President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump greeted Chinese President Xi Jinping and Madame Peng Liyuan at the North Portico, stopping for a quick group photo before heading to an opulent State Dinner alongside top business titans and government elites.
The lavish black-tie State Dinner in the historic East Room stands as one of the most star studded evenings of the administration, offering a glitzy opportunity to smooth over notoriously fierce geopolitical friction with the Asian superpower.
Some of the CEO’s invited that will enjoy the feast include Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai, Michael Dell, Jensen Huang, Sam Altman, Jane Fraser and Tim Cook.
Behind closed doors in the East Room tonight, Melania’s office says they personally orchestrated the evening’s extravagant arrangements, transforming the space with red linens, Reagan-era vermeil, and overflowing urns of crimson dahlias – a striking aesthetic that the First Lady notes ‘draws on the color red’s longstanding cultural significance throughout Chinese history.’
As the leaders and their guests dine, there will be several performances, including military musicians and inauguration tenor Christopher Macchio setting a grand soundtrack.
Inside the dining room, guests are raising glasses of Schramsberg ‘Blanc De Noir’ for a symbolic toast, reviving the historic 1972 ‘Toast to Peace’ between Richard Nixon and Premier Zhou Enlai in China.
White House chefs fused classic American ingredients with subtle Asian flavors across a lavish multi-course menu.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wait to greet China’s President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at the North Portico of the White House for a State Dinner
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez arrive for a state dinner
Tim Cook, Chairman of the board of directors of Apple, arrives dressed in a black suit and bowtie, holding up a peace sign
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, left, and his wife Lori Huang walk to the White House Thursday evening
VIPs enjoy a silky yellow squash velouté topped with crispy pancetta, followed by sesame-crusted sea bass served over braised baby bok choy, before rounding out the feast with a fruit-shaped vanilla cremeux paired with ice cream churned directly from White House honey.
The grand occasion comes with a touch of signature White House drama.
Trump has made no secret of his annoyance that his ambitious new White House ballroom remains unfinished, forcing the glittering diplomatic showcase into the East Room instead.
While galas, orchestrated by the Office of the First Lady, traditionally serve as the most glamorous showcase of American power, tonight’s event is unfolding largely behind closed doors.
Often the secret catalyst for blockbuster trade deals and historic treaties, this evening’s private gathering marks the first White House state dinner hosted for China since former President Barack Obama welcomed Xi back in September 2015.
This week, President Trump rolled out the red carpet for Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The visit kicked off with full military pomp today – complete with blaring bands, crisp salutes, roaring jet engines, and a personal guided tour by Trump through his gold-encrusted White House hallways.
The lavish black-tie State Dinner in the historic East Room stands as one of the most star studded evenings of the administration, offering a glitzy opportunity to smooth over notoriously fierce geopolitical friction with the Asian superpower
Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup, arrives in a red sequined dress
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman arrives for the state dinner
A US Air Force flyover roared overhead as Xi remained unflinching and Trump cracked a smile
The first couple of China touched down just before 6pm local time. They will stay in the nation’s capital through Friday afternoon
First ladies Liyuan and Trump pose for a photo with children during a visit to the Smithsonian’s National Museum Of Asian Art
The dramatic spectacle began the moment the Chinese President and his wife touched down at Joint Base Andrews.
As the leaders stood on the tarmac alongside rows of soldiers positioned in front of F-35 fighter jets and Air Force One, a screaming flyover shattered the air overhead.
The deafening roar caught Trump off guard, causing him to visibly wince while a stoic, stone-faced Xi didn’t even flinch.
Breaking more than a decade of presidential protocol, the Trump’s personally greeted the Chinese delegation on the tarmac – marking the first time a sitting US president has met a foreign leader at an airport in over 11 years.
A grinning Trump also celebrated an immediate PR win when Xi announced Beijing is sending two giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, to Zoo Atlanta within days, continuing the famous ‘panda diplomacy’ tradition sparked by Richard Nixon’s 1972 trip.
This week’s three-day visit is packed with cultural events alongside tough bilateral negotiations, where trade battles and thorny conflicts from tech dominance to Tehran are set to take center stage.
According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the two leaders could face each other up to four times before the year is out, with November’s APEC summit in Shenzhen and December’s G20 at Trump’s Doral golf resort in Miami already on the schedule.
The diplomatic charm offensive continues Friday, when the Trumps, Xi, and Madame Peng tour the National Archives to view America’s original founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
