China’s President Xi Jinping ‘turns down Mark Zuckerberg’s request to name his unborn child’ at White House dinner
The President reportedly said the honour would be ‘too much responsibility’
Mark Zuckerberg may have impressed China’s President Xi Jinping by speaking to him in Mandarin, but it didn’t stop the leader from turning down a personal request from the Facebook founder.
According to Page Six, at a prestigious White House dinner hosted by President Obama and the First Lady, Zuckerberg approached President Xi about the subject of his unborn child.
Mark Zuckerberg’s signature look
Mark Zuckerberg’s signature look
1/8
2/8
3/8
4/8
5/8
6/8
7/8
8/8
1/8
2/8
3/8
4/8
5/8
6/8
7/8
8/8
At the dinner, which included Apple’s Tim Cook and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Zuckerberg reportedly asked President Xi whether he would be able to give an honorary Chinese name to the daughter he and wife Priscilla Chan are expecting.
Page Six claims President Xi said the task would be “too much responsibility” and declined, though a spokesperson for Zuckerberg told the newspaper this was not correct.
Zuckerberg, now the world’s ninth richest man, still had cause for celebration about his time with President Xi despite the setback, however.
The entrepreneur had already met President Xi two days earlier at an annual US-China Internet Industry Forum in Seattle, which is where government officials and technology chief executives discuss the future of the industry.
Zuckerberg had made it a personal challenge to learn Mandarin last year, and after the forum wrote on his Facebook page: “On a personal note, this was the first time I’ve ever spoken with a world leader entirely in a foreign language. I consider this a meaningful personal milestone.”
Comments
Share your thoughts and debate the big issues
Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines.
You can find our Community Guidelines in full here.
-
Newest first
-
Oldest first
-
Most liked
{{/moreThanOne}}Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines.
You can find our Community Guidelines in full here.
-
Newest first
-
Oldest first
-
Most liked
{{/moreThanOne_p}}Follow comments
Vote
Report Comment
Subscribe to Independent Premium to debate the big issues
Want to discuss real-world problems, be involved in the most engaging discussions and hear from the journalists? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Already registered? Log inReport Comment
Delete Comment
About The Independent commenting
Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment.
The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates.