Donald Trump went to great lengths to accommodate Chinese leader Xi Jinping due to alleged physical troubles and lack of stamina during his visit to Washington, according to a new report.
The President appeared to get along famously with the Communist Chinese President during his time in DC, which included a glamorous State Dinner for the leader and his wife, Peng Liyuan.
But it has now emerged that behind the scenes a string of unusual requests by President Xi, 73, drained valuable time from the summit, Wall Street Journal reported.
The accommodations reportedly centered around the premier’s need for rest and his physical problems amid rampant speculation about his health.
Those familiar with the planning of the summit said it was largely built around how much Xi could physically stand and walk.
Chinese officials also reportedly asked for Xi to be given a private ‘hold room’ in the West Wing for him to take rest breaks between events, where only his wife was allowed to stay with him.
The room request was described by former senior China director at the National Security Council Dennis Wilder as ‘unusual’ and completely unprecedented.
Xi’s need for rest forced the cancelation of a working lunch with Trump on September 24 that left them with a five-hour void in his two-day visit.
Donald Trump’s White House went to great lengths to accommodate Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s alleged physical troubles and lack of stamina during his visit to Washington, according to a new report
The President threw a glamorous State Dinner for the leader and his wife, Peng Liyuan, however it has since emerged Xi had a number of ‘unusual’ requests during his stay reportedly centered around his health needs
Trump and Xi previously held a similar meeting when the President visited Beijing this past May.
Xi also did nothing outside the working summit on the evening he arrived and zoomed through a trip to the National Archives in ten minutes, despite US officials preparing for a longer stay.
Eagle-eyed viewers watching his descent from his plane on arrival in DC were quick to point out that he appeared to tightly clutch his wife’s hand, as if needing extra support on the stairs.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House and a spokesperson for President Xi for comment.
It is not the first time the Chinese leader has been dogged by rumors about his health, with many speculating over the years that he has suffered a heart attack, been diagnosed with cancer and survived a stroke.
Last month during the BRICS summit, conspiracy theories spread after a video appeared to show Indian PM Narendra Modi pause a speech to check on the wellbeing of his Chinese counterpart.
The footage shows Modi stopping his opening speech at the BRICS summit and turning towards President Xi after a commotion appeared to catch his attention.
‘Is it okay?’ Modi repeatedly asks the translator accompanying the Chinese leader, as several people appearing to be aides or members of staff are seen rushing towards him.
Viewers watching his descent from his plane on arrival in DC were quick to point out that he appeared to tightly clutch his wife’s hand, as if needing extra support on the stairs
Xi has been fending off speculation about his health since before his presidency
Later in the day, President Xi skipped the gala dinner hosted by Modi for leaders of the BRICS nations – where ally Vladimir Putin was also in attendance – spurring commentary about his ill health.
It later emerged that the exchange at the summit was because Xi’s translator earpiece had broken.
However, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, he skipped the gala because he was unwell, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi attending in his place.
Theories previously reached a peak in 2012, after President Xi mysteriously disappeared for two weeks when he was still the country’s vice-president – fueling rumors he had potentially been the subject of an attempted assassination.
In July 2024, a photo of the Chinese leader supposedly wincing in pain went viral on social media, with people claiming that he had suffered a stroke.
It turned out the image was taken from four months before, and the Chinese president was merely reacting to something he had drunk while at the National People’s Congress.
In September 2025, a hot mic caught Putin discussing immortality during a summit with President Xi and Kim Jong Un in Beijing to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
The pair were heard chatting about the possibility of achieving immortality with organ transplants and advanced medical procedures.
President Trump and First Lady Melania, welcome China President XI Jinping and his wife, First Lady Peng Liyuan to the White House for an Official State Arrival
Even before Xi became president, his health was a popular topic of speculation in the country, particularly among critics of the communist regime.
This is despite the fact that the high level of internet censorship in China means that anything deemed a criticism of President Xi or the Chinese Communist Party is blocked or immediately removed.
Leaders’ health is typically considered a state secret in China.
Trump pulled out all the stops for his visit with Xi as the two spent much of his time discussing the toughest issues facing their nations.
The dramatic spectacle began the moment the Chinese president and his wife touched down at Joint Base Andrews.
As the leaders stood on the tarmac alongside rows of soldiers positioned in front of F-35 fighter jets and Air Force One, a screaming flyover shattered the air overhead.
The deafening roar caught Trump off guard, causing him to visibly wince while a stoic, stone-faced Xi didn’t even flinch.
Breaking more than a decade of presidential protocol, the Trumps personally greeted the Chinese delegation on the tarmac – marking the first time a sitting US president has met a foreign leader at an airport in over 11 years.
Thursday night’s lavish black-tie State Dinner in the historic East Room of the White House stands as one of the most star-studded evenings of the administration, offering a glitzy opportunity to smooth over notoriously fierce geopolitical friction with the Asian superpower
Accommodations allegedly included a separate room in the West Wing where Xi could rest which was only accessible to his wife
A grinning Trump also celebrated an immediate PR win when Xi announced Beijing is sending two giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, to Zoo Atlanta within days, continuing the famous ‘panda diplomacy’ tradition sparked by Richard Nixon’s 1972 trip.
That was followed by the State Dinner, a lavish black-tie affair in the historic East Room that stands as one of the most star-studded evenings of the administration, offering a glitzy opportunity to smooth over notoriously fierce geopolitical friction with the superpower.
Trump heaped praise on Xi, with whom he says he has developed a ‘truly great friendship’ over his decade in politics.
However, the two nations remain divided on the war in Iran and are still grappling to find common ground on trade and how to best navigate the jarring advances of artificial intelligence.
Trump had made clear he wanted to impress Xi with the visit.
The Republican President made sure construction of a new helicopter landing pad on the White House’s South Lawn was completed before the visit and he met Xi and his wife on Wednesday evening when they flew into Joint Base Andrews outside Washington.
The Daily Mail contacted Xi’s office for comment.
