Xi-Trump dinner puts US tech titans in spotlight – what does it mean for China ties?

If the American guests seated at the head table with President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump at Thursday’s White House state dinner were any indication, Washington now views its relationship with Beijing largely through the prism of technology.

Analysts said the seating arrangement underscored how tech industry titans driving the global AI infrastructure boom were pushing to draw the two economic superpowers closer together.

Sitting alongside Xi, Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan, Trump and his wife Melania were Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) CEO Lisa Su, Apple executive chairman Tim Cook and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

The four leading American executives command a combined net worth of over US$1 trillion, while their respective companies held a combined market capitalisation of more than US$12 trillion by market close on Thursday.