President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the United States on Wednesday evening with a rare planeside greeting at the tarmac of Joint Base Andrews. This unusual gesture, which is not typically extended to foreign heads of state, underscores Trump's desire to court the Chinese leader. Trump is the first American president to greet a Chinese leader on the tarmac in recent memory, opting to meet him outside Washington rather than receiving him at the executive residence.
The meeting kicks off Xi Jinping's first state visit in more than a decade and marks the second time the two leaders have met this year, following the Beijing summit in May. The visit will include three days of pageantry, featuring another flyover and a state banquet at the White House.
As the leaders meet, top issues including geopolitical instability and the race in artificial intelligence development loom large amid US-China distrust. The two are expected to discuss trade, AI, Taiwan, and Iran, although it remains unclear what specific goals President Trump hopes to accomplish during the meeting.