The cream of the US tech industry attended the dinner for Xi: Musk, Huang and Altman. The first ladies stole the show
As is always the case on such occasions, the style and attire of the hosts and guests of honour were one of the central themes of the state dinner held to mark the Chinese leader’s visit to the US. The evening also highlighted the dependence of many major American companies on Chinese manufacturing
From the race for artificial intelligence to supply chains, right through to the tech giants barred from the Chinese market: the state dinner hosted at the White House in honour of President Xi Jinping brought together some of the key players in the increasingly complex relations between the United States and China. In the East Room, seated alongside Xi and President Donald Trump, were some of America’s most prominent chief executives, a testament to how closely the world’s two largest economies remain intertwined even as they compete for supremacy in emerging technologies.
Among the guests were the top executives of some of the companies at the heart of the global race for AI. The CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman attended alongside the company’s president, Greg Brockman, whilst Elon Musk was present in his capacity as the founder of Tesla, SpaceX and xAI, and an ally of Trump. Also in attendance at the dinner were the CEO of Nvidia Jensen Huang and the former White House adviser on AI and cryptocurrencies David Sacks.
Their positions also reflect the divisions within the US industry regarding the approach to AI development. Altman and Musk have argued for the need to slow down the development of the most advanced systems in certain cases and to strengthen safety measures, whilst Huang and Sacks have rejected the most alarmist scenarios and insist on the need to accelerate innovation. Nvidia, in particular, has pushed to retain access to the Chinese market and has secured the administration’s approval to sell certain advanced chips in China, a decision that has drawn criticism in the United States.
The evening also highlighted the dependence of many large American companies on Chinese manufacturing. For Apple, represented by Tim Cook, China remains one of its key markets and the centre of its manufacturing operations, despite the gradual shift of part of its production to India. Tesla, too, continues to rely heavily on China for production and sales: before the dinner, Musk described the Shanghai factory as a “jewel”.
Melania and Liyuan in the spotlight
As is always the case on such occasions, the style and attire of the hosts and guests of honour were one of the main talking points at the state dinner held at the White House for the Chinese presidential couple. With Donald Trump in a tuxedo and Xi Jinping in the traditional ‘Mao suit’ – the Mao Zedong-style outfit – the American and Chinese first ladies stole the show. Melania Trump wore a white cotton poplin blouse by Saint Laurent, a black silk headband by Dolce & Gabbana and black brocade trousers with a peony pattern by Dolce & Gabbana, as well as her beloved black Christian Louboutin pumps. Peng Liyuan, on the other hand, wore a fiery red long-sleeved gown with a mandarin collar, a small V-neck and a flared skirt, in keeping with tradition: in Chinese culture, the colour red symbolises good luck, happiness and prosperity.
