U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shared a state dinner on the 14th following their summit. Xi referenced Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan, stressing that "the two countries should be partners," and Trump responded by saying he would invite Xi to the White House in September.
According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency and Bloomberg News, the welcome dinner for President Trump began at about 6 p.m. (local time) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The two leaders entered the banquet hall side by side at about 6:15 p.m.
Proposing the first toast, Xi said, "The two countries should be partners, not competitors," adding, "Both sides believe that China-U.S. relations are the most important bilateral relationship in the world, and we must make it work well and never ruin it." Xi also mentioned Trump's slogan, "Make America Great Again."
Trump referred to the countries' historical ties, saying, "Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers, ran a saying by Confucius in a newspaper he published during colonial times." He added, "Today, a statue honoring that ancient Chinese sage is also carved on the exterior of the U.S. Supreme Court building." He then said he would invite Xi to the White House on Sept. 24.
On site, Jamieson Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) leading the trade talks, and Li Chenggang, China's international trade representative and vice minister at China's Ministry of Commerce, were seen chatting amicably. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and China's defense minister Dong Jun, as well as Tesla and SpaceX Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk and Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun, were also seen conversing comfortably or taking photos together.
Trump arrived in Beijing the previous night and is carrying out a three-day state visit. In the morning, after a welcome ceremony, he held a 135-minute summit with Xi. After the summit, they toured Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) Park together, known as the "emperor's space."
At the summit, the two countries reiterated the need for mutual cooperation and agreed to build a "constructive, strategically stable relationship." They discussed the Korean Peninsula issue, the Middle East situation, the Taiwan issue, and the Ukraine crisis, and also produced results related to a trade agreement. According to the White House and the New York Times (NYT), Xi agreed on the need to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, and the U.S. beef export ban that had lasted 15 months has recently ended.
Following the dinner, Trump and Xi plan to meet a total of six times over two days, holding a tea meeting and a luncheon on the morning of the 15th.