The highly anticipated state dinner between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping brought together over 100 influential figures, including top government officials from both nations and a significant contingent of American tech and business titans.
While Chinese officials formed the core of their delegation, the U.S. guest list highlighted major CEOs from companies like Apple, Nvidia, Meta, OpenAI, Amazon, and JPMorgan, underscoring the critical economic and technological dimensions of U.S.-China relations.
A high-profile state dinner hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump for Chinese President Xi Jinping drew over 100 prominent guests, ranging from top government officials to leading figures in American industry. A White House press release unveiled the extensive guest list for the Thursday evening event, highlighting the deep economic and diplomatic ties between the two global powers.
The Chinese delegation primarily comprised government officials accompanying President Xi Jinping, First Lady Peng Liyuan, President Donald Trump, and First Lady Melania Trump. In a toast, President Xi noted that discussions with Trump had "added new substance" to U.S.-China relations, while President Trump presented Xi with a symbolic bald eagle statue.
The seating arrangements at the dinner underscored the significant presence of American business leaders. The presidential couples were notably seated with tech giants such as Apple's Tim Cook, Nvidia's Jensen Huang and his wife Lori Huang, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and AMD's Lisa Su. Other major U.S. tech firms like Meta and OpenAI were also represented, though Anthropic was explicitly absent from the list.
The lavish two-course menu featured a sophisticated culinary experience, including a silky yellow squash velouté with crispy pancetta, sesame-crusted sea bass served over braised baby bok choy, and a unique fruit-shaped vanilla cremeux with ice cream made from White House honey.
Among the attendees were members of Trump's extended family, including Melania's father, Viktor Knavs. Earlier reports had anticipated the presence of Chinese business leaders, but CNBC's previous reporting indicated that no Chinese companies were known to have been invited to join Xi's trip.
President Xi's visit marks his first state visit to the U.S. in over a decade, since the Obama administration. He arrived on Wednesday and was scheduled to depart on Friday, making this dinner a pivotal moment in his itinerary.
Here's a comprehensive breakdown of the distinguished guests:
U.S. & Chinese Presidential Couples
- President Donald J. Trump
- First Lady Melania Trump
- President Xi Jinping
- Madame Peng Liyuan
U.S. Government Officials & Spouses
- Vice President JD Vance
- Second Lady Usha Vance
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio
- Jeanette Rubio, Spouse of the Secretary of State
- Chief of Staff Susie Wiles
- U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue
- Bonnie Perdue, Spouse of the U.S. Ambassador to China
- Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent
- John Freeman, Spouse of the Secretary of the Treasury
- Secretary of War Pete Hegseth
- Ambassador Jamieson Greer, United States Trade Representative
- Marlo Greer, Spouse of Ambassador Greer
Chinese Government Officials
- Cai Qi, CPC Political Bureau Standing Committee Member, Chief of Staff to President Xi
- Wang Yi, CPC Political Bureau Central Committee Member
- He Lifeng, CPC Political Bureau Central Committee, Vice Premier of State Council
- Zheng Shanjie, Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission
- Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce
- Ma Zhaoxu, Executive Vice Foreign Minister
- Ambassador Xie Feng, Chinese Ambassador to the United States
- Hong Lei, Assistant Foreign Minister Director General, Protocol Department
- Cai Wei, Assistant Foreign Minister Director General, Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs
- Mao Ning, Director General, Department of Press, Communication and Public Diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Zhang Quan, Secretary to Madame Peng
- Zhang Yongchao, Deputy Director General, Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Tang Fangyu, Director, Central Policy Research Office of the CPC Central Committee
- Lan Fo'an, Minister of Finance
- Wang Dan, Wife of Ambassador Xie Feng
- Zhou Hongxu, Deputy Director, General Office of the CPC Central Committee Director, Central Security Bureau
Trump Family Members
- Ms. Ivanka Trump
- Mr. Eric Trump
- Ms. Lara Trump
- Ms. Tiffany Trump
- Mr. Michael Boulos
- Mr. Viktor Knavs
- Ms. Arabella Kushner
U.S. Business & Tech Leaders and Prominent Figures
