Trump and Xi exchange warm words at White House state dinner

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged warm words at a White House state dinner on Thursday evening, with Xi saying artificial intelligence should remain “under human control” and Trump toasting “harmony, peace and success” for both countries. Neither leader announced progress on the disputes between them.

What did Trump and Xi say at the dinner?

Xi said the two countries should act “as responsible major countries”. He said they had agreed to build “a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability” after “sincere and in-depth exchanges”. Trump said the relationship between the two men was strong: “We’ve never gotten along better.” Xi traced the countries’ ties to the World War Two fight against Japan, saying they were “forged in blood and fire”, and to the Nixon-era “ping pong” diplomacy.

Trump presented Xi with a sculpture of a bald eagle, saying it embodied “the free and soaring spirit of America”, and said he and First Lady Melania Trump had taken part in designing it. As a “special treat”, he said Xi and his wife could be the first to enter a new White House ballroom that is about a year from completion.

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman was among the guests, at a time when AI oversight is drawing scrutiny, including over an OpenAI agent that Australia’s prime minister said breached a Medicare data portal.

What was said about Taiwan?

Earlier on Thursday, Xi urged Trump to take the “correct position” on Taiwan, the self-governing island Beijing claims as its own. The talks took place while a major US weapons package for Taiwan remained paused by Trump.

The dinner followed other high-profile diplomatic engagements by Trump, including the security deal the US and Denmark announced over Greenland.

Who was at the state dinner?

Guests included Apple chief executive Tim Cook, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang. Cook and Huang sat at the same table as Trump and Xi, as did Elon Musk, who previously led Trump’s government-shrinking effort. Mark Zuckerberg and the TikTok shareholder Jeff Yaas also attended, alongside leaders of General Motors, Visa, Paramount Skydance and ExxonMobil. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Jared Kushner and White House chief of staff Monica Crowley were present, as were Trump’s children Ivanka, Eric and Tiffany. Anthropic, one of the largest AI firms, was a notable absence; the BBC said it had asked whether the company was invited.

What happened outside the White House?

Protesters shouted from just outside as guests arrived, and some of them were arrested.

What is on Friday’s schedule?

Trump and Xi begin Friday with tea in the White House Red Room with their wives, then go to the US National Archives for a tour. The building holds the US Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Xi and his wife leave Washington later in the day.

What was served at the dinner?

The first lady’s office, which planned the event, said the menu would showcase “American ingredients with subtle Chinese influence”. Guests ate yellow squash, wild mushrooms and crispy pancetta, followed by sesame-crusted sea bass with braised bok choy and roasted eggplant, and a vanilla crémeux dessert. The wine, a Schramsberg Blanc De Noir, came from the same vineyard as President Nixon’s 1972 “Toast to Peace” with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai.

Frequently asked questions

Did Trump and Xi reach an agreement at the White House state dinner?

No agreement was announced. Xi Jinping said the two sides had agreed to build “a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability”, but neither leader indicated progress on Taiwan or on the US weapons package for Taiwan that Trump has paused.

What did Xi Jinping say about Taiwan?

Xi urged Donald Trump to take the “correct position” on Taiwan, the self-governing island Beijing claims as its own, during talks earlier on Thursday before the dinner.

Who attended the state dinner?

Guests included tech chief executives Tim Cook, Sam Altman, Sundar Pichai, Jeff Bezos, Jensen Huang, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, along with cabinet members and members of Trump’s family. Anthropic, one of the largest AI companies, was absent.

What did Trump give Xi Jinping at the dinner?

Trump presented Xi with a sculpture of a bald eagle, which he said embodied “the free and soaring spirit of America” and which he said he and First Lady Melania Trump had helped design.

With reporting from BBC News.

Stock image, not from the events described. Globe World — Jo%E3o%20Silas / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)