First Lady Melania Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, First Lady Peng Liyuan, for a state dinner in the East Room of the White House on Thursday evening, part of a three-day state visit that saw President Donald Trump and Xi discuss trade, artificial intelligence and what officials described as efforts to further “strategic stability” between the two countries.
For the dinner, Mrs. Trump wore a cotton poplin blouse from Saint Laurent with an oversized bow detail, paired with Dolce & Gabbana cigarette-silhouette trousers made of floral brocade. She tied the outfit together with a silk satin cummerbund, also by Dolce & Gabbana.
The Saint Laurent blouse retails for $2,300. The Dolce & Gabbana trousers cost $1,945, and the cummerbund runs about $795. Mrs. Trump completed the look with limited-edition Christian Louboutin black velour Pigalle Follies pumps, the same shoes she had worn earlier in the day with an Alexander McQueen suit.
Mrs. Trump oversaw preparations for the dinner, including a menu that blended American ingredients with Chinese influences. The toast opened with Schramsberg “Blanc De Noir,” a nod to former President Richard Nixon’s 1972 “Toast to Peace” with then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in Beijing.
Tables were set with red linens and arrangements of dahlias and ranunculus, a color choice meant to reflect red’s significance in Chinese tradition.
The dinner capped a visit during which Trump and Xi agreed to maintain a trade truce until early 2027, even as tensions continue over rare earths, technology restrictions and Taiwan.
