Donald Trump hosts Xi Jinping for state dinner with tech titans. Follow live.

Donald and Melania Trump host Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng LiyuanImage: Evelyn Hockstein/REUTERSAdvertisementSkip next section What you need to knowWhat you need to know Donald Trump and Xi Jinping and their wives attended a state dinner hosted in honor of the Chinese leader. State dinner featured a tech-heavy guest list, with Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Nvidia chief Jensen Huang in attendance. Trump and Xi held a bilateral discussion this afternoon where Xi urged the US to oppose "Taiwan independence," according to a readout from Xinhua. In remarks after Xi's arrival on Thursday, Trump emphasized his "truly great friendship" with Xi. Follow along here for live updates on Xi's state visit to the US:

A few hundred protesters gathered near the White House to rally against Xi Jinping's visit to the US.

Protesters highlighted a number of issues, from calls for religious freedom and autonomy in Tibet, Hong Kong and the Xinjiang region to demands that China refrain from interfering in Taiwan.

Protesters gathered in Lafayette Park, north of the White House, while other groups gathered outside the Chinese embassy. Pro-Xi rallies were also held in Washington.

US President Donald Trump continued to heap praise on his guest, Chinese President Xi Jinping, during a White House state dinner on Thursday.

"President Xi and I both understand we represent different systems, but the ties between our people endure, and we've never gotten along better," Trump said during his toast, adding that "together, we can continue to build a relationship that promotes prosperity and security for future generations."

Xi noted in his own toast that "President Trump has pledged to make America great again" and that "China is committed to achieving great national rejuvenation."

"These two goals are both ambitious and can surely be mutually reinforcing," Xi said.

Earlier discussions between Xi and Trump touched on tensions over Taiwan, trade and artificial intelligence. 

Apart from the heads of state and their spouses, the list of invitees to the state dinner included a host of big tech names.

Industry titans including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman, and Dell Technologies chairman and CEO Michael Dell were all in attendance.

If this sounds familiar, it's because a similar group of tech leaders also accompanied Trump on his state visit to China in May. Names such as Nvidia's Jensen Huang, former Apple CEO Tim Cook, and once again Musk, were hosted by the Chinese president at a state dinner in the Great Hall of the People.

But Chinese CEOs are conspicuously missing on the guest list this evening in Washington as bringing Chinese firms to the US may raise more questions than it answers, experts said.

The Associated Press reported that US and Chinese planners did discuss including notable Chinese companies, but that one obstacle was that the US side was slow to suggest protocols and what roles the Chinese CEOs would have in the state visit.

Just like on Thursday, despite the star-studded business attendance, few major deals were announced during Trump's visit to China.

Attention has now turned to the state dinner, a lighter-hearted event where everything from meal choices to seating arrangements will nevertheless be scrutinized for potential diplomatic intel.

"Everyone wants to be there," Trump said at the UN General Assembly. "It's the hottest ticket in town."

To start, the leaders and guests will dine on yellow squash veloute with wild mushrooms, fresh herbs, crispy pancetta and drizzled scallion oil.

The main course will be sesame-crusted sea bass with braised baby bok choy, roasted garden eggplant and a sauce verte.

For dessert, the guests will be treated to vanilla cremeux with sour cherry confit and walnut frangipane, as well as ice cream with honey from the White House bee hives.

The guest list includes Silicon Valley titans like Apple's Tim Cook, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Alphabet's Sundar Pichai, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Tesla's Elon Musk and Nvidia's Jensen Huang.

"I would say you have the entire tech world, the entire banking world and a lot more," Trump told reporters earlier in the week.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping said he supported the US and Iran's memorandum of understanding to end the Iran war, Xinhua state agency reported.

Xi said he expressed hope that the US and Iran would return to resolving issues through dialogue and negotiation under the agreement as soon as possible.

Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have held lengthy indirect talks with Iranian officials during the UN gathering earlier this week.

US and Iranian negotiators were exploring a phased path out of the war that would involve Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and Washington lifting its economic blockade of Iran, Reuters reported. 

