Trump Hosts Lavish State Dinner for Chinese President Xi, Tech Billionaires in Attendance
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President Donald Trump held an extravagant state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping, inviting a select group of tech industry elites while showcasing opulence and reinforcing ties between global capitalist powerhouses.
On Thursday night, President Donald Trump staged a lavish state dinner at the White House to honor Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a display of elite power and capitalist camaraderie. The guest list was a who’s who of tech billionaires and corporate titans, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Tesla and SpaceX’s Elon Musk, Google parent Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, Dell Technologies’ Michael Dell, and LVMH’s Bernard Arnault—figures whose companies have amassed unprecedented wealth while workers face stagnant wages and growing inequality.
During his toast, Trump declared, "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." Yet, this so-called prosperity has often meant greater profits for the few, while ordinary people in both countries struggle with the consequences of unregulated capitalism.
Xi responded, "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 rhetoric of national greatness ignores the urgent need for global cooperation on issues like climate change and labor rights, instead focusing on competition and mutual enrichment of the ruling classes.
The dinner, held in the opulent East Room with subdued lighting and red-and-gold place settings, was a spectacle of wealth. Trump wore a tuxedo, and First Lady Melania Trump donned a designer tuxedo-style outfit from Dolce & Gabbana, while Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan arrived in equally luxurious attire. The menu, curated with input from the first lady, featured yellow squash velouté, sesame-crusted sea bass with bok choy and eggplant, and a decadent dessert of vanilla crémeux with sour cherry and walnut frangipane, plus honey-flavored ice cream—all served on Reagan-era red china, a nod to past administrations that prioritized the wealthy.
After the meal, Trump led his guests to view the construction site of a new White House ballroom, grandiosely dubbed the "Great Hall of the United States," suggesting it could rival Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. He presented Xi with an eagle statue, a symbol of American imperialism, designed with Melania Trump’s input.
The dinner capped off a day that began with an unusually personal greeting for Xi and his wife at Joint Base Andrews, highlighting the administration’s preference for personal diplomacy among global elites, while the real needs of working people remain sidelined.