Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to attend a White House state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping, joining a guest list that features some of the most prominent leaders in the global technology industry.

Bloomberg reported that Zuckerberg is expected to attend the dinner alongside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

A Gathering of Senior Technology Executives

The dinner is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 24, during Xi's state visit to Washington. The White House has confirmed that Trump and first lady Melania Trump will greet Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at the White House for the state dinner in the East Room. State dinners rank among the most formal diplomatic occasions a U.S. president can host, which is why the presence of corporate leaders at such an event draws close attention.

The gathering will bring together executives from some of the world's largest technology companies. Other business leaders expected or confirmed to attend include Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Apple Executive Chairman Tim Cook and Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell, according to reporting from Reuters and other outlets.

The guest list reflects the substantial role technology companies play in the economic relationship between the United States and China. Major technology firms face ongoing issues involving trade, supply chains, artificial intelligence and access to the Chinese market. For the semiconductor industry in particular, U.S. export restrictions on advanced chips sold to China have been a recurring point of friction between Washington and Beijing, underscoring why the presence of chip-industry executives carries weight.

Dinner Comes During High-Level US-China Visit

Xi's visit comes as Washington and Beijing continue to manage a range of economic and technology-related issues. Reuters reported that the broader visit is expected to include discussions involving trade relations, rare earth elements and artificial intelligence. As the visit unfolds, attention will focus on whether these discussions produce concrete outcomes on trade, rare earths and artificial intelligence — areas with direct implications for the companies represented at the dinner.

The participation of senior technology executives places Silicon Valley and the wider U.S. technology sector in close proximity to the discussions taking place during the Chinese president's visit. The companies represented at the dinner span social media, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, cloud and software businesses.

For Meta, Zuckerberg's participation comes as the company continues to invest heavily in artificial intelligence and computing infrastructure. The company maintains a significant global technology presence, although Meta's core social media platforms have long faced restrictions in mainland China.

AI and Technology at the Center of Attention

Several of the executives expected at the dinner are directly involved in the global artificial intelligence industry. Huang leads Nvidia, a major supplier of chips used in AI computing, while Altman heads OpenAI and Nadella leads Microsoft, which has invested heavily in AI infrastructure and software.

The gathering also comes amid an active debate among technology executives over AI development and regulation. Recent public disagreements among industry leaders have included differing views over whether AI development should be slowed because of potential risks.

The White House has separately emphasized maintaining U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence. The dinner therefore brings together political and corporate leaders at a time when AI has become a central issue in U.S.-China technology competition.

Zuckerberg's attendance was initially reported by Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the planning. Reuters said it could not immediately independently verify the initial report, while subsequent reporting cited sources familiar with the event and identified Zuckerberg among the executives planning to attend.

Source: Hokanews