Xi's State Dinner Drew Tech's Biggest CEOs, Not Anthropic, as Trump Sets Sept. 29 AI Meeting With Speaker Johnson

Since Xi Jinping arrived in Washington this week for a state visit that included Tuesday's UN General Assembly remarks from Trump on AI sovereignty, two more concrete developments have followed: a state dinner Thursday night packed with tech CEOs, and word that Trump will sit down with House Speaker Mike Johnson and tech executives specifically on AI policy on September 29.

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, to the White House Thursday for a state dinner drawing a wide cross-section of American business and media figures, according to the Times of India. The guest list included Apple CEO Tim Cook, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan and TikTok investor Jeff Yass.

Senior executives from JPMorgan Chase, BlackRock and Goldman Sachs also attended, along with LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, the Times of India reported. Fox News hosts Bret Baier and Laura Ingraham and Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison rounded out the media presence.

Trump has repeatedly described his relationship with Xi in warm terms during the visit, calling it a "great friendship," per the Times of India's account.

Anthropic's absence stands out

One name missing from the dinner guest list: Anthropic. The Times of India, citing BBC reporting, noted the company was notably absent despite attendance from OpenAI, Apple, Meta, X, Amazon, Google and Nvidia executives.

Anthropic has taken a more cautious public position on AI risk and China than its peers. CEO Dario Amodei has previously warned that China taking the lead in artificial intelligence could pose a "grave danger" to the U.S. and the world, a position China has publicly rejected, according to the Times of India. Anthropic was also the company that, according to earlier reporting this week, complied with a White House directive to withhold new AI models from UK testers, while a rival held out. Whether Anthropic's absence from Thursday's dinner reflects that friction, scheduling, or something else has not been explained by the White House, and no source has confirmed a reason.

A separate AI meeting is now on the calendar

Separately from the state dinner, Reuters reports that Trump, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and unnamed tech CEOs will hold a meeting on artificial intelligence on September 29. The meeting was first reported by Axios, according to Reuters, and further details were not immediately available as of Thursday night.

The timing follows Trump's remarks at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, where he said he "rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme to control" AI, calling the technology "amazing" while saying the U.S. would be careful, per Reuters. Trump has argued the U.S. does not need new AI-specific regulations. China, by contrast, has imposed rules governing AI algorithms and training data, including a requirement that AI-generated content be clearly labeled, Reuters noted.

Some AI safety advocates, including figures at Anthropic, have argued that a hands-off U.S. posture leaves the country exposed if AI capabilities outpace any regulatory framework. The world's leading AI companies themselves, per Reuters, have warned of risks AI poses to humanity and called for coordinated government action.

Nothing about the September 29 meeting suggests binding rules are imminent. Newsquawk's analysis of comparable White House tech convenings notes that these sessions have historically been "agenda-setting exercises rather than decision events," with substance emerging later through executive orders, export control adjustments or legislative drafts, not from the meeting itself. Given House Speaker Johnson's involvement, funding and permitting questions for data centers and power infrastructure are likely in scope alongside any regulatory discussion, Newsquawk noted.

No agenda, attendee list beyond Trump and Johnson, or policy outcome for the September 29 session has been publicly confirmed. Whether the meeting leans toward the deregulatory, buildout-friendly posture Trump has signaled, or toward new restrictions tied to chip exports and China exposure, remains to be seen once a readout is issued.