Trump and Xi dined with AI's biggest names. Here's what we know about tech talks so far

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It's the morning after the night before, as the U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping in a historic state dinner. Fricassée, sea bass and crémeux were all on the menu, as presumably, was a whole lot of chatter about AI. 

Seated with the U.S. and Chinese presidential couples were Nvidia's Jensen Huang and his wife Lori Huang, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and AMD's Lisa Su, as well as Apple's Tim Cook. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman, Google cofounder Sergey Brin and Microsoft boss Satya Nadella were also all on the guest list.

Warnings around the existential risks of AI reaching fever pitch in recent weeks have pushed AI to the top of the global geopolitical agenda.

Trump posted to Truth Social ahead of his and Xi's head-to-head.

"Super Intelligence (SI) will be a big topic of discussion, but I want to leave it exactly where it is. That is China's position also," he wrote Thursday morning, using the term he recently adopted instead of AI.

So what did they actually discuss?

The national flags of the United States and China hang on a highway in Beijing on May 13, 2026, ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump. (Photo by Pedro PARDO / AFP via Getty Images)

Pedro Pardo | Afp | Getty Images

China pushes AI cooperation

A Chinese readout of the meeting said President Xi pointed out that China and the U.S. "may have competition, but they may cooperate even more" in AI.

"The two sides can continue their dialogue on AI, exchange views on its risks and benefits, and jointly prevent the misuse and abuse of AI," Xi said, per the readout. "AI must be kept under human control. A people-centered approach should be upheld, and AI should be developed for the positive and for good, so that AI will serve the progress of humanity."

Flashpoints

While more details about the meeting are expected to be released in the days to come, specifics are scant so far.