Trump Welcomes Xi With Pomp, Tech CEOs, Sea Bass

President Trump rolled out the full ceremony treatment for Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, including a state dinner at the White House, even as the two leaders sat down to hash out one of the world's most complicated rivalries. Xi's first Washington visit in more than a decade opened with troops, a flyover, and a red carpet before the pair moved to closed-door talks on Iran, artificial intelligence, trade, and military tensions in the Indo-Pacific, the Wall Street Journal reports. Trump praised "tremendous strides" in the relationship and said their decisions on security and technology could shape "decades" ahead. Xi warned that both countries "will lose in confrontation" and pushed for cooperation on business, AI rules, and steady military contacts.

Behind the cordial tone, friction points loomed: China's oil purchases and drone components headed to Iran, its expanding nuclear arsenal, and its pressure campaign on Taiwan, where Xi again urged Washington to oppose independence. The White House summit, arriving weeks before US midterms, is expected to yield modest steps like a brief extension of the trade-war truce and additional Chinese purchases of American farm goods, while leaving core disputes largely unresolved. Trump posted Thursday that there would be no movement on AI safety, saying he wants none and China agrees, per the Washington Post. He wrote, "Our guardrail is the DOJ!"

That left dinner. The plan was to emphasize American ingredients that have a "subtle Chinese influence," per the New York Times. The entree was sesame-crusted sea bass with braised baby bok choy, roasted garden eggplant, and a sauce verte, per the AP. Dessert was vanilla cremeux with sour cherry confit and walnut frangipane, as well as ice cream with honey from the White House. The guest list was filled with CEOs from the tech industry, including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Jensen Huang, Tim Cook, Sam Altman, Michael Dell, and Sundar Pichai. No CEOs of Chinese companies were invited, per the AP. Trump voiced a regret during his remarks: He wished the White House ballroom he's attempting to build had been completed in time for the dinner.