What a number of people don’t realize is the party had met just a few weeks prior and added his “thoughts” to the constitution - only 3 others have had that privilege and only 2 others (Mao and Deng) have had the level of complete control that he now has.
I think it was a less than subtle message to any remaining non-Xi factions that he has total control.
Deng had some limitations besides be able to action on his opinions widely. Zhao Ziyang, one of his leading protégés, was dumped by the last of the old guard that followed, Hu Yaobang. Tiananmen was the excuse, but it that was just the culmination of fears on the speed of the Deng’s reforms and potential reprecussions to those in power.
Jiang Zemin, the last to have his ‘thoughts’ put in the constitution, did not have the consolidated power that Xi now has - he was dealing with trade offs all the time between the remaining old guard under Hu, the reform faction remnants from the Zhao Ziyang group, and the younger up and comers that were becoming more prevalent.
Hu Jintao was a place keeper and cleaner in my mind. He was put in place to clean up a lot of “corruption” - but this put him in a very risky situation. His years were a constant balancing act without the ability to consolidate or eliminate any factions.
Basically laying the groundwork for Xi. I believe Xi’s group was already basically in power by this point, and Hu was the figurehead of the consolidation process preventing splinter factions from gaining more power through promotions and eliminating key members through “corruption” investigations.
The dinner was a great reception for Trump - but it was a much more important show of Xi’s consolidated power to everyone inside China. The symbolism is massive.