Trump and Xi Meet at White House State Banquet

US President Donald Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan for a state banquet at the White House on Thursday evening, with both leaders emphasizing strong bilateral relations and shared interests. Journalists were excluded from the event. The guest list included top US tech executives such as Tesla's Elon Musk, Nvidia's Jensen Huang, and OpenAI's Sam Altman, highlighting tensions over artificial intelligence and trade. Protests occurred outside, with demonstrators chanting "Xi Jinping is not welcome," while Trump stated the two leaders have "never understood each other better." Xi called for both nations to act as responsible major powers and find a new approach to relations, while reiterating China's stance on Taiwan. CNN and MS Now journalists were barred despite a court order, with the White House only admitting a photographer and sound technician.