A reddish carpet and subject flyover - How Trump welcomed Xi
ByBernd DebusmannReporting fromAndrews Air Force Base and Nardine Saad
US President Donald Trump has greeted his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping with a subject flyover and 100ft (30m) reddish carpet to footwear disconnected their three-day acme successful Washington.
In a uncommon move, Trump met China's premier astatine the airdrome arsenic the US Air Force set marched connected the tarmac and US and Chinese flags flew.
Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed Xi and his woman Peng Liyuan astatine Joint Base Andrews connected Wednesday evening successful Maryland.
The high-stakes sojourn - Xi's archetypal travel to Washington since 2015 - is expected to see closed-door meetings, a authorities dinner, and plentifulness to discuss, from AI, to the Iran warfare and Taiwan, and an extended commercialized truce.
Image source, Getty Images
This is Xi's archetypal sojourn to Washington since 2015
The person of China's Communist Party touched down successful an Air China level astatine 17:39 section clip (22:39 BST). The colour and honour defender marched up to the craft and stood connected some sides of the reddish carpet arsenic 2 limos pulled up.
Xi and Peng exited their level and the 2 couples shook hands. They spoke concisely earlier walking broadside by broadside down the reddish carpet and posing for photos.
Two B-1s flew implicit arsenic the Army Air Force Band played the US nationalist anthem. The supersonic craft are a cardinal portion of the US's combat arsenal.
After exchanging pleasantries, the 2 couples departed successful abstracted vehicles to Washington.
This is the archetypal clip since 1962 that a US president has personally welcomed a overseas person astatine the base, signalling the value that Trump is giving this visit.
In 1962, then-President John F Kennedy greeted British PM Harold Macmillan.
Also connected Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the US and China volition widen their commercialized truce to January. The agreement, which saw Trump little tariff rates connected immoderate goods successful speech for Xi loosening restrictions connected uncommon world minerals, was acceptable to expire 10 November.
Bessent, who spoke aft gathering Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, said the 2 discussed if determination tin yet beryllium a much substantive commercialized woody betwixt the 2 countries.
Image source, EPA
In a written connection published by China's authorities quality bureau Xinhua, Xi said some China and the US are "great nations, and their radical are large people".
"The 2 countries should beryllium partners alternatively than rivals," helium said.
Melania Trump has said she has been progressive intimately with the readying of the itinerary. She told Fox News that Trump made the determination to personally greet Xi himself astatine the airdrome "because they person a large relationship".
Xi is accompanied connected the sojourn by Cai Qi, a subordinate of the party's Politburo Standing Committee who's wide seen arsenic his right-hand man, vice premier He Lifeng, overseas curate Wang Yi, arsenic good arsenic different delegates and ambassadors from Beijing.
"Realising the large rejuvenation of the Chinese federation and making America large again tin afloat coexist, reenforce each different and payment the world," Xi said successful the connection carried by Xinhua, wherever helium besides expressed assured that the sojourn would "yield fruitful results".
It is unclear if Xi has brought immoderate concern executives with him. Bringing Chinese firms to the US whitethorn besides rise questions astir Chinese concern practices, subsidies and overcapacity, each of which whitethorn gully much occurrence and questions than Xi oregon his enactment would like.
During Trump's sojourn to Beijing successful May, helium was accompanied by a radical of tech executives from immoderate of the largest US firms, including Apple's Tim Cook, Tesla's Elon Musk and Nvidia's Jensen Huang.
Leaders of US AI companies are slated to be the lavish authorities meal acceptable for Thursday. Xi's sojourn volition extremity connected Friday.
Trump has dismissed caller warnings astir the imaginable dangers of AI from wrong the manufacture arsenic a "hoax" and some countries are racing to effort to execute dominance successful the sector.
Image source, Reuters
Trump volition purpose to execute different deals astir commercialized and tariffs – similar lowering Chinese tariffs connected American products, expanding imports of Chinese uncommon world minerals, and expanding exports of US cultivation products, according to David Firestein of the Bush China Foundation.
But China appears person reneged connected promises to bargain much American cultivation products and to merchantability much uncommon world minerals to the US.
Firestein expects Xi to promote Trump to further stall - oregon termination - a congressionally approved $14bn (£10.5bn)-arms merchantability to Taiwan and deepen US-China commercialized integration.
These are the aforesaid US-China issues for the ages, helium said, but, this time, "there seems to beryllium a greater grade of, let's say, stableness wrong the relationship, oregon little volatility comparative to wherever we were past twelvemonth successful 2025".
Watch: What’s astatine involvement erstwhile Trump and Xi conscionable successful the US?
Xi's sojourn comes astatine a clip erstwhile American attitudes towards China look to beryllium warming.
A caller canvass by the Chicago Council connected Global Affairs indicated that 41% of Americans spot China's territorial ambitions arsenic a menace to the US. That fig is down from 52% successful 2022.
More than fractional of Americans - 57% - judge the US should cooperate and prosecute with Beijing. Notably, that statistic cuts crossed the US governmental spectrum.
Of Republicans who bash not place arsenic Maga, 57% favour cooperation, arsenic bash astir Democrats, some mean and liberal.
However astir of Trump's loyal basal - 63% - favour limiting US relations with China, putting them astatine likelihood with his lukewarm invited of Xi.
Aside from the accomplishment ceremonies astatine the White House, Melania Trump has besides planned a sojourn to the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art to amusement her Chinese counterpart the taste connections betwixt the 2 countries.
The landmark sojourn volition extremity connected a humanities enactment astatine the National Archives gathering wherever the couples volition presumption important records including those of "significant to the American and Chinese relationship," the White House has said.
With further reporting from Brandon Drenon
English (US)·