Trump takes uncommon step of assembly international chief on the airport, underscoring significance of US-China relationship.
Printed On 23 Sep 2026
United States President Donald Trump has welcomed Chinese language President Xi Jinping as he arrived within the US for a three-day journey targeted on points comparable to safety, commerce and know-how.
Trump took the uncommon step of assembly the Chinese language chief in individual at Joint Base Andrews within the state of Maryland on Wednesday, the primary president to take action in current reminiscence.
The US president and First Woman Melania Trump greeted Xi and his spouse on the tarmac throughout a welcoming ceremony, the place a crimson carpet was rolled out and the {couples} exchanged handshakes. Trump and Xi then walked aspect by aspect, flanked by US troopers, earlier than standing for a gunfire salute and the US nationwide anthem.
The in-person greeting is an indication of the importance that Washington ascribes to its relationship with Beijing, whose meteoric financial rise over the past a number of a long time has remodeled it into a worldwide superpower able to rivalling the USA.
Regardless of tense relations that worsened after the Trump administration positioned excessive tariffs on Chinese language items – a transfer that was met with retaliatory measures from Beijing – Trump has expressed private affinity for Xi and his want for sturdy ties with China.
The Chinese language president’s journey to the US will embrace a state dinner, attended by leaders of the nation’s highly effective tech industry, a navy ceremony on the White Home, and a go to to the Nationwide Archives, dwelling to paperwork of historic and cultural significance such because the US Structure and the Declaration of Independence.
However each international locations stay cautious of the opposite as they compete for political and financial affect. The journey is prone to embrace dialogue of points such because the US warfare on Iran, commerce, know-how, rare-earth minerals and US ties to Taiwan, the self-governing island that China claims as a part of its territory.
An 11-month deal that provided short-term aid from punishing tariffs between the 2 international locations is about to run out on November 10.
