Musk, Huang, and Cook Sit Down With Trump and Xi at Lavish Dinner

TLDR

• President Trump hosted a state dinner for Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the White House on Thursday.
• Tech executives including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Tesla’s Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman attended.
• Wall Street leaders such as Jamie Dimon, Jane Fraser, and David Solomon were also on the guest list.
• The US and China agreed to extend their trade truce until January 10, 2026.
• Anthropic was reportedly not present at the dinner, and the reason has not been confirmed.

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President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday for a state dinner. The event brought together some of the most powerful names in American business and technology.

🇺🇸🇨🇳HUGE: Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Jensen Huang, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos attend Trump-Xi state dinner

Some of the biggest names in U.S. tech and business gathered at the White House as President Donald Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state dinner.… pic.twitter.com/mYyfuV0nH4

— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) September 25, 2026

Guests included Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and Tesla’s Elon Musk. Apple’s Tim Cook, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg were also present.

Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai rounded out the tech contingent. Cook and Huang were seated at the same table as Trump and Xi.

Finance Leaders Join the Guest List

Wall Street was well represented at the dinner. Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, and Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon attended alongside Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman.

Mastercard’s Michael Miebach was also on the list. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh were among the government officials present.

Other business leaders included Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg and Paramount Skydance’s David Ellison. Executives from General Motors, Visa, and ExxonMobil also attended.

Of more than 130 names on the guest list, only 19 were part of the Chinese delegation. None of them were business figures.

AI Development Was a Key Topic

Both leaders said they discussed artificial intelligence during their meetings. Xi told Trump the two countries could continue a dialogue on AI and guard against its misuse, according to China’s Xinhua News Agency.

BREAKING: President Trump says he and China’s President Xi want to leave AI “exactly where it is.”

“Our guardrail is the DOJ,” Trump says. pic.twitter.com/VSB49mG18f

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) September 24, 2026

The race to lead in AI development has become a point of tension between the two nations. Chinese companies have been closing the gap with US models in recent months.

Despite the competition, both governments said they plan to keep developing AI technology. This is true even as concerns grow over its effects on jobs and the environment.

Anthropic, one of the largest AI companies in the world, was reportedly absent from the dinner. It has not been confirmed whether the company was invited or chose not to attend.

Trump’s welcome of Xi drew criticism from some lawmakers. Republican Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi questioned the decision to honor China’s leader with a state visit.

Protesters gathered near the White House as guests arrived Thursday evening. Some chanted phrases including “Free Hong Kong” and “Free Tibet,” and several were arrested.

Trump and First Lady Melania Trump hosted Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at the dinner. The menu featured dishes described as showcasing American ingredients with Chinese influence.

Guests were served yellow squash and crispy pancetta for a first course. The main course was sesame crusted sea bass with braised bok choy.

The two countries agreed to extend their trade truce, which had been set to expire in November. It will now run until January 10, 2026.

This marks the second summit between Trump and Xi this year. It is also Xi’s first visit to Washington in more than a decade.

On Friday, Trump and Xi were scheduled to have tea together at the White House. The pair also planned to visit the National Archives before Xi’s departure.