Protocol at state banquets demands that the Chinese and foreign guests should sit alternately, but one person who has been involved in planning state banquets observes that if the guests are from a non-English-speaking country, the language barrier often creates an atmosphere of awkwardness. "Apart from the two heads of state, for most of the other guests the meal is rather heavy going."
根據國宴禮儀，中外賓客必須交叉而坐，一位曾參與國宴策辦工作的人員發現，若是非英語系國家的賓客來訪，語言隔閡往往造成氣氛尷尬，「除了兩國元首之外，其他客人大都吃得滿辛苦的。」