WASHINGTON-A red carpet. Members of the U.S. military holding Chinese and U.S. flags on the roof of the White House. A flyover of U.S. jet fighters and a stealth bomber.
President Trump kicked off a summit with China's Xi Jinping with an extravagant welcome ceremony, as Washington and Beijing look to ease brewing tensions over the war in Iran, artificial intelligence and trade. It is Xi's first visit to Washington in more than a decade.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump shook hands with Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, on a red carpet outside the White House on Thursday morning. Behind them, the U.S. Marine Silent Drill Platoon, which features two-dozen newly trained infantry Marines, and U.S. Joint Forces Command performed a presidential salute.
The two world leaders delivered remarks in the White House's Grand Foyer. Trump heralded the "tremendous strides" he and Xi had made and previewed the day's discussions on national security and technology issues, saying that "the decision we make in these areas today can promote peace and prosperity for decades and decades to come."
Xi, through a translator, told Trump: "I am ready to work with you to steer the giant ship of China-U.S. relations on a steady course toward the future." He said the two nations "stand to gain from cooperation and will both lose in confrontation," and ought to work together both in business and on AI regulation while maintaining regular military dialogue.
Xi also said that two Chinese pandas would soon be sent to the Atlanta zoo, continuing Beijing's historic practice of gifting pandas to foreign countries as a symbol of friendship and diplomatic tool.
Later, Trump and Xi, along with their wives, stood at attention for an inspection of U.S. military troops, as jets flew overhead. The two leaders then moved to closed-door bilateral discussions. "We had a great meeting," Trump said after it ended.
Trump later led Xi on a tour of the new helipad the U.S. president built on the South Lawn and pointed out ongoing construction of the White House ballroom. Neither leader answered shouted questions, but Trump told the press that his counterpart "is an expert on stone, among many other things, and loves good granite."
The major television networks didn't cover the event live. Earlier this week they had agreed to suspend a rotation of broadcast journalists who cover the president after Trump banned CNN and two other outlets from the White House. A federal judge early Thursday ordered the administration to lift the ban, but it wasn't clear when TV pool coverage would resume.
Beneath the pomp is a relationship that is increasingly strained. As Trump pushes to bring an end to the war in Iran, China is buying oil from Tehran and shipping components used in drones and missiles to the country. The U.S. and China are in a race for AI dominance, and they have long been at odds over trade. Meanwhile, tensions are mounting in the Indo-Pacific as China's rapid military buildup alarms U.S. military planners and close U.S. allies in the region.
China has long been seen by officials across multiple U.S. administrations as Washington's principal geopolitical rival and a potential military adversary.
But Trump has struck a conciliatory tone toward Beijing in recent months as U.S. officials laid the groundwork for this week's highly anticipated meeting. The summit is expected to sidestep tensions and focus on identifying modest areas of cooperation, officials said.
The meeting comes just weeks before November's midterm elections, in which Republicans are facing the prospect of widespread losses that could bring Democrats to power in Congress.
As Trump and Xi huddled behind closed doors, some Republican senators expressed concerns about China's power on the world stage and unease with the spectacle surrounding the visit. "I wouldn't turn my back on [Xi] if he was two days dead," said Sen. John Kennedy (R., La.). "And if he takes Taiwan, the whole world's got a problem."
"Personally I don't like celebrating China," said Sen. Joni Ernst (R., Iowa), although she said she hopes something good will come out of it for farmers in her state. "They are a big consumer of Iowa soybeans, so I think there are some issues we obviously need to work out with China-trade issues, military issues."
Added Sen. Thom Tillis (R., N.C.): "How do you roll out the red carpet-and really lengthen my commute today-to a Chinese despot?"
Trump previewed his approach to the meeting in social-media posts on Thursday morning in which he heaped praise on the Chinese leader and his wife. Xi, Trump said, "looks strong, vibrant and fit."
The U.S. president also said "super intelligence," his moniker for AI, will be a topic of discussion with Xi. "I want to leave it exactly where it is. That is China's position also," Trump said, suggesting he doesn't want to stand in the way of AI's rapid development.
A state dinner on Thursday night in the East Room of the White House will feature sparkling wine honoring the so-called toast of peace shared between President Richard Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai during Nixon's historic visit to Beijing in 1972.
A main objective for Trump and Xi this week is to forge a more predictable relationship and potentially notch a few deals, although former officials say the summit is likely to include few major developments.
The most concrete win that Xi could take back to Beijing may already be in hand. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News on Wednesday night that both countries had agreed to extend their truce on a punishing trade war by two months-from Nov. 10 to Jan. 10-while floating the possibility of a "bigger deal" down the road.
In a sign of muted expectations for major commercial engagement, Xi didn't bring a business delegation with him. People involved in summit preparations said roughly a third of more than 100 seats for the state banquet scheduled for Thursday night were allocated to the Chinese side, which in Beijing's views would leave no room for Chinese business representatives.
People close to the Chinese side said Beijing has weighed bigger purchases of American farm goods to please Trump ahead of November's hotly contested midterm elections.
Bessent said China had already agreed to buy 25 million tons of U.S. soybeans and had been "very fulsome" in following through, though it remained "a little behind" on some $17 billion in other agricultural commitments Washington is pressing it to meet.
None of this will erase the clash of interests at the core of the U.S.-China relationship. Beijing is still pressing the U.S. to forgo weapons sales to Taiwan and is determined to bring the self-governing democracy under its control. During the meeting with Trump, Xi called on the U.S. side to "adhere to the correct position of opposing Taiwan independence," according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
The U.S. is also rattled by China's rapid buildup of its nuclear-weapons stockpile. Beijing is on track to have more than 1,000 nuclear weapons by 2030, according to Pentagon estimates, though this issue is unlikely to be front and center in Trump's meetings with Xi on Thursday.
China's indirect aid to Iran in its conflict against the U.S., including thousands of shipments of drone and missile components to Tehran and Chinese satellite imagery aiding Iranian strikes that killed U.S. troops, also threatens to cloud the visit between the two leaders.
Analysts expected Trump to urge Xi to lean on Tehran. However, Beijing has shown little inclination to exert meaningful pressure, refusing to cut its imports of Iranian crude or halt indirect military aid. Instead, Xi urged de-escalation. According to Xinhua, Xi said in the meeting with Trump that China hopes the U.S. and Iran will "return to the track of dialogue and negotiation."
Some U.S. officials and lawmakers are pressing Trump to bring up the status of U.S. citizens that it considers wrongfully detained in China.
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