President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife on a red carpet at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, kicking off a three-day visit amid tensions over trade, artificial intelligence, and Taiwan.
A Rare Welcome, With Ceremony to Match
Trump shared the moment on Truth Social, showing the two couples shaking hands and briefly conversing on a 100-foot-long red carpet rolled out beside Xi’s plane.
It marked the first time in 11 years that a U.S. president has welcomed a foreign leader at the base, according to C-SPAN.
A military band played and ceremonial cannons fired as a B-1 bomber flew overhead.
The visit includes a state dinner on Thursday, expected to bring together tech leaders, including Apple Inc. Chairman Tim Cook, Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang, and OpenAI‘s Sam Altman, along with a White House military ceremony and a stop at the National Archives.
Tesla Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. CEO Elon Musk called Xi a “great leader,” and Polymarket bettors are now putting him atop the odds to attend the state dinner.
Xi arrived without the Chinese business delegation Beijing had sought to bring, Reuters reported, citing sources.
Trade Truce Extended
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent‘s told Fox News that the U.S. and China agreed to extend their trade truce, the Busan Agreement, by two months to Jan. 10.
The two sides remain at odds over Taiwan, narcotics, rare-earth minerals, and artificial intelligence. Both countries remain locked in fierce competition over AI, even as concerns mount over the technology’s risks.
Xi is expected to press Beijing’s claims to Taiwan, while Trump is likely to maintain existing export controls, according to a Reuters report.
Trump Faces Pressure At Home Over Iran
The summit comes as Trump faces falling approval ratings ahead of the midterm election in November, amid public frustration over the Iran war.
Last month, Bessent warned that China’s continued purchases of Iranian oil risk exposure to U.S. sanctions, part of a broader pressure campaign targeting Tehran’s remaining economic lifelines.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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