US President Donald Trump has personally welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington for a three-day state visit, as the two countries agreed to extend their trade truce until January.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump waited at the foot of the aircraft steps as Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, landed at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on the evening of September 23. According to C-SPAN, it was the first time in 11 years that a US president had greeted a foreign leader at the base.
The ceremony featured a military band, cannon fire and a B-1 bomber flyover, Al Jazeera reported. It is the second summit between the two leaders this year, after Trump travelled to Beijing on May 14-15.
Hours before the landing, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News the truce agreed in Busan, South Korea, in October 2025 would be extended from November 10 to January 10. Under the deal, both sides scaled back tariffs and undertook not to impose new trade restrictions.
“I don’t know whether a bigger deal can be done,” Bessent said. He added the extra time could allow the leaders to continue talks at summits in China in November and Florida in December.
Beijing had sought a longer extension, according to AP. Former US trade negotiator Wendy Cutler said the short window reflected Washington’s concerns over China’s commitments on critical mineral exports and purchases of American farm goods.
In a written statement carried by the State-run Xinhua news agency, Xi said the two countries should be partners rather than rivals. He added that China’s national rejuvenation and making America great again could go hand in hand.
Trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan and the war with Iran are expected to dominate the talks. The two leaders are due to meet in the Oval Office today, ahead of a state dinner at the White House this evening.
The visit is due to end on September 25 with tea at the White House and a stop at the National Archives, which houses the original Declaration of Independence.
The welcome has drawn criticism from within Trump’s own party. In a Senate floor speech on September 22, Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he would have advised the President against inviting Xi on such terms.
Wicker described his guest as a “brutal, unelected and oppressive dictator”. White House deputy press secretary Taylor Rogers replied that the senator’s opinion was “wrong”.
The summit is being closely watched in Brussels. Xi declined to travel to the European Union for the July 2025 EU-China summit, and the EU goods trade deficit with China reached about €360 billion in 2025, Brussels Signal has reported.
