Chinese bank staff offered dinner and photos with Trump for US$150,000

BEIJING/SHANGHAI: A Chinese bank said yesterday it was tightening up its management after some staff were caught offering elite clients the chance to attend a dinner with US President Donald Trump, and get their pictures snapped with him, for US$ 150,000.

An invitation emblazoned with the logo of the China Construction Bank Corp (CCB) circulating on the Weibo social media platform, offered high-networth clients the opportunity to attend a May 31 dinner in Dallas to mingle with US ‘tycoons’.

Among the highlights for VIP attendee would be “having dinner with the president; taking photos with the president” and getting the president’s autograph, the advertisement said.

Trump is scheduled to host a US$ 50,000- a-head fund-raising dinner with the Republican National Committee in Dallas that night.

The CCB branch in the technology hub of Shenzhen said it had not organised the offer but that after an investigation it found that the dinner had been promoted by some employees.

As a result, it would strengthen internal management and standardise marketing activities, the bank said in a statement.

The invitation was circulating online as Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who is leading a trade delegation in Washington, met Trump to ease escalating trade tensions.