The unusual planeside welcome opened a high-profile visit featuring White House talks, military honors and a state dinner.
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MD — President Donald Trump personally welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday evening, an unusual presidential airport greeting that opened Xi’s state visit to Washington amid persistent tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump met Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, after the Chinese leader arrived at the military installation outside Washington on Sept. 23. U.S. Air Force imagery showed the two couples taking part in the welcome before Xi continued into Washington. The reception marked the start of a visit built around diplomacy and elaborate ceremonial events as the United States and China try to manage disagreements over trade, technology and international security.
A U.S. president typically receives a visiting foreign leader at the White House rather than traveling to an airport to meet the leader’s plane. Trump’s decision to go to Joint Base Andrews therefore gave Xi’s arrival added diplomatic significance. The White House had announced before the visit that Trump would greet Xi and Peng at the base, making the welcome part of the official program rather than an unscheduled encounter.
The airport meeting was only the opening stage of a broader state visit. On Thursday, Trump and the first lady welcomed Xi and Peng to the White House for a formal arrival program. The schedule included national anthems, remarks by the two presidents, military demonstrations and a military review. The White House said 479 members of the U.S. armed forces were involved in the state arrival ceremony.
Trump and Xi then moved into talks at the White House. Trade and the flow of rare earth materials were among the issues U.S. officials had said would be discussed, along with artificial intelligence. The talks came as Washington and Beijing continued to manage a complicated relationship in which extensive commercial ties exist alongside competition over technology, security and global influence. The two governments have sought to prevent those disputes from producing a broader confrontation even as major policy differences remain unresolved.
The visit is Xi’s first to Washington in more than a decade. Trump said Thursday that although the two leaders had met in several other locations, including China and Florida, they had not previously met at the White House during Trump’s presidency. Xi previously made a state visit to Washington during President Barack Obama’s administration in 2015.
During opening remarks Thursday, Trump emphasized his personal relationship with Xi and described their friendship in warm terms. Xi, meanwhile, said the United States and China should avoid conflict and confrontation and find a way for the two major powers to coexist. Their comments offered a cooperative public tone despite the substantial economic and strategic disputes separating their governments.
The ceremonial program continued with a military review in the White House Rose Garden. The White House said the events were to include performances by military units and a flyover featuring a B-2 Spirit bomber and four F-22 Raptors. Melania Trump and Peng also had a separate cultural program that included a visit to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.
The visit comes as trade remains one of the most immediate issues between Washington and Beijing. U.S. and Chinese officials have spent much of the period leading to the summit trying to manage tariff disputes and other economic restrictions. Critical minerals and rare earth supplies have also become important points in the relationship because of their role in manufacturing and advanced technology. Artificial intelligence adds another area of competition as both countries seek advantages in technologies with major economic and national security implications.
The two governments also remain divided on broader geopolitical questions, including Taiwan and their approaches to international conflicts. The formal welcome did not erase those disputes, but the visit gave Trump and Xi a chance to address them directly while presenting a public image of continued high-level engagement between Washington and Beijing.
Xi’s state visit was scheduled to continue with a White House state dinner Thursday evening. The White House also planned events Friday, including tea at the White House and a visit by the two presidential couples to the National Archives before Trump and the first lady bid farewell to Xi and Peng.
Author note: Last updated September 24, 2026.