Trump to welcome Xi on tarmac as Washington hosts rare state visit
US President Donald Trump is set to personally welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping on the tarmac when he arrives in Washington on Wednesday, an unusual gesture that will open a three-day state visit. The visit, which includes a formal state dinner at the White House on Thursday, is expected to be marked by elaborate ceremony and is meant to return the ceremonial welcome Trump received during his visit to China in May.
The show of warmth comes at a time of high tension between the two countries over trade, artificial intelligence, Trump’s conflict with Iran and China’s plans for Taiwan. Even so, Trump appears keen to use the visit to maintain what has been described as “strategic stability”, while also underlining his personal outreach to Xi, whom he has called a “great leader” and a friend.
The White House has released few details about Wednesday’s arrival, but Trump is expected to join Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at a ceremony at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington. Trump’s decision to receive Xi at the air base, rather than wait for him at the White House, signals the importance he is placing on Xi’s first state visit in more than a decade.
The visit is expected to be heavy on pageantry, even by White House standards. Trump has told reporters in recent weeks that he was pleased that his new “work of art” helicopter landing pad would be ready for Xi’s visit, while also saying that his planned White House ballroom would not be completed in time.
On Wednesday, Trump is expected to try to match some of the ceremony he received in China earlier this year. Xi did not personally receive Trump on that trip, sending Chinese Vice President Han Zheng instead, but a long red carpet was laid out for Air Force One in Beijing. There was also a military honour guard, a military band and about 300 Chinese children waving Chinese and American flags and chanting, “Welcome, welcome! Warm welcome!” The children wore white and light blue uniforms matching the traditional colours of the presidential aircraft.
Trump’s plans for Xi’s visit have drawn criticism from some Republicans. Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticised what he called the “lavish welcome” and said Trump should not have invited the Chinese leader “based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party.” Wicker also suggested that Trump raise “the purposes of China’s massive military buildup, or about China’s clear support for Iran”, and said 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.”
After the airport welcome, the formal programme will continue on Thursday with an arrival ceremony at the White House and a review of troops. Before the black-tie state dinner, expected to be attended by technology industry leaders including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and SpaceX’s Elon Musk, Trump and Xi are due to hold private talks on the major issues affecting ties between the two countries. Expectations remain low, however, that the visit will produce any major breakthrough.
On Friday, Xi and Peng will return to the White House for a private tea with Trump and First Lady Melania Trump before joining them on a visit to the National Archives in Washington. The White House has said they will view historic documents that underscore the relationship between the two countries.
Overall, the visit brings together high-level symbolism and difficult diplomacy, with Trump extending exceptional personal honours to Xi even as the United States and China remain at odds on several major issues.
