US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will sit down for talks at the White House on Thursday. The meeting will be followed by a high-profile state dinner attended by some of the biggest names in American technology and business.
The dinner, hosted by Trump and First Lady Melania Trump in the White House’s East Room, will be part of Xi’s three-day US visit. Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, would be the guests of honour, the White House said. Track live updates of the Trump-Xi meet here
Who is attending the Trump-Xi state dinner?
Among the prominent technology and business figures reported to be attending are:
- Jeff Bezos — founder of Amazon
- Elon Musk — CEO of Tesla and SpaceX
- Sundar Pichai — CEO of Alphabet
- Sam Altman — CEO of OpenAI
- Jensen Huang — CEO of Nvidia
- Michael Dell — founder and CEO of Dell Technologies
- Tim Cook — executive chairman of Apple
- Mark Zuckerberg — CEO of Meta
- Satya Nadella — CEO of Microsoft
- Cristiano Amon — CEO of Qualcomm
- Jane Fraser — CEO of Citigroup
- Jamie Dimon — CEO of JPMorgan Chase
- Albert Bourla — CEO of Pfizer
The White House has not released a complete official guest roster.
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Why so many tech leaders are attending
AI, advanced chips and computing infrastructure have become a major part of the US-China competition.
Nvidia is caught up in US restrictions on the export of advanced chips to China, while companies such as Apple, Tesla and Microsoft have significant business interests connected to the Chinese market, as per Reuters.
AI is also expected to feature prominently in Trump’s discussions with Xi. US officials have indicated that the two sides could discuss AI-related issues, including the possibility of mechanisms for notifying each other about AI incidents with national-security implications.
Trump-Xi talks: What’s on the agenda?
Trump and Xi are expected to discuss several contentious issues during their White House meeting.
Trade is a major focus. The two countries have been operating under a temporary trade truce, and US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said the two sides agreed to extend the arrangement for another two months. The dispute has involved tariffs, Chinese rare-earth exports and Chinese purchases of US products.
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Taiwan is another major issue. Beijing wants Washington to halt arms sales to Taiwan, while US policy requires Washington to provide Taiwan with defensive capabilities. Trump previously described Taiwan arms sales as a negotiating issue in dealings with China.
Technology and AI are also major focal points. Washington has imposed restrictions on China’s access to advanced semiconductor technology, while Beijing has sought greater access to cutting-edge chips. The two governments are also competing for leadership in artificial intelligence.
Rare-earth minerals are another important issue because China remains a major player in the global supply chain, while the US is seeking alternative sources.
Xi arrived in the US on Wednesday, and Trump welcomed him and Peng Liyuan at the airbase at Joint Base Andrews.
