Trump hosts state dinner for Chinese President Xi with tech leaders and elaborate menu
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U.S. President Donald Trump held a state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping, featuring a guest list of technology executives, a multi-course seafood menu and a tour of a new White House ballroom project.
President Donald Trump held a Thursday night state dinner at the White House to honor Chinese President Xi Jinping. The event brought together a roster of technology CEOs, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk, Google parent Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell and LVMH head Bernard Arnault.
During his toast, Trump said, "President Xi and I both understand we represent different systems, but the ties between our people endure, and we've never gotten along better. Together, we can continue to build a relationship that promotes prosperity and security for future generations."
Xi responded in his own remarks, "President Trump has pledged to make America great again, and China is committed to achieving great national rejuvenation. These two goals are both ambitious and can surely be mutually reinforcing."
The dinner was staged in the East Room with low lighting and red-and-gold place settings. Trump wore a tuxedo, while First Lady Melania Trump appeared in a tuxedo-style outfit from Dolce & Gabbana. Xi arrived in a black suit and his wife Peng Liyuan wore a red gown.
The menu, selected with input from the first lady, began with a yellow squash velouté, followed by sesame-crusted sea bass with bok choy, eggplant and a green sauce, and concluded with vanilla crémeux with sour cherry and walnut frangipane, plus honey-flavored ice cream served on Ronald Reagan-era red china.
After the meal, Trump invited guests to view the construction site of a new White House ballroom, describing it as the "Great Hall of the United States" and suggesting it could rival Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. He also presented Xi with an eagle statue that he said was designed in collaboration with Melania Trump.
The dinner followed an earlier personal greeting of Xi and his wife at Joint Base Andrews, an uncommon protocol that underscored the administration’s emphasis on personal diplomacy during the three-day visit.