President Xi serves up Chinese wine for Trump state dinner

China’s president Xi Jinping served diplomats and business leaders free-flowing Chinese wine at a dinner honouring Donald Trump’s state visit to the nation.

Catering staff served US and Chinese delegates Great Wall ‘the Chief Winemaker’s Selection’ 2009 – a Cabernet Sauvignon from Chateau Sun God in Hebei northwest of Beijing, and a 2011 Riesling from the same vineyard.

Other wines served from Sun God included a bottle-fermented sparkler from and a Syrah, while gusts were also treated to a Riesling produced at Chateaux Yunmo in Ningxia, according to Decanter.

The US president himself is known for being a teetotaller, but his tastes were accommodated in the dinner itself.

The wines were paired with a fusion of Asian and western cuisine, including Kung Pao chicken, seafood chowder, steak, and pastries for dessert.

The menu also featured braised steak in tomato sauce — a take on steak and ketchup which is reportedly the POTUS’ favourite dish.

Chinese tech entrepreneur and Kingsoft chairman Lei Jun, one of the guests in attendance, shared a snapshot of the menu and his meal on Weibo — China’s answer to Twitter — On 11 November.

Typically, more than 160 chefs work on China’s state dinners, according to a report from People’s Daily in 2015.

The menu featured a take on the POTUS’ favourite dish (Photo: Lei Jun/Weibo)

Great Wall wines and those made by the producer Changyu have both featured heavily at official Chinese functions in recent years.

After a ban was called on spirits being served at state dinners in 1984, Great Wall — one of the country’s biggest drinks producers — has been the de-facto “state wine”, reported earlier by dbHK.

The winery’s flagship label from the ‘Château Sun God’ range was served during Ronald Reagan’s visit in 1984, and also during a visit by Queen Elizabeth II’s in 1986.

Most recently, it was served to over 100 state heads and diplomats at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games as well as the 2010 Shanghai Expo.

Great Wall’s ‘Five Star’ range has also featured in China’s diplomatic relations, and was served at the G20 Summit held in Hangzhou in 2016.

Changyu, China’s oldest winery, also regularly makes the grade on state visits.

Based on figures estimated by Wine Business Observation, from 2009 till 2016, Changyu wines were reportedly served 38 times at state banquets, making it the most frequently used Chinese state dinner wine.

Chinese wine is also starting to make waves in the UK and US markets.

Back in April, Big Four grocer Tesco started selling a Chinese Cabernet Sauvignon from Changyu’s Chateau Moser XV, praising China as a potentially “powerful” wine player.

And in 2016, the White House invited Chinese wine merchant Xie Xiaosu — chairman of ‘US North Alcohol Company — to Trump’s inauguration ceremony.

Unlike many invited to perform and witness Trump’s swearing into office, the vinter — who’s business exports Chinese produced alcoholic beverages to the US, Europe and Africa — jumped at the opportunity, calling it a “special day for the alcohol industry in China and the U.S.”

President Xi spared no expense in laying out an extravagant welcome for the First Family.

Donald and Melania Trump stepped out onto a red carpet as they exited their private jet and hit the runway, where they were greeted by a Chinese honour guard playing both countries’ national anthems.

Trump visited Beijing as part of a five-nation tour of Asia which also included stops in South Korea and Vietnam.

The president held extensive talks with Xi on Thursday 9 November, after which he announced the signing of $250bn (£190bn) worth of business deals.

According to a statement from the White House, the two state leaders “spoke candidly” of trade issues between the US and China, and “committed to expand areas of cooperation and generate positive outcomes for the benefit of the citizens of both countries.”