Even small details and gestures during Xi and Trump’s summit in Washington were rife with meaning
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenSCMPPublished: 2:36pm, 27 Sep 2026We have put together stories from our coverage of the Xi-Trump summit. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.1. From wine to ping-pong, Trump and Xi’s state dinner leans on historic symbolismPresident Donald Trump and first ladies Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan listen as China’s President Xi Jinping speaks during a State Dinner in the East Room of the White House on Thursday. Photo: APWhen US President Donald Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping in the East Room, every detail of the state dinner was steeped in symbolism, with sparkling wine served as a nod to a pivotal moment in Sino-US relations and references to “ping-pong diplomacy”.
