Trump praises US-China friendship, talks up White House ballroom during state dinner for China's Xi
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".
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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.
The event featured a cavalcade of billionaires, Washington powerbrokers, business leaders and the type of festivities that most excite Trump, who has a reputation for revelling in hosting parties.
“President Xi and I both understand we represent different systems, but the ties between our people endure, and we’ve never gotten along better,” Trump said during his toast, adding that “together, we can continue to build a relationship that promotes prosperity and security for future generations".
Trump has done his best to impress Xi during China's leader's during Xi's three-day visit to Washington, and praised their close personal relationship - even as he has decried top Democratic candidates as “communists” ahead of the November midterm elections.
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Xi and Trump discussed tensions over Taiwan, trade and artificial intelligence during business hours - even as an ongoing, First Amendment fight over press access at the White House has unfolded.
But Trump publicly chose to focus on showing Xi his White House updates on Thursday afternoon, including letting him tour his Marine One presidential helicopter and a new helipad he built for it - before attention quickly turned to the flashy details of the swanky meal.
Xi noted in his own toast that “President Trump has pledged to make America great again” and that “China is committed to achieving great national rejuvenation".
“These two goals are both ambitious and can surely be mutually reinforcing,” Xi said.
Trump wore a tuxedo, and first lady Melania Trump a tuxedo-style outfit with a large necktie bow. Xi chose a black suit and his wife, Peng Liyuan a red gown. The East Room, where the dinner was held, featured low lighting and place settings with elegant, red and gold decor.
Those attending included OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who signed autographs as he arrived at the White House. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang opted for a tuxedo over his trademark black leather jacket. Bernard Arnault, the CEO of French luxury goods company LVMH, walked through black security fencing to get to the event.
TRUMP TALKS UP BALLROOM
The president toasted his strong relationship with Xi and the bond between the US and China, but then offered, “if I could go off script just for a second, I just want to say I had to do it” as those assembled laughed.
“I’d like to invite everyone in the room to visit through that beautiful curtain in the back,” Trump said, referring to the construction site of his White House ballroom on the South Lawn, which he said, “you've heard so much about".
Trump said the project was a year from completion, and said he thought attendees “will see something that I think you will really love".
The president said that after the dinner attendees could go see the worksite and be “the first people to step foot” on it.
“We’ll do that. Maybe after we’ve finished with the entertainment tonight,” Trump said, asking, “Anybody wants to walk into a construction site that’s nice and sparkling, it’s our honour to have you do so.”
Trump has called the ballroom he’s building the “Great Hall of the United States”, and suggested it could rival the Great Hall of the People, where he dined during a state visit to Beijing in May.
The president also presented Xi with an eagle statue that he said was designed “in personal collaboration with Melania and myself.”
Xi did not present Trump a public gift in return during the dinner.
The first lady helped craft the evening's menu, which was served on the red china from Ronald Reagan’s presidency. It features a first course of yellow squash velouté with wild mushrooms, fresh herbs, crispy pancetta and drizzled scallion oil.
After that, guests got sesame-crusted sea bass with braised baby bok choy, roasted garden eggplant and a sauce verte. Dessert is vanilla crémeux with sour cherry confit and walnut frangipane, as well as ice cream with honey from the White House.
Trump has sought to one-up Xi after Beijing
The dinner came after the president took the unusual step of personally greeting Xi and his wife on Wednesday as they arrived at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington.
Normally, presidents wait for their state visit guests to arrive at the White House itself before offering a formal welcome.
Thursday's dinner was packed with technology industry titans like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI President and co-founder Greg Brockman, and Dell Technologies chairman and CEO Michael Dell.
