Warm words from a Chinese leader who wants to keep relations 'stable'published at 01:52 BST 25 September

01:52 BST 25 September

Laura Bicker
China correspondent

Image source, Reuters

There are two words Xi is fond of using when it comes to China’s relationship with the United States.

Constructive and stable.

He’s used them again at a speech during the lavish state banquet, before the dinners of yellow squash velouté and sesame crusted sea bass.

"Let us join hands and move forward, side by side, together," he added.

These are warm words from the Chinese leader and a sign that he does want to keep this relationship stable.

The uncomfortable truth for Xi is that his domestic economy is in trouble and he needs to protect exports from debilitating tariffs.

He also needs the US market on side and to prevent his country’s rivalry with the US to spiral out of control.

Image source, Getty Images

In addition to Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, and their spouses, here's a look at who else is dining alongside the leaders tonight:

• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and his wife, Lori Huang
• Apple's Tim Cook
• Tesla's Elon Musk
• AMD CEO Lisa Su and her husband Daniel Lin

When Trump visited Beijing in May, the leaders' table at the state dinner then was filled with government officials on the Chinese side.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

The US and China's goals can be "mutually reinforcing" and the sides must act responsibly, Chinese President Xi Jinping told White House attendees towards the end of his speech.

"President Trump has pledged to make American great again," he said. The Chinese are also "committed to achieving great national rejuvenating and Chinese modernisation has kept breaking new ground", he added.

He urged the sides to explore a "new approach for major countries to get along".

The Chinese leader ended his speech with a toast to the health of Trump and the first lady, as well as the continued progress between the US and China.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, Reuters

Like Trump's, Xi's remarks were heavy on flattery, focusing on cultural ties and shared history between the US and China.

Xi said that he and Trump had "concrete" discussions that led to further understanding between the two countries, furthering what he has described as "strategic stability".

The friendship, he added, was "forged in blood and fire" during the fight against Japan in the Second World War, before being furthered during the "ping pong" diplomacy of the Nixon administration.

The remarks are significantly more historical in nature than Trump's.

None of the food has yet been served it seems. Wine glasses, however, are topped up.

Image source, Reuters

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is now addressing the White House state dinner attendees.

He says Trump and First Lady Melania Trump received he and his wife with "meticulous care and consideration", making them "feel truly at home".

He reflects on Trump's visit to China in May, saying the two are now "making history in our bilateral engagements".

"We agreed to build a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability," Xi says.

He adds that today, the two shared "sincere and in-depth exchanges" that will strengthen relations between the two countries.

Image source, Reuters

At the end of his speech, Trump presented a sculpture of a bald eagle, America's national symbol, to Xi, saying it embodied "the free and soaring spirit of America".

The bald eagle is native to North America and serves as the official national bird of the US.

"We hope it will find a nice, wonderful place in Beijing. It's your honour," he said.

Trump added that he and First Lady Melania had participated in the design of the sculpture.

Image source, Reuters

A bit more now from Donald Trump's speech, where he thanked Xi Jinping for making the long trip to the US from China and saying "we've never gotten along better".

Like we just reported, Trump stuck mostly to his script, except for when he veered off, joking "I had to to do it".

In the off-the-cuff moment, he said as a "special treat" the Chinese leader and his wife could be the first to enter the ballroom, which is still a year away from completion.

"Anybody who wants to walk into a construction site that's nice and clean and sparkling, it's our honour to have you do so," he said.

Image source, Reuters

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, Reuters

I've just entered the East Room of the White House. Dozens of guests are gathered in the room, sat at round tables with red tablecloths. Trump stepped up to the mic moments ago.

I don't have a great view, stuck behind the tall ladders of photographers. Getting in was chaotic and abnormally physical. Secret Service officers at one point lost their patience with the Chinese media delegation, shouting at them to maintain order coming through the door.

As I came in, Elon Musk was standing at a nearby table and appeared to be telling an entertaining story that had his two neighbours barreled over with laughter.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was at a table, with a serious look on his face. His wife is sat beside him, with Jared Kushner and White House chief of protocol Monica Crowley nearby.

Trump's remarks are more of a dinner toast, praising the long history of US-China relations - although he did take an unscripted detour to praise his ongoing ballroom project.

He invited guests to take a look after tonight's entertainment "if you want to walk through a construction site".

As we just reported, there are some notable absences at tonight's state dinner. But there is a swathe of American executives, politicians and tech bosses now sitting around the White House dining room table to greet the Chinese delegation.

The CEOs of JP Morgan, Blackrock and Goldman Sachs are just a few of those attending from the finance world, while luxury goods company LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault and the CEO of Pfizer represent US business interests.

Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Zoom's Eric Yuan and TikTok's Jeff Yass make up just a small portion of the tech cohort.

Also on the list, Fox News hosts Bret Baier and Laura Ingraham, while Paramount Skydance's CEO David Ellison is also in attendance.

Image source, Reuters

Ione Wells
Reporting from Washington DC

We’ve just seen the full list of people invited to this state dinner. As we’ve been reporting, it includes some of the biggest names in tech from companies like OpenAI, Apple, Meta, X, Amazon, Google, Nvidia and many others.

But there is a notable absence of Anthropic - one of the biggest and most valuable AI firms in the world. I asked Anthropic this morning if they had not been invited, or if they chose not to be there, but I haven’t received a reply yet.

I find this interesting, as one of the big talking points around this summit has been whether or not the US and China could, in the future, co-operate on issues around AI safety.

Anthropic has been particular hawkish when it comes to not just the risks that AI - if left unregulated - could pose, but also on China.

