Protesters disrupt Trump-Xi state dinner as critics chant for Hong Kong and Tibet
Anti-China demonstrators gathered outside the White House as President Donald Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for a high-profile state dinner.
On Thursday evening, anti-China protesters assembled outside the White House North Portico, chanting for Hong Kong and Tibet as President Donald Trump prepared to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping for a star-studded state dinner. The crowd’s shouts were audible over the U.S. Marine Band, and one demonstrator allegedly directed a profanity-laden remark at the First Lady. The guest list included tech billionaires Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, one outlet personalities Jesse Watters, Bret Baier and Laura Ingraham, as well as cabinet officials like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Todd Blanche, and Supreme Court justices Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and John Roberts.
While Trump highlighted his personal rapport with Xi, the Chinese leader reiterated the need to sidestep the historical “Thucydides trap” and called for peaceful competition. After initially restoring media access earlier in the day, Trump again barred one outlet, MS NOW and one outlet from covering the dinner’s arrivals, citing a revised invitation that limited them to camera and audio roles only.
Why it matters
The protest highlights domestic dissent over U.S.-China relations during a rare high-level diplomatic encounter.
How this story developed
- Sep 2 Experts say US-China summit will be shaped by Trump’s re-election push and Xi’s party agenda
- Sep 20 Beijing warned it could cancel the summit if Washington moves forward with additional Taiwan weapons sales.
- Sep 20 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York to discuss AI safety and trade ahead of the Trump‑Xi summit.
- Sep 21 The Zhejiang provincial government is asking local exporters to increase production for the United States, citing the recent Xi-Trump meeting as a sign of stable trade relations.
- Sep 21 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the eight‑hour New York talks “very successful” and presented a proposal for an AI safety notification mechanism.
- Sep 21 Xi scheduled to arrive at Joint Base Andrews and attend a state dinner with leading technology executives.
- Sep 22 New York preparatory talks between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Vice Premier He Lifeng focused on AI safeguards and non‑sensitive trade.
- Sep 22 Details of the three‑day itinerary and figures for Chinese high‑tech IPO underwriting were released.
- Sep 23 U.S. officials are considering extending the pause on Taiwan arms sales beyond the APEC summit.
- Sep 23 U.S. AI firms called for a pause on frontier AI development while Chinese officials highlighted political stability, deep‑fake prevention and child protection as their primary AI risk concerns.
- Sep 24 The Busan trade truce was extended to Jan. 10.
- Sep 25 Republican lawmakers publicly pressed Trump to honor Taiwan weapons commitments during the summit.
- Sep 25 Xi and Trump met in Washington to discuss the trade truce.
- Sep 25 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Vice Premier He Lifeng agreed to explore a notification mechanism for AI incidents that could affect national security.
In this story
Related stories
20 in this thread