Full guest list for Trump's state dinner with Xi
US officials
* JD Vance, Vice President
* Usha Vance, Second Lady
* Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State
* Jeanette Rubio, Spouse of Marco Rubio
* Susie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff
* David Perdue, US Ambassador to China
* Bonnie Perdue, Spouse of David Perdue
* Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury
* John Freeman, Spouse of Scott Bessent
* Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense
* Jamieson Greer, US Trade Representative
* Marlo Greer, Spouse of Jamieson Greer
* John Roberts, US Supreme Court
* Jane Sullivan Roberts, Spouse of John Roberts
* Justice Amy Coney Barrett, US Supreme Court
* Jesse Barrett, Spouse of Amy Coney Barrett
* Brett Kavanaugh, US Supreme Court
* Ashley Estes Kavanaugh, Spouse of Brett Kavanaugh
* Mike Johnson, Speaker of the US House of Representatives
* Kelly Johnson, Spouse of Mike Johnson
* Richard McCormick, Member of the US House of Representatives
* Kevin Warsh, Chairman of the Federal Reserve
* Jane Lauder, Spouse of Kevin Warsh
* Howard Lutnick, US Secretary of Commerce
* Allison Lutnick, Spouse of Howard Lutnick
* John Ratcliffe, CIA Director
* Michele Ratcliffe, Spouse to John Ratcliffe
* Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy to Middle East
* Stephen Miller, White House Deputy Chief of Staff
* Katie Miller, Spouse of Stephen Miller
* Dan Scavino, White House Deputy Chief of Staff
* Erin Scavino, Spouse of Dan Scavino
* Todd Blanche, Attorney General
* Kristine Blanche, Spouse to Todd Blanche
* Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy
* Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services
* Cheryl Hines, Spouse of Secretary Kennedy
* Linda McMahon, US Secretary of Education
* Doug Burgum, Secretary of Interior
* Kathryn Burgum, Spouse of Secretary Burgum
* Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation
* Rachel Campos-Duffy, Spouse of Sean Duffy
* Russell Vought, White House Budget Director
* Lee Zeldin, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
* Keith Sonderling, Acting Secretary of Labor
* Kelly Loeffler, Administrator of the Small Business Administration
* Jeffrey Sprecher, Spouse of Kelly Loeffler
* Jason Smith, Member of the US House of Representatives
* Steven Daines, Member of the US Senate
* Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
* Jay Clayton, Director of National Intelligence
Chinese officials
* Cai Qi, Member of the Politburo Standing Committee
* Wang Yi, Foreign Minister
* He Lifeng, Vice Premier
* Zheng Shanjie, Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission
* Wang Wentao, Commerce Minister
* Ma Zhaoxu, Vice Foreign Minister
* Xie Feng, Ambassador to the US
* Wang Dan, Wife of Ambassador Xie Feng
* Tang Fangyu, Director of the Central Policy Research Office
* Lan Fo'an, Finance Minister
* Zhou Hongxu, Director of the Central Security Bureau
* Lyu Luhua, Secretary to President Xi
* Hong Lei, Assistant Foreign Minister
* Cai Wei, Assistant Foreign Minister
* Mao Ning, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
* Zhang Quan, Secretary to Madame Peng
* Zhang Yongchao, Deputy Director General of the Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Guests
* Ivanka Trump
* Eric Trump
* Lara Trump
* Tiffany Trump
* Michael Boulos
* Viktor Knavs
* Arabella Kushner
* Jensen Huang, Nvidia
* Lori Huang, Spouse of Jensen Huang
* Mark Zuckerberg, Meta Platforms
* Lisa Su, Advanced Micro Devices
* Daniel Lin, Spouse of Lisa Su
* Tim Cook, Apple
* John F.W. Rogers, Goldman Sachs
* Lynn Martin, New York Stock Exchange
* Linda Mills, New York University
* Eric Yuan, Zoom, CEO
* Kelly Ortberg, Boeing
* Larry Fink, BlackRock
* Stephen Schwarzman, Blackstone
* Sam Altman, OpenAI
* Greg Brockman, OpenAI
* Anna Brockman, Wife of Greg Brockman
* Miriam Adelson, Las Vegas Sands
* Sergey Brin, Google
* Gerelyn Gilbert-Soto, Partner of Sergey Brin
* Satya Nadella, Microsoft
* Jim Taiclet, Lockheed Martin
* Sundar Pichai, Google
* Larry Culp, GE Aerospace
* Sanjay Mehrotra, Micron
* Sangeeta Mehrotra, Spouse of Sanjay Mehrotra
* Cristiano Amon, Qualcomm
* Jeff Bezos, Amazon
* Lauren Sánchez Bezos, Spouse of Jeff Bezos
* Jeff Yass, Susquehanna International Group
* Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase
* Michael Dell, Dell Technologies
* Susan Dell, Spouse of Michael Dell
* Mary Barra, General Motors
* Anthony Barra, Spouse of Mary Barra
* David Solomon, Goldman Sachs
* Jane Fraser, Citigroup
* Elon Musk, SpaceX
* Darren Woods, ExxonMobil
* Kathryn Woods, Spouse of Darren Woods
* Bret Baier, FOX News
* Amy Baier, Spouse of Bret Baier
* Laura Ingraham, FOX News
* Jesse Watters, FOX News
* Emma Watters, Spouse of Jesse Watters
* David Ellison, Paramount Skydance
* Sandra Lynn Ellison, Spouse of David Ellison
* Brad Gerstner, Altimeter
* Katie Simpson, Partner of Brad Gerstner
* Albert Bourla, Pfizer
* David Sacks, President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and Craft Ventures
* Bernard Arnault, LVMH
* Alexandre Arnault, Son of Bernard Arnault
* Ryan McInerney, Visa
* Michael Miebach, Mastercard
* Meredith O’Rourke, The O’Rourke Group
During his own visit to Beijing in May, Xi hosted Trump for a state dinner that unfolded beneath grand chandeliers in the Great Hall of the People. That event also included many tech luminaries, such as Tim Cook, formerly Apple's CEO, and Musk.
It was all a stark departure from 2015, when then-President Barack Obama was preparing to host Xi for a state visit and Trump - in the midst of his first presidential run - criticised all the hubbub.
“Just take them to McDonald’s and go back to the negotiating table,” Trump said then, during a rally in South Carolina. He later conceded on Fox News Channel that Xi might at least be worthy of getting “probably a double-size Big Mac".
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