State dinners, selfies and noodle runs: President Trump’s visit to Beijing

The leaders of the world’s two largest economies rekindled personal ties in Beijing on Thursday and Friday, turning the Chinese capital into a spectacle of sorts with a parade of American business leaders accompanying US President Donald Trump.

The visit, the first by a sitting U.S. president to China in nearly a decade, was filled with friendly greetings, tightly orchestrated pageantry, business dealings and high-profile entertainment that captivated audiences on both sides of the Pacific.

The Chinese government made full use of its diplomatic arsenal.

It included a brass band and flower-waving schoolchildren at the airport, a state dinner at the Great Hall of the People, a private tour of the Temple of Heaven, and a closing garden walk at Zhongnanhai, the walled compound where China’s top leaders have worked and lived since 1949, during which Chinese President Xi Jinping presented Trump with rose seeds as a farewell gift.

“Public appearances included unusually long handshakes, pats on the back, smiles, and synchronized walking,” said Lyle Morris, a senior foreign policy and national security fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute. “The interaction was warmer and more relaxed than previous meetings between President Trump and President Xi,” Morris said.

Crowds gathered on the streets near the Four Seasons Hotel and the Great Hall to catch a glimpse of Trump’s motorcade. “It was pretty spectacular,” said Alicia Liao, a university student from Beijing. “We had exams the next day and almost everyone followed the broadcasts and social media clips.”

President Xi hosted President Trump at a lavish state dinner Thursday at the Great Hall of the People, where he toasted an audience that included Cabinet members and executives from the two countries’ most successful companies.

In his speech, President Trump called Mr. Xi “my friend” and said, “Together we will build a great future,” and invited Mr. Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, to visit the White House in September.

After his opening remarks, President Trump held up a glass of what appeared to be white wine, but the famously teetotal president probably had an alternative. Protocols for leaders who don’t drink usually include sparkling cider or juice, as in the case of George W. Bush. The White House did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment about what was in President Trump’s glass.

But the act of toasting no matter what was in the glass was widely praised on Chinese social media as a sign of respect for the host nation and its leader.

In China, Mr. Trump is “a cultural icon, a source of conversation, controversy and inspiration that only he can create,” said Han Sheng Lin, Asia Group’s China director.

The menu also appears to be a diplomatic feat in itself. It’s a blend of local Chinese cuisine and international dishes like beef short ribs and tiramisu, clearly reflecting President Trump’s culinary tastes. For decades, China has used food symbols to mark milestone official events and welcome high-profile foreign visitors.

On the sidelines of the banquet, Chinese CEOs crowded around to get a moment with Elon Musk. Among the guests was ByteDance’s Liang Rubo. lenovo’s According to a photo taken by state broadcaster CCTV, Yang Yuanqing and Cao Hui, chairman of Fuyao Glass Industry.

xiaomi CEO Lei Jun, a longtime admirer of Mr. Musk and one of the first owners of the Tesla Model S in China, was also seen taking a selfie with the electric car maker’s CEO before the start of the state dinner.

Musk seemed furious at the selfie request, raising his eyebrows and snorting before taking the photo. The moment went viral in China, with many on social media joking that Ray was humiliated by a hero. The hashtag “Lei Jun and Musk photo together” has received over 20 million views on Weibo.

A video recorded on a mobile phone of Musk circling in a group photo with Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Apple’s Tim Cook, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also gone viral, racking up more than 52 million views on Weibo. “This scene is completely different from what you see in America,” one user wrote.

He also brought his 6-year-old son, X Æ A-Xii, who arrived at the saloon wearing a vest with Chinese embroidery and a crossbody bag in the shape of a tiger’s head. The bag, sold by the Guangxi-based artisan brand for about 300 yuan ($44.20), sold out online after a video surfaced online.

Musk commented in Chinese under a post about his son’s outfit on the X show, writing, “My son is learning Chinese.”

On Friday, in a break from his official schedule, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, wearing a distinctive black jacket, was seen strolling through Nanluoguxiang, a historic hutong area in central Beijing, chatting with locals in a mix of English and Mandarin.

A photo of the American tech billionaire sipping noodles in an old Beijing alley quickly went viral on Chinese social media.

The crowd came quickly. Pei Lan, a 58-year-old Beijinger, described how she propped herself up on her elbows to take a photo. Mr. Lan said of Mr. Hwang, “He has a lot of heart and has to be aggressive.He’s very kind and very friendly.”

According to footage shared online, Huang also tried Douzhi, a traditional fermented drink from Beijing known for its unique sour and pungent flavor, before drinking bubble tea from Chinese beverage chain Mixue.

Hwang joined Trump’s delegation as a last-minute addition after initially being removed from the list, and boarded Air Force One during a refueling stop in Anchorage after Trump called to invite him. There are signs that Nvidia could soon resume selling its second most advanced chip to China after the U.S. government granted an export permit.

President Trump ended the summit on Friday with a private stroll along Zhongnanhai, where few foreign leaders are invited, with President Xi Jinping.

Walking through a covered walkway with archways depicting birds and mountain scenes, Xi spoke through an interpreter about the history of the site and then offered to send rose seeds. “This is the most beautiful rose anyone has ever seen,” Trump said, according to the White House press corps.

During Thursday’s talks, the two countries agreed to work towards a framework to put bilateral relations on a more stable footing over the next three years. The Trump administration announced that China has agreed to buy additional Boeing aircraft, agricultural products and U.S. oil. President Xi told the assembled American CEOs that the door to doing business in China will continue to be opened even wider.

The warmth was real, but so were the limits.

Xi warned that disagreements over Taiwan could lead to “conflict and even conflict” if handled incorrectly, calling it the “most important issue” in bilateral relations. Export controls, rare earth regulations, and the unresolved shadow of the Iran war remain on the agenda.

“Even the modest expectations of the summit were disappointed,” said Michael Ferrer, chief geopolitical strategist. “Reading the Chinese government’s signals came down to analyzing the menu and organization of state dinners: drunken double-boiled chicken, but no tacos (and) a military band playing the YMCA,” a staple of Trump rallies.