Trump Plans Rare Planeside Welcome for China Xi Jinping State Visit/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ President Donald Trump will personally welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews at the start of Xi’s three-day state visit. The unusual planeside greeting is part of an elaborate diplomatic program that includes bilateral talks, a military review and a state dinner. The ceremonial display comes as Washington and Beijing remain divided over trade, artificial intelligence, Iran and Taiwan.
Quick Look
- Trump is expected to greet Xi at Joint Base Andrews at 6 p.m. EDT Wednesday.
- Presidents rarely personally welcome foreign leaders on the airport tarmac.
- Xi is making the first U.S. state visit by a Chinese leader in more than a decade.
- First lady Melania Trump and Xi’s wife, Peng Liyuan, will participate in the visit.
- A White House arrival ceremony and military review are scheduled for Thursday.
- Trump and Xi will hold private talks before a formal state dinner.
- Trade, AI, Iran and Taiwan are among the major points of tension.
- Sen. Roger Wicker criticized what he called the “lavish welcome.”
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended high-level engagement with China.
- The visit will conclude Friday with tea and a National Archives tour.
Trump Plans Unusual Airport Greeting for Xi
WASHINGTON — Chinese President Xi Jinping will begin his state visit to Washington with an uncommon diplomatic gesture: a personal welcome from President Donald Trump on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews.
Trump is expected to participate in an arrival ceremony when Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, land at the military base outside Washington at approximately 6 p.m. EDT Wednesday.
American presidents ordinarily receive visiting foreign leaders at the White House rather than meeting their aircraft. Trump’s decision to travel to the base demonstrates the importance his administration is placing on Xi’s three-day visit—the first U.S. state visit by a Chinese leader in more than a decade.
Melania Trump Says Xi Deserves Respectful Welcome
First lady Melania Trump said the president decided to greet Xi personally because the two leaders have developed a strong relationship.
“They have a great relationship,” she said during an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends.”
“He’s coming on our soil, and we need to welcome them with the most respect,” the first lady said, referring to Xi and Peng.
The White House has disclosed few specific details about the airport ceremony. It is expected to mark the beginning of a visit filled with formal events intended partly to reciprocate for the pageantry Trump received during his trip to China in May.
Diplomatic Pageantry Masks Serious Disputes
The ceremonial welcome comes as relations between the United States and China remain strained by major economic and geopolitical disagreements.
Trump and Xi are expected to discuss trade, tariffs, artificial intelligence, China’s control over supplies of strategically important rare-earth minerals and Beijing’s relationship with Iran during the continuing war.
Taiwan will also remain a sensitive issue. China claims the democratically governed island as its territory, while the United States continues to provide Taiwan with defensive support.
Administration officials have described maintaining “strategic stability” as an important objective of the visit. Expectations remain limited, however, that the talks will resolve the countries’ most difficult disputes.
Trump has repeatedly praised Xi as a “great leader” and described him as a friend, even while the two governments compete for economic, technological and military influence.
Republican Senator Criticizes “Lavish Welcome”
Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized the ceremony and questioned whether Xi should have received such an elaborate invitation.
During a Senate speech Tuesday, Wicker objected to the “lavish welcome.”
He said Trump should not have invited Xi “based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party.”
Wicker suggested that Trump use the state dinner to question Xi about “the purposes of China’s massive military buildup, or about China’s clear support for Iran.”
The senator added that “during every minute of dialogue,” Trump should remember that “his guest is a brutal, unelected and oppressive dictator who seeks to dominate his neighbors and whose massive military arsenal is aimed directly at the United States of America.”
Rubio Defends Direct Engagement With Beijing
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the administration’s decision to engage Xi at the presidential level, emphasizing China’s economic and military power.
Rubio said the United States and China are “the two largest economies in the world” and “probably the two most powerful militaries in the world.”
“The idea that we would not interact with them at the highest levels is irresponsible. It’s outrageous. We have to,” Rubio told reporters Wednesday in New York.
China’s Foreign Ministry has described the reciprocal presidential visits within six months as historically significant. Beijing said it wants to strengthen dialogue, manage differences and expand areas of cooperation during Xi’s Sept. 23-25 visit.
Trump Seeks to Match China’s Ceremonial Reception
Trump has publicly discussed his desire to impress Xi during the visit. He celebrated the completion of a new White House helicopter landing pad, which he has described as a “work of art,” while expressing disappointment that his planned White House ballroom was not finished in time.
The president’s arrangements appear intended to match some of the pageantry he encountered during his May trip to Beijing.
Xi did not personally meet Trump at the airport during that visit. Chinese Vice President Han Zheng greeted the American delegation instead.
However, China rolled out a red carpet for Air Force One and assembled a military honor guard, a military band and approximately 300 young people waving American and Chinese flags.
The group chanted, “Welcome, welcome! Warm welcome!” The participating children wore white and light-blue uniforms resembling the traditional colors of the presidential aircraft.
Thursday Will Bring Talks, Troops and State Dinner
Trump and the first lady will formally welcome Xi and Peng at the White House on Thursday. The schedule includes an official arrival ceremony and a review of troops before Trump and Xi move into private discussions.
The bilateral talks are expected to address the substantive disputes behind the ceremonial display. Trade, rare-earth supplies and competition over artificial intelligence are expected to feature prominently.
A black-tie state dinner will follow. Invited guests include prominent technology executives such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and SpaceX and Tesla leader Elon Musk.
Other previously announced guests include Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell and Tim Cookwho recently stepped down as Apple’s chief executive.
Visit Will Conclude at National Archives
Xi and Peng are scheduled to return to the White House on Friday for private tea with President Trump and the first lady.
The two couples will then tour the National Archives, where they are expected to view historic documents illustrating the relationship between the United States and China.
Xi will depart afterward from Joint Base Andrews, concluding a visit designed to demonstrate diplomatic respect while giving the leaders an opportunity to manage a relationship defined by deep competition and continuing disagreements.
More on US News