Washington, September 19, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos are among prominent business leaders expected to attend a White House state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, as Washington and Beijing prepare to discuss artificial intelligence, trade and export controls.
The guest list also includes Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser and Apple CEO Tim Cook.
The dinner is scheduled for Thursday in the White House East Room, where US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will host Xi, his wife Peng Liyuan and the Chinese delegation. Both presidents are expected to deliver remarks at the beginning of the dinner.
A senior US official described the event as a highly sought-after diplomatic gathering in Washington, while stressing that no separate business meeting had been announced for the invited executives and that their specific role in the negotiations had not been outlined.
According to the official, AI and the existing US-China trade arrangement, referred to during the briefing as the “Busan truce”, will be among the issues on the leaders’ agenda. The official declined to predict what agreements could emerge from the discussions.
Senior-level talks with Chinese representatives are also expected in New York over the weekend, including discussions on AI. US officials have not disclosed specific American proposals.
Trade negotiations could include limited tariff reductions on a narrow range of goods deemed neither sensitive nor strategic. Officials did not identify the products under consideration.
Rare earth supplies and export controls are also expected to feature in the discussions. A senior US official said Washington would not trade away export controls in exchange for mineral supplies that it believes China had already agreed to provide, adding that Chinese deliveries had fallen short of US expectations.
On possible Chinese investment in the US automobile sector, the official said any investment would remain subject to applicable security rules and regulations.
Xi’s state visit will begin Wednesday, when Trump will receive him and Peng at Joint Base Andrews for an airport arrival ceremony.
On Thursday, the Chinese couple will be welcomed at the White House. The programme will include an arrival ceremony, a military review and a bilateral meeting between Trump and Xi. Melania Trump and Peng will have a separate programme, with further details expected from the First Lady’s office.
The two couples are scheduled to meet again on Friday for private tea at the White House before visiting the National Archives. They are expected to view key US founding documents as the country marks its 250th anniversary.
Xi will then travel to Joint Base Andrews for his departure.
Trump is scheduled to return from the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday evening, ahead of Xi’s arrival. His New York programme includes meetings with the British and Japanese prime ministers as well as Gulf leaders.
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