Protesters drowned out the US national anthem as President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Madame Peng to a state dinner at the White House on Thursday evening. Demonstrators could clearly be heard as the Chinese president and his wife were greeted by Trump and Melania ahead of the dinner.
Protesters Line Streets Near White House
Pro and anti-China protesters lined each side of the street just a few blocks east of the White House, separated by a police cordon. The pro-China side were blasting the Chinese national anthem as protesters opposite them waved the flag of Tibet.
Protesters from another anti-China protest heading south towards the White House were shouting "Keep Taiwan free!", "Stop the Uyghur genocide" and "Free Jimmy Lai." Screams from the demonstrations could be heard over the fanfare.
Trump's Reaction Caught on Camera
Before Xi's car pulled in, the US president appeared to make a comment to his wife as his face was frozen with a furious look. Hearing the noise from afar, Trump scanned the area with a disapproving scowl, before welcoming his main guests for the evening.
People took to social media to comment on Trump's reaction to the protests. One user said: "Trump is humiliated as protesters can be clearly heard at the White House as President Xi arrives at his state dinner. Look at his face, he is boiling mad."
Tech Leaders Attend State Dinner
As well as the leaders, the heads of top artificial intelligence and technology companies are on the guest list for the state dinner. The guest list includes people like Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and OpenAI President and Co-Founder Greg Brockman. Elon Musk is seated at the head table next to Melania Trump, with Apple's Tim Cook sat next to Xi Jinping's wife, Peng Liyuan.
Both presidents delivered speeches to the guests ahead of the dinner, commenting on the "long history" between the two nations. The state dinner follows what Trump described as a "great meeting" between the leaders. The official Chinese summary of the morning talks between Trump and Xi says they covered topics including trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan, the Middle East and Ukraine.
