Trump welcomes Xi to Washington with rare planeside ceremony, trade truce extended to January
The visit comes as tensions between the two superpowers persist over trade, Taiwan and artificial intelligence
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington Wednesday for the first Chinese state visit to the US in more than a decade, greeted by President Donald Trump in an airport ceremony as their top officials agreed to extend a trade truce. Xi's Air China 747 landed at Joint Base Andrews shortly before 6 pm EST, where the president and First Lady Melania Trump greeted Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan.
The ceremony featured a red carpet, an honor guard, a military band playing both countries' anthems, and flyovers by two B-1 bombers.
Welcome follows Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's announcement, in a Fox News interview, that the two countries had agreed to extend their trade truce, under which tariffs were scaled back and new trade restrictions avoided, until January 10. Bessent said the extension could give the leaders more time to address outstanding issues at upcoming summits in China and Florida.
In a statement marking his arrival, Xi said the US and China "should be partners, not rivals."
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Xi's arrival also drew hundreds of protesters and supporters along his motorcade route, and clashes broke out between the two groups. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker criticized the "lavish welcome," saying Trump should not have invited the Chinese president "based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party." Former US diplomat Danny Russel said the airport pomp delivered "a propaganda win for Beijing," calling it evidence that "China's leader is now held in extraordinarily high esteem by the President of the United States."
The two world leaders are expected to discuss investment, artificial intelligence and global competition Thursday. On Friday, the two are expected to visit the National Archives.
Xi returns to Washington in a far more confident position than during his 2015 state visit under President Barack Obama. China's share of exports to the US has dropped from nearly one-fifth in 2015 to 11% today, even as its manufacturing and military capabilities have expanded significantly, including the world's largest naval fleet by vessel count. Xi is expected to press Trump to further delay an arms sale package to Taiwan, an issue he did not raise during his 2015 visit.