Claims that Trump peeked at Xi's notes during Chinese state banquet are false
- Published on May 21, 2026 at 11:30
- 3 min read
- By Livia LIU, AFP Hong Kong
Offbeat clips from US President Donald Trump's two-day visit to China in May 2026 have circulated widely on social media platforms, including a clip that sparked a false claim that Trump peeked at Xi's private notes during a state banquet in Beijing. But an AFP analysis of several clips of the incident found the folder bears the US presidential seal -- and in fact belonged to Trump.
"Here is a follow-up video capturing a classic moment from the Xi-Trump summit: While Xi Jinping was away using the restroom, Trump casually glanced through a small notebook Xi had left on the table," reads part of a Chinese-language X post published on May 15, 2026.
"At this time, the exact nature of the notebook remains unconfirmed; it could be the dinner menu, notes for a banquet speech, or a personal notepad."
The post shares a 12-second clip which shows Trump leaning towards a folder on the table, flipping through and closing it. The overlaid English text reads: "sneaking a peek at Xi Jinping’s documents".
The scene was captured on May 14 during a state banquet in Beijing as part of the US president's two-day trip to China, aimed at easing tensions between the rival superpowers (archived link).
Chinese social media users have shared quirky moments of the US delegation during the visit, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio apparently admiring the ceiling of the room where Trump and Xi held talks, the 14-second handshake between the leaders, and Elon Musk filming in 360 degrees outside the venue during a welcome ceremony (archived here and here).
The claim has been widely shared on X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Threads. It has also circulated in various languages and was picked up by at least one media outlet.
"Trump was just trying to sneak a peek at Xi's little notebook to see if Xi had written anything bad about him," one user commented, while another quipped: "Trump saw it was all in Chinese -- he couldn't understand a word."
AFP analysed the scene and found that the folder -- which bore the US presidential seal -- in fact belonged to Trump.
Footage of the banquet streamed on the White House's official YouTube channel shows the folder was already on the table before the leaders were seated (archived link).
Xi is seen leaving the table at around the 2:10 mark to deliver a toast on the podium. Trump is seen opening the folder at the 2:25 mark and briefly looking through it.
After Xi finished his speech and returned to his seat, Trump shook hands with the Chinese leader and took the folder with him to the podium.
Live footage from China's state-owned broadcaster Phoenix TV shows the moment Trump rose and took the folder with him (archived link).
Trump and other US officials have used folders bearing the same US presidential seal on multiple occasions (archived link).
The White House did not reply to AFP's request for comment at the time of publication.
AFP has previously debunked other misinformation related to Donald Trump and his visit to China.
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