiconductor industry remains central to the US-China strategic competition, with both countries battling for dominance in advanced chip manufacturing, artificial intelligence infrastructure and technology supply chains.Micron has benefited substantially from the US government’s semiconductor push under the CHIPS and Science Act, legislation aimed at reducing American dependence on Asian chip production and strengthening domestic manufacturing.Mehrotra personally lobbied lawmakers in Washington in support of the CHIPS Act in 2022. Since then, Micron has announced major manufacturing projects in Boise, Idaho and near Syracuse, New York.At the same time, the company has also faced political uncertainty after Trump criticised the CHIPS Act and called for parts of it to be scrapped despite later approving additional federal support for Micron’s expansion plans.Growing influence in WashingtonIn recent years, Mehrotra has increasingly become a prominent face in Washington’s technology and policy circles.He attended a Diwali event hosted by Trump last year and was also part of several high-level White House meetings involving technology executives.Earlier, Mehrotra appeared alongside US President Joe Biden during the 2023 state dinner for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and at the 2024 announcement of federal support for Micron’s semiconductor project in New York.His inclusion in Trump’s China delegation highlights the growing strategic importance of semiconductor leaders in shaping the future of global economic and technological relations.CEOs accompanying Trump to ChinaBusiness leaders expected to join Trump during the Beijing summit include:Tim Cook — AppleElon Musk — TeslaLarry Fink — BlackRockJane Fraser — CitigroupSanjay Mehrotra — Micron Technology