Tech Titans Join Trump to Fete China’s Xi at Lavish State Dinner

(Bloomberg) -- Luminaries from Wall Street and Silicon Valley joined President Donald Trump for a state dinner honoring his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, in a demonstration of US technological and financial might.

Trump has welcomed Xi with fanfare this week, affording rare state visit honors to a counterpart considered one of America's biggest industrial and military rivals. The race to dominate in artificial intelligence has emerged as a growing flashpoint, with Chinese companies rapidly closing the gap with US models.

Even as they compete, both governments are agreed on pushing ahead with AI's development despite mounting concerns over the technology's impact on jobs, the environment and even the future of humanity.

Thursday's dinner brought together some of the most influential names in that sphere. Among those invited were Nvidia Corp.'s Jensen Huang and OpenAI's Sam Altman. Tech icons Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Tim Cook were among those with coveted invites, as well as Satya Nadella of Microsoft Corp. and Sundar Pichai of Google's parent, Alphabet Inc.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other top Trump advisers on trade and the economy, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, were on the guest list, as was Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh.

Trump's warm welcome for Xi, however, has also drawn criticism, including from a Republican senator, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, who questioned the administration's decision to salute China's leader. As guests arrived on Thursday, protesters near the White House could be heard chanting, including calls to "Free Hong Kong" and "Free Tibet."

Trump and first lady Melania Trump welcomed Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan. The US first lady wore what appeared to be a white top with a large bow and black pants, while Madame Peng wore a red long-sleeved dress.

Finance executives on the guest list for the evening included Jane Fraser of Citigroup Inc., Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone Inc., David Solomon of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Mastercard Inc.'s Michael Miebach. Other business titans invited included Kelly Ortberg of Boeing Co. and David Ellison of Paramount Skydance Corp.