Who is seated where?

Every seat carried political meaning.

Who sits where is part of Chinese politics.

You don’t need to have a political science degree to understand who is the hottest guy in China except Xi. Just look at who’s sitting to Xi’s right side.
A Trump-Xi summit is, of course, arranged with exactly this kind of strict signaling.

On the morning of May 14, Trump shook hands with the Chinese delegation at the entrance of the Great Hall of the People. In the front row stood:

1. Cai Qi — Politburo Standing Committee member; Secretary of the Central Secretariat; Director of the General Office of the CCP Central Committee

2. Wang Yi — Politburo member; Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office; Minister of Foreign Affairs

3. He Lifeng — Politburo member; Vice Premier (overseeing commerce and finance; China’s lead on US trade)

4. Dong Jun — Minister of National Defense

5. Zheng Shanjie — Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission

6. Lan Fo’an — Minister of Finance

7. Wang Wentao — Minister of Commerce

8. Ma Zhaoxu — Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs (in charge of US affairs)

9. Xie Feng — Chinese Ambassador to the United States

10. Cai Wei — Assistant Foreign Minister; Director-General of the Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs

Inside the Great Hall, the same order set the seating at the negotiating table. Cai Qi sat to Xi's right. Wang Yi sat to Xi's left. He Lifeng to Xi's right, second seat. Dong Jun to Xi's left, second seat. And so on, alternating right and left, each pair stepping one rank down the list.

• Xi's right, 1st seat: Cai Qi

• Xi’s left, 1st seat: Wang Yi

• Xi’s right, 2nd seat: He Lifeng

• Xi’s left, 2nd seat: Dong Jun

• Xi’s right, 3rd seat: Zheng Shanjie

• Xi’s left, 3rd seat: Lan Fo’an

• Xi’s right, 4th seat: Wang Wentao

• Xi’s left, 4th seat: Ma Zhaoxu

• Xi’s right, 5th seat: Xie Feng

• Xi’s left, 5th seat: Cai Wei

• Xi’s right, 6th seat: Hong Lei (Assistant Foreign Minister; Director-General of Protocol — joined inside the hall but not in the welcoming line)

  

  That is literally a visualization of power. Cai Qi is the second most powerful person in the room (Chinese side). Wang Yi is third because he is sitting to Xi's left. Everyone else falls in line behind them.

  However, I must clarify one thing at the end. This is not a map of China’s overall power structure.
  It is a snapshot of relative authority inside this room, at this event.