Everything on the menu at the Trump-Xi White House state dinner
The White House has released the three-course menu served at the state dinner for Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China. It featured a recreation of the ‘Toast to Peace ’, a dessert honouring the White House bees, and a fish-centred main course.
On Thursday evening (24 September), the White House hosted a formal state dinner for Xi Jinping and his wife, Madame Peng Liyuan, whom he married in 1987.
Donald Trump, who claimed he and Xi had forged a ‘truly great friendship’, is understood to have invited the President to America to relax China-US tensions, discuss trade, and build a ‘constructive relationship of strategic stability’.
The visit was made just months after the Republican took a trip to China, where he was served a surprisingly simple six-course meal featuring a fusion of Chinese and Western delicacies.
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Before the US state dinner, Trump and Xi observed a silent drill platoon from the White House’s Truman balcony and also announced that two pandas - Ping Ping and Fu Shuang - would settle at the Atlanta zoo in the coming days, as per The Guardian.
The Office of Melania Trump, the First Lady of the United States, detailed exactly what would be served in the East Room during the lawmaker’s first trip to Washington, D.C., in more than a decade.
“The menu showcases American ingredients with subtle Chinese influence, bringing the culinary traditions of both nations together,” a notice shared by the Office ahead of the meal read.
Toast to Peace and first course
The meal began with a toast of Schramsberg Blanc De Noir—a white sparkling wine produced from dark grapes—designed to honour the historic ‘Toast to Peace’ shared by President Richard Nixon and Premier Zhou Enlai in Beijing in 1972.
Alcohol was followed by a first course of silky-smooth yellow squash velouté, sautéed with fresh herbs and wild mushrooms.
Crispy pancetta was added for a ‘savoury and smoky contrast’ while a finishing drizzle of scallion oil added ‘vibrance and a subtle allium brightness to the dish’, as per the notice.
Second course
After the first offering, those attending the state dinner dug into fresh sea bass coated in toasted sesame seeds, plus crisp baby bok choy and roasted garden aubergine.
The second and penultimate course was finished with a ‘vibrant sauce verte of fresh herbs, which adds brightness, acidity, and a garden character’, the Office of Melania Trump wrote.
Dessert
Attendees, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and former Apple CEO Tim Cook, were served a vanilla crémeux with a sour cherry confit centre on top of a walnut frangipane.
The sweet treat was complemented by a delicate ice cream made with harvested White House honey.
Entertainment and decor
Mr Christopher Macchio, a classically trained tenor who performed at the 2025 Presidential Inauguration, was invited to perform during the White House state dinner.
Other performers, including members of the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army, joined him throughout the evening.
The Office of the First Lady stated that decor for the evening was an ‘expression of warmth and celebration and draws on the colour red’s longstanding cultural significance throughout Chinese history’.
Urns showcasing red blossoms and vermeil from the White House collection were on display, as were the Reagan State China Service, a 4,370-piece formal porcelain collection commissioned by First Lady Nancy Reagan in 1981.
Ella Scott