First Lady Melania Trump and Xi's wife Peng Liyuan left their husbands behind to tour one of the largest Asian art museums in the US.

The visit to the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art in Washington was supposed to celebrate cultural ties between the US and China.

Both wives are known for their focus on soft power and cultural issues, one is a former fashion model and the other a soprano. 

A choir of young school children from the Hope Chinese School sang to the duo as they toured the building, singing famous Chinese folk songs including "Song and Smile" and "Jasmine Flower."

It's the first public meeting between the two spouses in nearly a decade, since a 2017 encounter in Beijing. A crowd had gathered on the sidewalk across from the museum, some waving Chinese and American flags. 

Trump's first comments to reporters after the talks were brief in the extreme.

In response to shouted questions as he took Xi to board the Marine One presidential helicopter for a brief tour, he told reporters, "We had a great meeting."

Images from the meeting showed that Chinese Vice Premier Hi Lifeng and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended at least part of the talks, as did US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Xi left the White House after the meeting, but will be back later for the state dinner.

China's Xinhua news agency is reporting comments it says Xi Jinping relayed to Donald Trump during their talks in the Oval Office. 

Xi said he hoped the United States would continue to oppose "Taiwan independence" and handle the question of Taiwan with "prudence," according to Xinhua.

He reportedly told the US president that China's position on safeguarding its national unity and territorial integrity was "crystal clear." 

The US holds a complicated position when it comes to Taiwan. On the one hand, it is the small island nation's most important security guarantor. However, it has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan and does not recognize it as an independent country as part of its adherence to the so-called "one China" principle Beijing insists upon from all partners.

Xi also reportedly told Trump that China would support the US and Iran returning to negotiations "as soon as possible" as their naval standoff in the Persian Gulf drags well past the six-month mark.

As concerns grow over the rapid advance of artificial intelligence, experts are warning that the global race between the United States and China to develop ever more powerful AI systems could outpace safety measures.

DW explores fears over cybersecurity threats, autonomous AI behavior and even bioterrorism, while explaining why both Washington and Beijing see AI as a strategic priority.

With calls mounting for international oversight, what stance will US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping adopt?

Hours after a federal judge ordered Trump to lift the ban, US news outlets CNN, MS NOW and Politico announced that they had been granted access to the White House.

After delivering their opening remarks and reviewing the military troops in the Rose Garden, Trump and Xi proceeded to the Oval Office for discussions.

Other US and Chinese officials joined them.

Speaking at the White House, Xi Jinping announced that a pair of pandas will soon make their home at Zoo Atlanta.

This isn't the first time Chinese pandas have been sent to a U.S. zoo. It's also an example of what's known as "panda diplomacy." Through this program, China lends the animals to select zoos around the world.

Xi also revealed that Beijing plans to invite 100,000 young Americans to visit China for cultural exchange and study over the next five years.

China's President Xi Jinping in turn thanked Donald Trump for his "warm hospitality," after the US president last night went to greet the Chinese leader and their wife on the tarmac at the airfeld. 

In his opening remarks, as rendered by his interpreter, Xi said he was visiting the US to "carry on our friendship, expand cooperation and promote well-being of both our peoples."

He said that both the US and China were great countries with great people.

"I'm very glad to pay a state visit to your beautiful country, the United States of America," Xi said. "Thank you President Trump and Mrs. Trump for the warm hospitality that you have extended to me and my wife."

The US president told reporters he was "proud" of the US-China relationship.

"From the time of my first election in 2016, President Xi and I have forged a friendship, a truly great friendship, actually, built on mutual respect and the vital interests of our people," Trump said.

He said that he and Xi would continue working together for a better future, while also hailing the "tremendous strides" he said had been made on issues facing the two countries. 

Trump said that security, technology and artificial intelligence were likely to feature in Thursday's talks. 

He said that US and Chinese officials were working to encourage a "more balanced" trading relationship between the two countries, including new market access for American farmers and ranchers. 

Famously, Donald Trump tends to define "balance" in trade as not having an import surplus or trade deficit with a trading partner — a goal that can be particularly ambitious, bordering on impossible, when doing business with export giant China.