China26 September, 20262 min read
Xi Jinping Arrives In Washington With Hongqi N701 Armoured Red Flag Limousine
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Xi Jinping conducted a state visit to Washington, with White House engagements reported. The White House disclosed few concrete achievements from the visit.
Red Flag in Washington
President Xi Jinping arrived for a state visit to Washington, and Beijing brought the Hongqi N701, a heavily armoured state limousine described as an 18-foot rolling declaration. The Hongqi N701 is a custom-build vehicle with exact specifications classified, and it is believed to weigh more than three tons and feature armour, bullet-resistant glass, run-flat tyres, secure communications and protection against contaminated air.
The symbolism was hard to miss because “Hongqi” means Red Flag, and it framed the vehicle as a counterpart to the US Presidential limousine, the Beast. The N701 made its public appearance in Hong Kong in 2022 and has since travelled with Xi to places including Russia, France, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea and India, where it was brought to transport Xi for the BRICS meeting.
First ladies at Smithsonian
First lady Melania Trump and first lady of China Peng Liyuan toured the Smithsonian’s National Museum Of Asian Art in Washington during a high-profile diplomatic visit. AP said the first ladies visited the Peacock Room, a gilded green, blue and gold dining room that was once housed in a London mansion before opening to the public in Washington in 1923.
AP reported that the first ladies also paused to look at a stone disk from ancient China, along with “Princess from the Land of Porcelain,” an oil painting by Whistler hanging in the Peacock Room and featuring a kimono-clad woman standing and holding a fan. AP quoted Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, saying, “They definitely add to the grandiosity and the symbolic significance of this trip,” as every interaction between the first ladies was scrutinized for clues about the standing between their countries.
Diplomacy, AI dialogue, and Taiwan
Xi Jinping on Friday wrapped up his first visit to the White House in over a decade, and the White House said little about what had been achieved during the visit on Thursday and Friday.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Nancy Cordes, “I wouldn't say anything new,” adding that the AI dialogue with the Chinese was “an opportunity” and that the sides could share “risks or other things.”
U.S. ambassador to China David Perdue insisted there is “no change” in the United States' policy toward Taiwan and said the United States is “committed to the Taiwan Relations Act, the three communiques, and the six assurances.”
Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump agreed on Friday to jointly build a constructive, stable, strategic relationship based on respect, fairness, and reciprocity.