US President Donald Trump will personally greet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews when Xi lands in Washington next Wednesday, a rare airport reception, a US official confirmed on background.
Trump will attend Xi’s arrival ceremony at Andrews, where the Chinese president’s aircraft is expected around 4pm local time on September 23. The president almost never meets visiting heads of state at the airfield. He typically waits at the White House.
The gesture is not a perfect mirror of what Trump received in Beijing a few months ago. When Air Force One landed at Beijing Capital International Airport on May 13, Xi did not come to the tarmac.
Vice-President Han Zheng led the reception, joined by ambassadors and senior foreign ministry officials, along with an honour guard, a band, and flag-waving youth. Xi’s formal welcome came the next day outside the Great Hall of the People, with a military review Trump later called “incredible”.
Airport greetings by a sitting Chinese president are themselves uncommon. Xi has not made a habit of meeting foreign leaders on the runway.
Washington is pairing the airport honour with a full state arrival ceremony. White House pool guidance circulated this week lists a “State Arrival Ceremony and Welcome” by Trump for Xi on Wednesday, September 23.
An honour guard has been rehearsing at the White House since Tuesday. Troops in ceremonial dress have been drilling on the driveway and lawn in a formation meant to echo the pageantry Trump received in Beijing.
A newly completed granite helicopter pad on the South Lawn was rushed to be ready for the visit. Trump has said he wanted the pad finished in time for Xi. His unfinished US$400 million ballroom will not be.
The trip is the return half of the May state visit. At a Beijing banquet on May 14, Trump invited Xi and Peng Liyuan to the White House on September 24.
After arrival on the 23rd, the core of the summit will take place on the 24th and Xi’s departure on the 25th. Xi is not expected to participate in the UN General Assembly in New York, happening at the same time.
September 24 is expected to include bilateral meetings and a formal state dinner.
On Thursday, First Lady Melania Trump posted a short video of the table settings being prepared, with the caption “THE WHITE HOUSE STATE DINNER” and the line that every detail had been considered “for our distinguished guests”.
The clip showed crystal glassware, floral arrangements, a place card for “The President”, and a printed welcome from the President and Mrs Trump “on the occasion of the visit of His Excellency Xi Jinping”, with Peng also named.
Apple Executive Chairman Tim Cook, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang are among US executives reported as likely dinner guests.
Beijing is assembling its own business entourage. The grouping is expected to parallel the coterie of chief executives Trump took to Beijing in May and could signal room for investment deals at the summit.
The South China Morning Post earlier reported that executives from electric vehicle maker BYD and smart manufacturing giant Xiaomi are likely to accompany Xi.
Sources familiar with the planning say some limited sightseeing may be added around the official programme, though Beijing and the White House have not published a public hour-by-hour itinerary. China typically confirms travel details only days in advance.
The protocol burst comes as both sides try to lock down the agenda. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by phone on Thursday.
According to a Chinese readout, they focused on high-level exchanges, preparing the next phase of leader-to-leader contact, and the principle of equality, respect, and mutual benefit. They also discussed the Middle East.
The call follows earlier Wang and Rubio contacts in late June and a lengthy meeting in Manila in July that Rubio said was largely about laying groundwork for a “very positive visit”.
Separately, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is due to meet Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng this weekend. US media reported that the meeting will take place in New York.
Bessent told Congress that the talks would continue private discussions on trade, rare earths, Iran-related financial sanctions, and artificial intelligence, and would carry into Xi’s state visit. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
