Tech titans to flank Trump, Xi at White House state dinner next week
by Kerry Picket · The Washington TimesWhen President Trump sits down with Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state dinner at the White House next week, they will be flanked by the architects of America’s tech economy.
The state dinner Thursday promises to transform what would traditionally be a formal diplomatic affair into a convergence of geopolitical and corporate power at a moment when AI dominance, trade and technology export controls hang in the balance between Washington and Beijing.
The White House said the guest list for the state dinner includes SpaceX’s Elon Musk, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Dell Technologies’ Michael Dell, Citi’s Jane Fraser and Apple Executive Chairman Tim Cook.
Mr. Xi’s visit runs Wednesday through Friday. He and his wife, Peng Liyuan, will land at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland for an arrival ceremony, where they will be greeted by Mr. Trump.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump and first lady Melania Trump will host Mr. Xi and his wife at the White House, followed by a Rose Garden military review. That evening, they will host the Chinese delegation at the state dinner in the East Room of the White House.
On Friday, Mr. and Mrs. Trump will host Mr. Xi and his wife for a private tea at the White House. From there, both couples will tour the National Archives to view key founding documents as part of America’s 250th anniversary celebration.
The last time the president met with Mr. Xi was when he visited Beijing in May.
Speculation about Mr. Xi’s ill health has run rampant after he was rushed to a hospital for treatment during a summit Sept. 12-13 in India. Some questioned whether the Chinese leader would make the meeting in Washington.
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“We have no reason to believe that there’s been any alteration to Chairman Xi Jinping’s travel plans,” an administration official told reporters.
Advancements in artificial intelligence, trade agreements, tariffs and human rights will be on the agenda for the Trump-Xi meeting on Thursday, the White House said.
Mr. Trump and his administration have defended U.S. policy against overregulating AI technology, saying the U.S. is already prepared to curb artificial intelligence and prosecute the abuse of the technology without the new rules that Democrats are proposing.
“The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that in spades!” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social.
Congress has scrambled to come up with regulations to control AI after industry insiders warned the super smart tech poses a threat to humanity. In China, intelligence officials have warned that AI threatens the Chinese Communist Party’s rule and even the survival of the regime.
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Mr. Trump slammed doomsday warnings about AI destroying mankind as “a SICK conspiracy” to slow U.S. advancement in AI and hobble the U.S. in the AI race with China. The president also said the opposition in the U.S. is fanned by China.
Also on the agenda is the U.S.-China trade truce, known as the Busan truce, which expires on Nov. 10. The Busan truce is a one-year economic and trade agreement reached between Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi last Oct. 30 in the South Korean city to de-escalate trade and tech tensions.
Mr. Trump is also considering reducing tariffs on Chinese goods in nonstrategic, nonsensitive sectors, an official said.
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Kerry Picket
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