Trump greets Chinas Xi at airport in historic move to kick off high-stakes DC visit
WASHINGTON — President Trump personally welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the US on Wednesday evening as the leaders kicked off three days of state visit events expected to pair pageantry with talks on contentious matters.Trump, joined by first lady Melania Trump, made the unusual decision to greet Xi at the airport — a gesture not made by Xi when Trump visited Beijing in May.The US president stood at the bottom of the steps and shook Xi’s hand as he arrived in the American capital.US military members rolled out a literal red carpet for Xi after his plane touched down at Joint Base Andrews shortly before 6 p.m.Six F-16s and six F-22s were lined up on the tarmac, showcasing US military might.The visit is expected to touch on a wide range of tensions in the US-China relationship, including tariffs, fentanyl exports, artificial intelligence and Beijing’s role in conflicts ranging from Iran to Ukraine.Trump has repeatedly said he believes a strong personal relationship between the leaders and notch benefits for the American people, though it’s unclear what concrete agreements may come.Xi’s dinner will feature a state dinner at the White House on Thursday — with the US leader likely to show off his recent renovations, including a new granite helipad with the presidential seal and an enormous ballroom with concrete walls now protruding from the site of the former East Wing.The relationship between Trump and Xi has had ups and downs, featuring warm in-person greetings but souring during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and during last year’s US-China trade war.Trump, seeking to force a new trade deal that rebalances the US trade deficit and to punish China’s export of illicit fentanyl, ramped up tariffs on China last year and Xi retaliated in kind.The trade clash saw US tariffs on Chinese goods near 150% — before a cooling off following a meeting last October meeting between Trump and Xi in South Korea, where Xi agreed to do more to quash fentanyl ...