Trump gifts Xi US national symbol, says they've never gotten along better

At a White House state dinner for China's Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump declared that the two had “never gotten along better” before presenting him with a sculpture of a bald eagle, America’s national symbol.

“You are truly outstanding, amazing people. The hospitality of the Chinese people was on full display during my visit to Beijing. We hope to show you the same honour as you returned to Washington for the first time in over a decade,” he said

He then went on to say that the two leaders represented different systems but that ties between the American and Chinese people endured.

“As the leaders of our two nations, President Xi and I both understand that we represent different systems, but the ties between our people endure, and we’ve never gotten along better. Together, we can continue to build a relationship that promotes prosperity and security for future generations," Trump added. Trump:Xi and I both understand that we represent different systems, but the ties between our people endure, and we’ve never gotten along better. pic.twitter.com/VdOrTl3ToY— Clash Report (@clashreport) 24, 2026

At the end of his speech, he presented Xi with a sculpture of a bald eagle, saying the bird was a national symbol of the US and embodied “the free and soaring spirit of America."

“I present President Xi with a gift made by an extraordinary American artist, one of the greatest in the world and designed in personal collaboration with Melania and myself,” Trump said.

“The bald eagle is a national symbol of the US and an embodiment of the free and soaring spirit of America. We hope it'll find a nice place, a wonderful place in Beijing,” he added..@POTUS presents President Xi with a custom-made statue of a bald eagle pic.twitter.com/CweqKmOI4U— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 25, 2026

The White House state dinner was a black-tie affair, with guests including tech executives such as Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Alphabet's Sundar Pichai, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Tesla's Elon Musk and Nvidia's Jensen Huang.

Outside the White House, protesters shouted slogans including “China out of Hong Kong” as the leaders posed for pictures on the red-carpeted steps.

Xi, meanwhile, said he and Trump had held in-depth discussions and reached a “common understanding on many issues” that provided “new strategic guidance for China-US relations." He did not elaborate.

“China and the US must act as responsible major countries,” Xi said, calling for “a new approach for major countries to get along with each other."

Earlier on Thursday, Xi announced a gift of two Chinese pandas to a zoo in Atlanta, along with a new student exchange programme that will welcome 100,000 US students to study in China over five years.

“The giant panda has been an envoy of friendship between the Chinese and the Americans,” Xi said.- Ends