Trump's state dinner for Xi features sea bass and a long list of tech titans

A tech-heavy guest list, the fashion choices of those on it, who sat where and what was on the menu marked the softer — often and glitzier — details of diplomacy as Donald Trump threw a Thursday night state dinner honoring China's leader Xi Jinping.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4774x3183+0+0/resize/4774x3183!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6e%2F2e%2Faed1ab4d455a844f367142c2d38e%2Fap26268017603144.jpg' alt='President Donald Trump shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping in the East Room of the White House during a State Dinner, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington.'/><p>A tech-heavy guest list, the fashion choices of those on it, who sat where and what was on the menu marked the softer — often and glitzier — details of diplomacy as Donald Trump threw a Thursday night state dinner honoring China's leader Xi Jinping.</p><p>(Image credit: Alex Brandon)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=g-s1-144973' />