US President Donald Trump has denied a New York Times report that his close ally, billionaire Elon Musk, was due to be briefed by the Pentagon on Friday about the US military's plan for any war that might break out with China.
"China will not even be mentioned or discussed," Trump said in a post about the Pentagon meeting on Truth Social on Thursday.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said in a post on X that the meeting would be "about innovation, efficiencies & smarter production."
Access to the closely guarded military plan would mark an sharp expansion of Musk's role as a Trump adviser who has spearheaded efforts to cut US government spending.
It would also fuel questions about conflicts of interest for Musk, who as the head of both Tesla and SpaceX has business interests in China and with the Pentagon.
The White House has previously said Musk will recuse himself if any conflicts of interest arise between his business dealings and his role in cutting federal government spending.
The briefing for the war plan
The briefing for the China war plan has about 20 to 30 slides that lay out how the United States would fight such a conflict, the New York Times reported.
The Pentagon confirmed that Musk will be visiting on Friday but did not share further details. "The Defense Department is excited to welcome Elon Musk to the Pentagon on Friday. He was invited by Secretary (Pete) Hegseth and is just visiting," a Pentagon spokesperson said.
Washington and Beijing have had tense relations for years over differences ranging from access to technology, trade tariffs and cybersecurity to TikTok, Taiwan, Hong Kong, human rights and the origins of COVID-19.