Trump hosts Xi state dinner with menu blending American and Chinese flavours
US President Donald Trump is set to host a state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House on Thursday, with a menu that blends American ingredients with subtle Chinese influences. US First Lady Melania Trump personally led the preparations in the East Room, and the dinner will be attended by China's First Lady Peng Liyuan, official delegations and business leaders.
The evening will also feature music and red-themed decor reflecting the colour's cultural significance in Chinese history. Xi arrived in Washington on Wednesday evening for a three-day state visit, the second of the four meetings he is expected to have with Trump this year.
The meal will begin with a toast of Schramsberg "Blanc De Noir", honouring the historic "Toast to Peace" shared by President Richard Nixon and Premier Zhou Enlai in Beijing in 1972. "The same American sparkling wine served at that historic gathering continues to be enjoyed at White House functions today," a statement from the Office of the First Lady said.
The first course is a sweet yellow squash soup, served with wild mushrooms sauted with fresh herbs, crispy pancetta and a drizzle of scallion oil. The second course features sea bass coated in toasted sesame seeds, served with baby bok choy, roasted garden eggplant and a fresh herb sauce. Dessert is a vanilla cremeux with a sour cherry confit centre on walnut frangipane, shaped like a fruit and served with ice cream made from White House honey.
Among those on the guest list are Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Google's Sundar Pichai, Tesla and SpaceX's Elon Musk, Citigroup's Jane Fraser, Apple's Tim Cook and Dell's Michael Dell. The entertainment will be headlined by Christopher Macchio, a classically trained tenor who performed at the 2025 Presidential Inauguration. Performances will also be given by military musicians from the US Marine Corps and the US Army, including "The President's Own" US Marine Band, "The Commandant's Own" US Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, the US Army Chorus and the US Army Strings.
The decor is centred on warmth and celebration, with urns filled with red blossoms, tables dressed in red linens and arrangements of dahlias and ranunculus. The tables also feature vermeil from the White House collection and the Reagan State Service. Together, the menu, performances and decor are intended to bring together elements of Chinese artistry and American tradition during Xi's state visit.
