Trump welcomes China's Xi to Washington with planeside ceremony and
extension of trade truce
[September 24, 2026]
By MICHELLE L. PRICE and DIDI TANG
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington on
Wednesday, where he was met with a rare planeside greeting from
President Donald Trump after their top officials agreed to extend a
trade truce until January.
Trump's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the extension of the
truce — under which the countries agreed to scale back tariffs and
refrain from imposing new trade restrictions — during a Fox News Channel
interview as Trump welcomed Xi at Joint Base Andrews just outside
Washington.
“I don’t know whether a bigger deal can be done. I don’t know whether we
will just roll the current deal,” Bessent said in the interview, noting
the extension to Jan. 10 could give the leaders more time to talk about
the issues at upcoming international summits in China in November and
Florida in December.
Trade has been one of the biggest flashpoints between the two
superpowers, along with artificial intelligence, Trump’s war with Iran
and China’s designs on Taiwan. But much of Xi's three-day visit is
expected to be far more about pomp than substance, starting with Trump’s
decision to greet Xi as he landed, rather than waiting for him to drive
up to the White House.
A 100-foot (30 meter) long red carpet was unfurled at the bottom of the
staircase placed at the door of Xi's plane. A 21-person honor guard was
arrayed on the sides of the carpet and Trump and first lady Melania
Trump stood near a staircase on the side of the plane, where they
greeted Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, with handshakes.
The welcome ceremony also included a flyover by two B-1 bombers,
platoons from each military service, and a presentation of the flags and
anthems of both countries. Trump and his wife spoke to their
counterparts, but their words could not be heard. Trump, who wore gloves
and an overcoat though it was a relatively warm 63 degrees Fahrenheit
(17 degrees Celsius) outside, removed one of his gloves to shake hands
with Xi. At one point, he slapped Xi on the back and said something to
him that was inaudible.
“I think they appreciate it, tremendous people,” Trump told reporters
after he returned to the White House Wednesday evening.
In a statement marking his arrival in the U.S., China’s leader wrote
that his country and the U.S. “should be partners, not rivals. Achieving
the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great
again can go hand in hand and the two countries can contribute to each
other’s success, thereby benefiting the wider world.”
Some Republicans have questioned the optics of the visit
Beyond using the visit to try to keep “strategic stability” between the
two countries, Trump has lavished praise on Xi as a “great leader” and
described a warm relationship with the man he has called a friend. That
is all while he has given Xi a pass on many issues.
Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee,
criticized the “lavish welcome.” Wicker, R-Miss., said during a speech
Tuesday in the Senate that Trump should not have invited the Chinese
leader “based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi
and the Chinese Communist Party.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. and China must interact at
the highest levels because the countries are “the two largest economies
in the world” and “probably the two most powerful militaries in the
world.”
Danny Russel, a former U.S. diplomat under former President Barack
Obama's administration, said the airport pomp delivered a propaganda win
for Beijing.
“Such extreme deference is valuable evidence that China’s leader is now
held in extraordinarily high esteem by the President of the United
States. Beijing uses this at home and internationally to show China’s —
and Xi’s — growing stature,” said Russel, now at the Asia Society Policy
Institute.
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President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump greet Chinese
President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan as they arrive at
Joint Base Andrews, Md., Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark
Schiefelbein)
China had hoped for a longer extension of the trade truce
China had wanted a longer extension of the trade truce, which had
been set to expire on Nov. 10. “It underscores that the United
States is still concerned about China’s full implementation of its
commitments under the truce, particularly with respect to critical
mineral exports and agricultural purchases,” said Wendy Cutler, a
former U.S. trade negotiator and now senior vice president at the
Asia Society Policy Institute.
The tight timeframe gives the U.S. a chance to test whether China
will deliver on unmet promises to buy U.S. farm goods, said Craig
Singleton, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies. “This is less about buying two months of calm than
making China earn the next extension,” he said.
Trump has not yet commented on the extension. The two leaders are
expected to talk about issues of substance more on Thursday, after
an arrival ceremony at the White House and a review of troops.
Later, they will exchange toasts at a black-tie dinner, which will
feature tech industry leaders like Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and
SpaceX’s Elon Musk.
Trump to welcome Xi with ‘the most respect’
Trump has made it clear he wants to wow Xi, telling reporters in
recent weeks that he was delighted his new “work of art” helicopter
landing pad would be ready for the visit while bemoaning that his
massive White House ballroom would not.
“I wish we had it for tomorrow night," Trump said again Wednesday.
Trump on Wednesday was looking to match the pageantry he was met
with in China earlier this year. Xi was not at the airport to meet
Trump — Chinese Vice President Han Zheng was there instead. But a
red carpet was rolled out to meet Air Force One in Beijing. A
military honor guard, a military band and about 300 Chinese youths
waving Chinese and American flags and chanting, “Welcome, welcome!
Warm welcome!” also were present.
The first lady said earlier Wednesday that her husband decided to
personally greet Xi when he arrived in the Washington region because
“they have a great relationship.”
“He’s coming on our soil, and we need to welcome them with the most
respect,” she said of Xi and his wife during an interview on Fox
News Channel’s “Fox & Friends.”
The long red carpet recalled a similar extra-long one the U.S. laid
out for Russian President Vladimir Putin when he touched down at a
U.S. Air Force base in Alaska last summer for a summit aimed at
trying to find an end to Russia's war in Ukraine.
On Friday, Xi and Peng will be back at the White House for a private
tea with the Trumps before joining them on a tour of the National
Archives in Washington. The White House has said they will view
historic documents underscoring the relationship between the two
countries.
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Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Will Weissert and
Collin Binkley contributed to this report.
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