Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited the United States for the first time in 11 years. The US President Donald Trump met him in person, and the United States announced that it was continuing its trade truce with China.
This is reported by The Guardian, Bloomberg, Reuters and BBC.
Trump gave the Chinese leader an unusually lavish welcome, with a 100-foot red carpet rolled out at the airport, a US Air Force band performing, and a flyover of military aircraft accompanying his arrival. The US presidents typically greet foreign leaders at the White House, but Trump and first lady Melania Trump traveled to a military base in Maryland, near Washington, to personally shake hands with Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan.
The last time a US president welcomed a world leader other than the Pope to Joint Base Andrews was in 1962, when John F. Kennedy met then-Prime Minister of Great Britain Harold Macmillan, whose country is a longtime ally and fought alongside America in two world wars.
Social media is already buzzing with a moment from the meeting, when Trump visibly flinched at the sound of a US military plane flying overhead. Xi remained unfazed, as did both menʼs wives. The clip was not included in the edited version of the video released by Trump aides.
Around the same time that Xiʼs plane landed in the United States, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reported that he and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifen had agreed to extend until January 10 a so-called trade truce between the countries.
Trade is expected to be the main topic of the talks between Trump and Xi. Media sources believe that the talks could lead to agreements to reduce some tariffs and combat drug trafficking, as well as to expand military-to-military dialogue. Trump is also expected to push for the release of Americans and others detained in China.
Experts believe that Trump will seek to agree to increase imports of Chinese rare earth minerals and exports of US agricultural products.
Suspilne writes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on the eve of this visit that he had asked President Trump during negotiations with Xi Jinping to urge him to influence Vladimir Putin to end the war or at least de-escalate it.
The visit will conclude on Friday, September 25, with a historic event at the National Archives building, where Trump and Xi will review important documents, including those of “significance to US-China relations”. It is there that Xi Jinping is expected to pressure Trump to stop selling arms to Taiwan. In return, China offers to help pressure Iran.
- This is the second meeting between the leaders of the United States and China this year. The US President Donald Trump, along with a delegation, was on an official visit to China from May 13 to 15 — his first in 9 years.
- At that meeting, the parties agreed that the Strait of Hormuz should be opened to the passage of ships carrying energy resources. In addition, Trump said that China would buy oil from the United States and purchase 200 Boeing aircraft. The countries also agreed to reduce tariffs.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.