The $2.2 trillion dinner

All eyes were on Washington today as President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for the second time this year, with Xi making his first US state visit in more than a decade.

Among the many issues Trump and Xi have to work through—from trade and rare earths to Taiwan and Iran—AI stood out as a major focus for investors. “It should be a race of catching up with one another, not a wrestle in which one either wins or loses,” Xi said in remarks, while also calling for AI to remain under human control.

The pair wrapped what Trump called a “very good meeting” without any sweeping breakthrough, but kept their economic detente in place as officials extended the nations’ tariff truce from November 10 to January 10. And in a softer show of goodwill, China is also sending a pair of giant pandas to the Atlanta Zoo.

What’s on the menu?

Beyond the issues on the negotiating table, investors may be just as interested in the dinner table tonight. Over plates of yellow squash velouté and sesame-crusted sea bass, a roomful of tech CEOs worth a combined $2.2 trillion will be making small talk while billions of dollars hang in the balance, as their companies sit directly in the crosshairs of US-China tensions over chips, tariffs, supply chains, and access to Chinese consumers. Among the names expected to attend:

• Nvidia’s Jensen Huang: Nvidia is effectively shut out of much of China’s advanced data-center chip market by US export controls, which already forced it to record a $4.5 billion charge tied to its China-focused H20 chip. And pressure to reenter the Middle Kingdom is only growing—Alibaba unveiled what it calls its most powerful AI chip yet this week, as Chinese companies race to replace Nvidia with homegrown alternatives.
• Apple’s Tim Cook: China is both a major consumer market and a crucial part of Apple’s supply chain, making tariffs or trade disruptions a threat on both sides of the iPhone and its ilk.
• Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX): Tesla relies on its Shanghai factory while battling increasingly tough competition from Chinese EV makers like BYD. Its share of China’s battery-EV market fell to 6.6% last quarter from more than 15% in 2020.
• Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon: The chipmaker relies heavily on Chinese smartphone manufacturers like Xiaomi and Lenovo, leaving it exposed to both US export restrictions and potential Chinese retaliation.
• Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook and Instagram are blocked in China, but Chinese companies still spend billions advertising on Meta’s platforms to reach consumers overseas.

The dinner won’t entirely be a boys’ club, though the list comes pretty close: Jane Fraser, whose Citigroup was approved this spring to launch a foreign-owned securities firm in China, will also reportedly have a seat at the table.

Not everyone made the list

While Trump is bringing an entourage of A-listers, Xi arrived without the large corporate delegation Beijing had considered sending. Still, some Chinese CEOs reportedly flew to Washington independently and are now waiting to see whether they’ll be granted a last-minute seat at tonight’s dinner, according to the South China Morning Post.

That lopsided guest list has helped temper expectations for major announcements or splashy business deals. But for the American executives who did make the cut, there’s still plenty on the menu.—SY