On the evening of 24/9 (US time), US President Donald Trump hosted a reception for Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House. This event marked Xi's first official visit to the US in over a decade.

Beyond officials from both nations, the gathering included dozens of US business leaders, primarily from the technology sector. These individuals lead the world's most valuable tech companies and possess some of the planet's largest fortunes. According to Forbes estimates, the tech CEOs attending this event had a combined net worth of approximately 2,400 billion USD.

Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest person, accounted for nearly 40% of this total, with a current net worth of 927 billion USD. Following him was Amazon founder Jeff Bezos with 369 billion USD. The world's 4th and 5th richest individuals, Mark Zuckerberg (266 billion USD) and Michael Dell (265 billion USD), were also present.

Also attending the White House dinner were Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (194,5 billion USD) and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (1,4 billion USD). Former CEO Tim Cook (3,1 billion USD) also made an appearance.

Elon Musk, Tim Cook, and Jensen Huang are familiar names, having previously accompanied President Trump to Beijing in May. On that occasion, the US President traveled to China with 10 business leaders.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (3,3 billion USD) was invited to the reception on 24/9. However, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei was not among the 130 attendees. In earlier discussions, both Trump and Xi emphasized the importance of AI governance. The Chinese president stated that this technology was central to his US visit.

The White House also extended invitations to Bernard Arnault (France), CEO of LVMH, the world's largest luxury group, and his son, Alexandre Arnault.

Business leaders attend the reception for Xi Jinping at the White House on 24/9. Photo: AP

Despite this, the event drew attention due to the absence of Chinese business leaders. AP, citing close sources, reported that US and Chinese officials had discussed inviting several prominent Chinese business leaders.

However, an obstacle arose as the US was slow to propose rules and clarify the role of Chinese CEOs during the visit. AP reported that some senior leaders from Chinese companies arrived in Washington just before the summit, but they traveled independently, not with Xi.

Even before the visit, US media reported that Xi might not bring any business leaders to the US. This would lower expectations for significant business outcomes from this meeting.

Ha Thu (according to AP, Forbes, CNBC)