USA · updated 45m ago · 2 min read
Trump Greets Xi Jinping on Airport Tarmac as Trade Truce Extends Through January 10
Trump greets Xi on the Andrews tarmac with a 100-foot red carpet. Three-day visit covers trade and AI; truce extended to January 10.
15 outlets told this the same way.
7 of 8 outlets skipped it: trade truce extension via Treasury talks through January 10.
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Xi arrives, Trump greets
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in the United States on Wednesday, and U.S. President Donald Trump greeted him on the airport tarmac instead of waiting for him to arrive at the White House.
Trump and First Lady Melania were at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington for a welcome ceremony for Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan, as the state visit began a three-day program.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that Washington and Beijing agreed to extend their trade truce by two months, through January 10, after it was due to expire on November 10.
Trump’s greeting broke normal protocol, with a 100-foot-long red carpet rolled out on the tarmac beside Xi’s plane at the Maryland military base that hosts Air Force One.
Xi will be greeted personally by Trump at Andrews Air Force Base on the eve of a White House state dinner and a military flyover.
AI, trade, Taiwan
AI, trade and Taiwan are expected to be on the agenda for the leaders of the global superpowers during the three-day trip. Senator Bernie Sanders wrote on X that “For the sake of all humanity, Trump and Xi must negotiate a treaty NOW to pause AI and ban superintelligence before it's too late.” David Sacks described Trump’s planned welcome as “really unprecedented,” saying it was “not something afforded to any US ally,” much less an adversary like China.
Reuters said the two sides are at odds on issues ranging from Taiwan to narcotics and rare-earth minerals, while it also said talks could yield deals to lower tariffs in specific sectors and expand military-to-military dialogue. The United States proposed establishing a mutual notification mechanism for incidents related to AI tools going out of control, as part of what it called the “US-China dialogue on AI.”
What the visit could change
Scott Bessent told Fox News that he and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng agreed to extend a trade truce set to expire on November 10 by two months, through January 10. The Council on Foreign Relations said Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet twice more in 2026, including on the margins of the APEC leaders’ meeting in Shenzhen, China, and at the G20 summit at the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort in Florida. The New York Times said Trump has repeatedly found ways to give Xi “a pass,” portraying him more as a personal friend than as a competitor.
Reuters said a state dinner on Thursday is expected to bring together chiefs of companies important in both markets, including Apple’s Tim Cook, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and OpenAI’s Sam Altman. Xi’s trip ends on Friday and includes lavish dinners, private tours and performances, with U.S. negotiators expected to continue talks with Chinese counterparts in Washington on Wednesday after Xi’s arrival.