Trump's state dinner for Xi features sea bass and a long list of tech titans
President Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state dinner in Washington, featuring a guest list of prominent tech leaders. The two leaders discussed trade, AI, and Taiwan, while publicly emphasizing the endurance of US-China ties.
Why it matters
Reflects the complex balance of high-level diplomatic engagement and economic competition between the world's two largest economies.
US President Donald Trump said that both he and Chinese President Xi Jinping "understand we represent different systems, but the ties between our people endure, and we’ve never gotten along better".
US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at the North Portico of the White House for a state dinner in Washington, DC, US, Sep 24, 2026. (Photo: Reuters/Kylie Cooper)
WASHINGTON: A tech-heavy guest list , the fashion choices of those on it, who sat where and what was on the menu marked the softer - often and glitzier - details of diplomacy as Donald Trump threw a Thursday (Sep 24) night state dinner honouring China’s leader Xi Jinping .
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