23:06 BST 24 September
Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesState dinners at the White House are lavish affairs, that require months of planning across multiple government agencies.
The State Department and White House protocol office, for example, work together to handle the diplomatic end of these events, including the formal invitations, precedence and liaison with their foreign counterparts.
The White House’s social secretary, on the other hand, will work with offices within the White House and the visiting delegation to formulate a guest list, seating charts and a timeline.
The chief usher and residential staff work on the physical set-up of the venue – in this case the East Room – while the White House Military Office prepares the Marine Corps band and uniformed “social aides” who escort guests. There’s even an officially-designated chief floral designer, who provides the flowers.
Perhaps the most high-profile work is conducted by the executive chef and pastry chef, who spend weeks designing a menu (more on that in our next post) that is meant to provide a nod and wink to the guest country while also using American ingredients. The food would have been pre-approved by the first lady.
As things stand, however, we aren’t likely to see the food ourselves.
I’ll be among the White House pool for the Xi and Trump remarks in the East Room, but have been told we’ll be quickly escorted from the room following those remarks.
The conversations that will take place at those dinner tables, after all, are an important bit of diplomacy that both sides would prefer happen away from the prying ears of the media.