Xi Begins Three‑Day U.S. Visit as Trump Hosts Red‑Carpet Welcome and Trade Truce Is Extended
China’s President Xi Jinping arrived in the United States for a three‑day visit and was greeted by President Donald Trump with a red‑carpet ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base, where a B‑1 bomber flew overhead during the U.S. anthem. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said Washington and Beijing agreed to continue their trade ceasefire.
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping opened the Chinese leader’s three‑day visit to the United States with a showy welcome that mixed military hardware with a pause in trade tensions.
Xi landed at Andrews Air Force Base, where Trump and First Lady Melania Trump greeted him on the tarmac. A red carpet was laid out and U.S. aircraft framed the scene. During the playing of the American national anthem, a U.S. Air Force B‑1 bomber passed overhead, loud enough that Trump was described as slightly startled by the noise.
Behind the ceremony, officials moved to steady the economic relationship. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said the United States and China had agreed to extend their existing trade truce, maintaining a ceasefire that has held off new tariff escalations. The move buys time for negotiators and offers businesses more predictability in the near term.
The visit unfolds as security and technology frictions continue. Bloomberg reported that sensitive parts from an Australian Air Force F‑35 stealth aircraft, shipped via UPS from Australia to the United States, were diverted to Hong Kong for customs clearance, putting them temporarily under Chinese jurisdiction. The incident underscores U.S. concerns about exposure in critical supply chains for advanced military hardware.
The impact of Xi’s trip will be measured after he leaves Washington: whether the extended trade truce holds, whether there is any follow‑through on military and technology discussions behind closed doors, and whether either side shifts its stance on export controls or other pressure points that have defined the relationship in recent years.
Sources
- OSINT