Donald Trump has received a spectacular state welcome from China‘s president Xi Jinping, treated to imperial pomp rarely afforded a US president as goose-stepping honor guards greeted him in Beijing.
The President shook hands warmly with Xi, patting his hand as they chatted briefly on the steps to the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square.
Trump, dressed in his signature suit and red tie, was greeted by members of Xi’s cabinet outside the Great Hall.
The US President then introduced Xi to members of his own cabinet including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Trump was given the full VIP package as military brass bands played fanfares and troops in full decorative dress marched in front of the US and Chinese presidents as they stood together on a podium.
The President was given thundering canon salutes throughout the ceremony and smiled broadly as he saluted the troops.
Xi then guided Trump up the stairs to the Great Hall, pausing on the way to the top as Xi pointed out the Beijing landmarks which surround Tiananmen Square.
The pair finally entered the Great Hall after around 20 minutes, with the US cabinet secretaries, officials and business executives filing in behind.
Trump is traveling with a delegation that includes his son Eric and daughter-in-law Lara, and Silicon Valley bosses Elon Musk of Tesla and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang.
It is Trump’s first meeting with Xi since the Iran war erupted on February 28.
Following Trump’s arrival at the Great Hall of the People, adjacent to Tiananmen Square, the two Presidents will buckle down for a roughly two hour bilateral meeting.
The President is expected to press Xi to lean on Tehran to accept a ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while Xi is widely expected to push for tariff relief and access to American-designed AI chips.
The summit was originally slated for March but was postponed when the war broke out.
Reports indicate that Xi has a very limited command over the English language, and Trump does not know mandarin, so their back-and-forth was more for show than substance.
Leading the two largest economies globally, Trump and Xi have a lot to hammer out in their two days together.
On Wednesday, Trump called on Xi to ‘open up’ his economy further to US businesses; a large cohort of 17 US CEOs were invited to the White House to act as economic negotiators to iron out roadblocks preventing further investment.
The President arrived late Wednesday evening local time in the Chinese capital before heading to his hotel for rest.