- Jensen Huang, Nvidia, CEO
- Lori Huang, Spouse of Jensen Huang
- Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, CEO
- Dr. Lisa Su, Advanced Micro Devices, CEO
- Daniel Lin, Spouse of Lisa Su
- Tim Cook, Chairman of the Board of Apple
- John F.W. Rogers, Goldman Sachs EVP and Secretary to the Board
- Lynn Martin, President of the NYSE
- Linda Mills, President of New York University
- Eric Yuan, Zoom, CEO
- Kelly Ortberg, Boeing, CEO
- Larry Fink, Blackrock, CEO
- Stephen Schwarzman, Blackstone, CEO
- Sam Altman, OpenAI, CEO
- Greg Brockman, OpenAI, President & Co-Founder
- Anna Brockman, Wife of Greg Brockman
- Dr. Miriam Adelson, Las Vegas Sand, Controlling Shareholder
- Sergey Brin, Google/Alphabet, Co-Founder
- Gerelyn Gilbert-Soto, Partner of Sergey Brin
- Satya Nadella, Microsoft, Chairman & CEO
- Jim Taiclet, Lockheed Martin, Chairman, President & CEO
- Sundar Pichai, Google, CEO
- Larry Culp, GE Aerospace, CEO
- Sanjay Mehrotra, Micron, CEO
- Cristiano Amon, Qualcomm, CEO
- Jeff Bezos, Amazon, Chairman
- Lauren Sanchez-Bezos, Spouse of Jeff Bezos
- Jeff Yass, TikTok
- Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan, CEO
- Michael Dell, Dell, CEO
- Mary Barra, General Motors, CEO
- David Solomon, Goldman Sachs, CEO
- Jane Fraser, Citi, CEO
- Elon Musk, SpaceX & Tesla, CEO
- Darren Woods, ExxonMobil, CEO
- Susan Dell, Spouse to Michael Dell
- Kevin Warsh, Chairman of the Federal Reserve
- Jane Lauder, Spouse to Kevin Warsh
- Meredith O'Rourke, The O'Rourke Group
- Brad Gerstner, Altimeter, CEO
- Sangeeta Mehrota, Spouse of Sanjay Mehrotra
- Anthony Barra, Spouse of Mary Barra
- Kathy Woods, Spouse of Darren Woods
- Albert Bourla, Pfizer, CEO
- David Sacks, Co-chair, President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
- Katie Simpson, Fiancé to Brad Gerstner
Other Notable U.S. Officials & Public Figures
- Chief Justice John Roberts, Chief Supreme Court Justice
- Jane Sullivan Roberts, Chief Supreme Court Justice Spouse
- Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Supreme Court Justice
- Jesse Barrett, Supreme Court Justice Spouse
- Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Supreme Court Justice
- Ashley Estes Kavanaugh, Spouse of Supreme Court Justice
- Speaker Mike Johnson, United States House of Representatives, Louisiana
- Kelly Johnson, Spouse of Speaker Mike Johnson
- Bret Baier, FOX News, American Journalist and Host
- Amy Baier, Spouse of Bret Baier
- Laura Ingraham, FOX News, American Television Presenter
- Representative Richard McCormick, United States House of Representatives, Georgia
- Jesse Watters, FOX News Host
- Emma Watters, Spouse of Jesse Watters
- David Ellison, Paramount Skydance, CEO
- Sandra Lynn Ellison, Spouse of David Ellison
- Secretary Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce
- Allison Lutnick, Spouse to Secretary Lutnick
- Director John Ratcliffe, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
- Michelle Ratcliffe, Spouse to Director Ratcliffe
- Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, U.S. Special Envoy to Middle East
- Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor, Assistant to the President
- Katie Miller, Spouse of Stephen Miller
- Dan Scavino, Deputy Chief of Staff, Assistant to the President
- Erin Scavino, Spouse to Dan Scavino
- Attorney General Todd Blanche, Attorney General of the United States
- Kristine Blanche, Spouse to Attorney General Todd Blanche
- Secretary Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy
- Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Secretary of Health & Human Services
- Cheryl Hines, Spouse of Secretary Kennedy
- Secretary Linda McMahon, Secretary of Education
- Secretary Doug Burgum, Secretary of Interior
- Kathryn Burgum, Spouse to Secretary Burgum
- Secretary Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation
- Rachel Campos-Duffy, Spouse of Sean Duffy
- Director Russell Vought, Director of Office of Management & Budget
- Administrator Lee Zeldin, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
- Acting Secretary Keith Sonderling, Acting Secretary of Labor
- Administrator Kelly Loeffler, Small Business Administrator
- Jeff Sprecher, Spouse of Kelly Loeffler
- Representative Jason Smith, United States House of Representatives, Missouri
- Senator Steven Daines, United States Senator, Montana
- General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- Director Jay Clayton, Director of Office of the Director of National Intelligence
International Business Leaders
- Bernard Arnault, LVMH, CEO
- Alexandre Arnault, Son of Bernard Arnault
- Ryan McInerey, Visa, CEO
- Michael Miebach, Mastercard, CEO
—Reporting contributed by CNBC's Hui Jie Lim, David Sucherman and Bria Cousins.
