Trump gives Xi Jinping rare airport welcome at start of Washington visit
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington on Wednesday for a three-day state visit, with US President Donald Trump personally receiving him at the airport in a rare and highly ceremonial welcome. The visit will include formal events at the White House as well as talks on trade, technology, security and major international conflicts.
Xi, accompanied by Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan, is in the US for his second summit meeting with Trump in less than six months. Although the two sides are expected to discuss a wide range of difficult issues, expectations remain low that the visit will produce any major breakthrough in the relationship.
The aircraft carrying Xi and Peng touched down at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland near Washington at 5.39 pm local time on Wednesday, or 3.09 am IST on Thursday. Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump were waiting at the foot of the ladder as Xi and Peng disembarked at 6.01 pm local time, or 3.31 am IST. According to the report, this was the first time since 1962 that a US president had welcomed a foreign leader at the airport. In 1962, then president John F Kennedy had welcomed British prime minister Harold Macmillan at the airport.
After a brief exchange, the two couples walked down a 100-foot red carpet as a 21-person honour cordon stood in attention and the US Air Force Band played amid ceremonial cannon fire. Two B-1 bombers of the US Air Force flew over the airbase as the band played the national anthems of the US and China. Xi and Peng later left the airbase in a motorcade, while Trump and Melania boarded the Marine One helicopter to return to the White House.
The Chinese delegation includes Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the General Office of the Central Committee, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. Trade tariffs, technology, AI, military ties, conflicts in the Middle East, the Russia-Ukraine war, the arms race in space and US arms sales to Taiwan are expected to figure in the talks between Xi and Trump.
"The relationship between the United States and China will define the 21st century," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in New York on Wednesday. Rubio said the two countries had strong disagreements on a range of issues and added that it would be "irresponsible" if their leaders did not interact. "I think it's an obligation to be able to interact at the highest levels now. I think that's what this visit reflects, is the president's belief that no matter what our disagreements and differences may be with the Chinese government, this is not some small country," Rubio said.
The state visit, which includes a formal state dinner at the White House on Thursday, is meant to reciprocate the ceremonial grandeur that marked Trump's May visit to China. Earlier on Wednesday, Melania Trump said her husband had decided to personally greet Xi on his arrival in the Washington region because they have a great relationship. "He's coming on our soil, and we need to welcome them with the most respect," she said of Xi and his wife during an interview on Fox News Channel's Fox & Friends.
On Thursday, Xi will be given a ceremonial welcome at the White House and a review of troops. Before the black-tie dinner, which will feature tech industry leaders including Nvidia's Jensen Huang and SpaceX's Elon Musk, the two leaders are expected to discuss key issues behind closed doors. On Friday, Xi and Peng will return to the White House for a private tea with the Trumps before joining them on a tour of the National Archives in Washington, where they will view historic documents linked to the relationship between the two countries.
Xi's visit has opened with a high-profile reception and will now move to formal ceremonies and closed-door talks, with the US and China set to discuss the most sensitive issues in their relationship over the next three days.