Its CEO, Dario Amodei, warned in an essay that China taking the lead in the AI race would pose a “grave danger” for the US and the world - something China strongly hit back at. Its foreign ministry said narratives of “threat” only served to disrupt the process of AI governance.

Image source, Reuters

Ione Wells
Reporting from Washington DC

Some Democrat lawmakers have accused this summit of prioritising “pageantry” over substance. There has been no sign yet of breakthroughs on major differences including trade, AI, weapons for Taiwan and critical minerals.

In a statement signed by 19 of the 47 members of the Democratic caucus and seen by Reuters, these critics urged the president to immediately deliver billions of dollars in funds and arms sales to Taiwan and demand the release of wrongfully detained Americans.

These Democrats have also criticised Trump’s loosening of restrictions on high-end chip sales to China.

The boss of chip producer Nvidia, Jensen Huang, is attending this state dinner.

Image source, Reuters

We have just seen the two presidents disappear behind closed doors ahead of tonight's state dinner.

Both Xi and Trump will deliver remarks before tucking into a starter of squash, wild mushrooms and crispy pancetta - check out the rest of the menu here.

Joining them for the feast are tech titans Tim Cook, Sam Altman, Jensen Huang and many others.

Image source, Reuters

Ione Wells
Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, Reuters

Donald Trump seemed to clap as President Xi Jinping and China’s first lady stepped out of the car as they arrived for tonight's state dinner.

Another sign that President Trump is keen to flatter his Chinese counterpart, after describing them as having a “great friendship” and even talking about how the Great Hall in China inspired his White House ballroom renovations.

China will see it as a win that it is being treated as an equal.

But behind the flattery these are still two men - and nations’ - deeply suspicious of one another and ideologically opposed on many issues.

Image source, Reuters

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan have arrived back at the White House for tonight's state dinner.

They are welcomed by President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.

Image source, Reuters

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, Reuters

In front of me, 22 of the US military are assembled on the steps of the White House.

A handful of guests - dressed in fine evening dresses and black tuxedos - have walked in, smiling as they walk in through the red carpet into the White House.

When the door opens, I can hear soothing piano music.

But behind me, it's loud - there's a protest, and the woman leading it has a strong voice amplified by a megaphone. She is screaming.

As they are lawfully assembled outside the security of the perimeter, there is nothing the White House or the Chinese delegation can do to prevent this strange split screen from happening.

I don't have a great view of them from this crowded riser, but I can see one of their flags: a white one with a hammer and sickle crossed out.

China and the US are rivals - even if Trump wants them to appear as friendspublished at 00:00 BST 25 September

00:00 BST 25 September

Sarah Smith
North America editor

Looking forward to the dinner later, tech bosses in attendance (who we've just seen arriving) may be desperate to know what has been discussed or decided between the American and Chinese presidents when it comes to AI.

They'll also want to know if the pair talked about recent warnings about the technology getting out of control.

It's unlikely that they'll be able to agree to any guardrails or ways of slowing AI down, because both countries see themselves locked in a race for dominance and superiority when it comes to that technology.

At the end of the day, don't be fooled by the images from last night. China and the US are still rivals, even if Donald Trump wants them to appear as friends at the same time.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

More tech bosses are now arriving at the White House for the state dinner tonight.

We've so far seen Amazon's Jeff Bezos, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Nvidia's Jensen Huang and Alphabet's Sundar Pichai walk in.

Image source, Reuters

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, Reuters

Several dozen members of the US and Chinese media have assembled to wait for Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan to arrive at the North Portico of the White House.

We are standing on a large and extremely unsteady feeling wooden riser, prompting nervous laughter from the assembled reporters.

As we waited, Jezz Bezos and his wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos walked onto the White House grounds and entered the front door, with Bezos smiling at reporters as we yelled his name.

He was followed by Fox News host Brett Baier and his wife.

Protesters can be heard on megaphones shouting anti-Xi slogans.

And a man is now affixing taped name tags to the red carpet, showing where Trump, the first lady, Xi and Peng will stand for photos.

Image source, Reuters

Kali Hays
US technology reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Some of the most notable names in tech, including Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Apple’s Tim Cook, Sam Altman of OpenAI and Jensen Huang of Nvidia, are expected to be dining with President Trump and Xi Jinping at the White House this evening.

Also set to attend are Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Google boss Sundar Pichai.

Trump brought along Musk, Huang and Cook, along with a dozen other tech and business executives, when he visited Xi in May – when fears around AI were not as widespread as they are now.

Altman and Huang, both huge beneficiaries of the recent AI boom, have been vocal in their ideas of how the US should deal with the prospect of future AI tools going outside human control.

Huang, like Trump, favours a more hands-off approach by the government. Altman has also supported the idea of AI companies being left responsible for safety of their tools, but urged the US to take a leadership position on global discussions of AI policy.

The office of the First Lady Melania Trump has released details of the menu for tonight's state dinner, which it describes as a showcase of "American ingredients with subtle Chinese influence".

Here's a look at what the leaders' will be feasting on:

First course:

Yellow squash, wild mushrooms and crispy pancetta will be up first to whet the guests' appetites.

Second course:

A sesame-crusted sea bass, braised bok choy and roasted eggplant will fill out the main course.

And for dessert?

Dessert will see the two leaders and their fellow diners tucking into vanilla crémeux with sour cherry confit, with an accompanying ice cream "made with harvested White House honey".

To toast the night...

The first lady’s office has said they selected Schramsberg Blanc De Noir as the dinner’s wine accompaniment in an intentional nod back to President Nixon's 1972 'Toast to Peace' with former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, when they used a bottle from the same vineyard.

Image source, Reuters