Tech Titans Set to Join White House Xi Dinner

WASHINGTON: (News Desk) –  Jensen Huang and Sam Altman are among the prominent technology executives expected to attend a White House state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, according to a US official.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the gathering as a highly sought-after event and said Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai are also expected to attend.

The participation of leading technology figures comes as artificial intelligence is expected to feature prominently in discussions between the US and Chinese leaders. Washington and Beijing remain the two major global powers competing in advanced AI development.

The US technology sector has been debating whether leading AI companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta, can afford to slow development because of concerns that China could close the technological gap.

China, once widely regarded as trailing the United States in advanced AI capabilities, has rapidly narrowed the distance in recent years.

Washington has sought to restrict China’s access to advanced semiconductors used to develop sophisticated AI systems, including high-end chips manufactured by Nvidia.

AI race

Despite their broader strategic rivalry, there remains hope that the United States and China could reach some understanding on artificial intelligence during the leaders’ meeting.

However, analysts and industry observers say a major agreement to slow AI development or establish comprehensive global safeguards would be difficult to achieve.

Calls for greater safeguards have intensified following warnings from technology insiders about the potential dangers posed by increasingly advanced AI systems.

Jacob Coxon, a former AI researcher at Anthropic, recently warned that some people developing the technology seriously believe it could pose an existential threat to humanity within the decade.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei subsequently called for greater caution and a slower pace of AI development. Altman and Musk have also expressed support for stronger safeguards, while Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis has advocated a US-led international regulatory framework for AI.

US President Donald Trump has rejected concerns about AI as a “hoax” and has encouraged American technology companies to continue accelerating development in order to maintain an advantage over China.

Huang echoed that approach in an interview with CBS News, saying the United States should advance AI “as fast as we can.”

He nevertheless stressed that companies should not release products before they are ready or deploy systems that are unsafe.

“We’re going to go as fast as we can,” Huang said, adding that Nvidia would not ship products before they were ready or deliver unsafe technology.

Analysts say Chinese policymakers have placed greater emphasis on immediate AI-related risks, including deepfakes and child safety. At the same time, China’s spy agency chief warned this week that artificial intelligence could pose risks to national security.