State visit began with Trump greeting Xi at Joint Base Andrews
President Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping at a black-tie state dinner in the East Room of the White House on the evening of Thursday, September 24, 2026, the social release of a day of diplomatic meetings between the two leaders.
The VIP guests walked a red carpet on the steps of the North Portico before entering the black-tie event. Trump, dressed in a tuxedo, and first lady Melania Trump, in black formal pants and a white shirt with an oversize white bow, welcomed Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan, who wore a red gown. According to the White House, Melania Trump attended to the table details, setting the tables with red blossoms and red linens in a nod to the cultural significance of the color red in China.
High-profile attendees named in published photo captions from the dinner included Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and journalist Bret Baier and Amy Baier. The dinner also served as an opportunity for billionaire business leaders to mingle with the Chinese dignitaries, top U.S. officials, and Trump himself, though the full guest list was not detailed in the public account.
The meal opened with Trump proposing a toast of Schramsberg “Blanc De Noir,” a sparkling wine, honoring the historic “Toast to Peace” shared by President Nixon and Premier Zhou Enlai during Nixon’s 1972 visit to Beijing. According to the White House, the menu drew on Chinese influences. The first course was sweet yellow squash velouté with wild mushroom fricassée and scallion oil. The second course featured sesame-crusted sea bass with baby bok choy and roasted garden eggplant. For dessert, guests were served vanilla crémeux and White House-harvested honey ice cream.
Tenor Christopher Macchio, who performed at Trump’s inauguration, headlined the musical performances during the dinner.
The state dinner capped a state visit that began earlier in the day with a rare personal welcome by Trump at Joint Base Andrews. The day continued with a formal welcoming ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House featuring hundreds of U.S. troops and closed-door bilateral meetings between Trump and Xi. The bilateral meetings addressed the countries’ priorities, but details of the discussions were not publicly disclosed.