Kathrine Frich
The FBI considers China a significant threat for state-backed espionage.
Governments spend heavily to protect sensitive military sites from foreign eyes.
But at a lavish dinner to honour a visiting leader, one host decided to simply pull back the curtain and show off a massive work in progress.
Off the script
President Donald Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state dinner at the White House on Thursday. The evening was highly choreographed. But during the meal in the East Room, the American leader stepped completely away from his prepared remarks.
He offered guests an exclusive look at his unfinished ballroom project. “If I could go off script… as a special treat in honor of President Xi and Madame Peng, I’d like to invite everyone in the room to visit through that beautiful curtain in the back door,” Trump said.
He promised they would see something special. “It’s all lit up and looks beautiful. It’s one year away from completion,” he added, according to The Daily Beast.
National security stakes
The impromptu tour offer raised immediate questions. For weeks, the administration fought a lawsuit from preservationists trying to block the construction.
Government lawyers argued the space is actually an integrated military complex with a bunker, hospital, and top-secret meeting rooms. Now, the president was inviting a major counterintelligence rival to take a peek.
The FBI considers China a significant threat for state-backed espionage. The guest list also included three conservative Supreme Court justices who recently split their votes on whether to halt the controversial building project.
A crowded room
The East Room was packed with powerful corporate figures. Tech billionaires like Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Apple CEO Tim Cook attended the event.
The friendly, welcoming tone of the evening frustrated a number of Republican politicians. Senator Rick Scott of Florida acknowledged the need for diplomacy. Still, he warned that the foreign leader is “building a military to try to defeat us.”
Representative Ted Budd of North Carolina offered a similar warning. He stated that America cannot ignore the global ambitions of its biggest geopolitical competitor.
Setting boundaries
The Chinese leader kept his own remarks formal and measured. During his toast, Xi called for the two superpowers to act responsibly and find new ways to cooperate.
He suggested that historical conflicts between rising and established powers can be avoided. “The Thucydides trap can be overcome,” Xi told the room.
He urged both nations to coexist peacefully, while adding that American competition must be “kept within bounds.”
Sources: The Daily Beast
