US President Donald Trump will welcome Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday for a day filled with ceremony, all aimed at one objective, preserving the fragile peace between the two rival superpowers.
Trump greeted Xi in person on the tarmac when he arrived on Wednesday, marking the first occasion in over sixty years that a US president has welcomed a foreign political leader at Joint Base Andrews near Washington.
On Thursday he will roll out even more pomp and ceremony for Xi, offering him a formal welcome on the White House South Lawn, a military flyover, discussions in the Oval Office and, to cap it off, a grand state banquet.
Yet the lavish reception conceals deep tensions over difficult issues such as the trade war between the world’s two largest economies, artificial intelligence, and Beijing’s diplomatic and economic backing of Iran.
In remarks carried by Chinese state media soon after his arrival, Xi called for cooperation, stating that China and the United States should be “partners rather than rivals.”
The Chinese president went on to say he was looking “forward to in-depth exchanges with President Trump on major issues concerning our bilateral relations and the global situation.”
An early bit of good news for both Beijing and Washington came on Wednesday, when US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a two-month extension of a trade truce that had been set to expire in November.
Both sides are eager to steer clear of falling back into the trade war ignited by the US president’s sweeping global tariffs last year.
But although Trump brags that he will achieve results from what he describes as his “great relationship” with Xi, the most recent in a string of authoritarian leaders he has befriended, few breakthroughs are anticipated.
Rather, their third meeting since Trump’s return to power is intended to sustain the broader detente in spite of the underlying tensions.
Xi’s first White House state visit in over a decade will thus be more about spectacle than substance.
The schedule features a military inspection in the Rose Garden—which Trump recently paved over—and a gift-giving ceremony with Trump’s wife, Melania, and Xi’s wife, Peng Liyuan.
Trump and Xi will speak in the morning and again in the evening, though it is still unclear whether reporters will get a chance to question the two leaders.
The state dinner will bring together a host of top bosses from US tech and AI companies—even though Xi’s delegation includes no CEOs, sources told AFP.
Trump established the tone on Wednesday when he and Melania met the Chinese presidential couple on a red carpet at Joint Base Andrews, after which a military band played the national anthems and US bombers thundered overhead.
“I thought it was a great little meeting, a great greeting, and I think they appreciate it,” Trump told reporters, brushing off the fact that Xi had not welcomed him at the airport for his Beijing state visit in May.
Trump confirmed that his stalled Iran war would be on the agenda, despite having earlier downplayed reports that Beijing was supplying Tehran with intelligence.
“I’ll be talking about that and many other subjects—but it’s all coming along well, including that,” Trump said.
Artificial intelligence is also expected to be a major focus of the summit, amid mounting fears that it could wipe out humanity—even as China and the United States compete for dominance in the field.
Taiwan will be on the agenda as well, and Trump’s remarks are likely to be scrutinized for any indication of waning US support for the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its territory.
Xi’s visit will come to an end on Friday morning when the two presidents have tea at the White House and afterward visit the National Archives, where the US Declaration of Independence is kept.
