Donald Trump Greets Xi Jinping at Andrews, a Welcome He Didn't Get in Beijing

President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday, a courtesy Xi did not offer him in Beijing in May, France 24 reported. Trump brushed the difference aside. "I thought it was a great little meeting, a great greeting, and I think they appreciate it," he told reporters at the White House afterward.

The Washington Post called the tarmac greeting unusual for a visiting head of state and a sign of how much Trump wants to court the Chinese leader.

Why it matters

The greeting opens a state visit that France 24 said is expected to deliver more spectacle than substance. Analysts told France 24 that the ceremony is mainly meant to keep an uneasy peace between the two rival powers intact. It comes as China hawks in Trump's own party object to the reception and as the Iran war weighs on his standing at home.

Joint Base Andrews Tarmac, B-1 Bombers and the Kennedy Precedent

France 24 reported that officials rolled out a red carpet and the two couples shook hands after Xi came down from his plane. Trump, in a long coat and gloves, stood beside Xi as the anthems played, and the roar of two B-1 bombers made the 80-year-old president grimace while Xi did not react.

The last U.S. president to greet a foreign leader at Andrews, apart from papal visits, was John F. Kennedy in 1962, France 24 reported.

The visit, the third between the two leaders since Trump returned to office, includes a formal welcome with another flyover, Oval Office talks and a White House state banquet on Thursday.

Iran War, Scott Bessent Trade Truce and AI on the Agenda

Trump confirmed Wednesday that Iran will come up, after earlier playing down reports that Beijing was supplying Tehran with intelligence, France 24 reported. "I'll be talking about that and many other subjects – but it's all coming along well, including that," he said when a reporter asked whether he would raise it.

On trade, Bessent announced after pre-summit talks that the "economic detente" would run past its Nov. 10 deadline to Jan. 10, extending the truce negotiators were still haggling over as Xi landed. France 24 reported that no Chinese CEOs are in Xi's delegation, while top U.S. tech bosses, including leaders of major AI companies, are set to attend the banquet.

Artificial intelligence is expected to dominate the summit. Preliminary talks Sunday between Bessent and his Chinese counterpart, He Lifeng, included discussion of a communication channel for AI concerns, France 24 reported.

Roger Wicker's 'Dictator' Rebuke and Donald Trump's Approval Rating

The reception drew criticism from China hawks in Trump's party amid reports that Beijing supplied Iran with intelligence for attacks on U.S. troops, France 24 reported. "Our commander-in-chief should keep in mind that his guest is a brutal, unelected and oppressive dictator," said Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, in a rebuke of the reception.

France 24 reported that the visit also lets Trump focus on pageantry rather than problems at home, where the Iran war's effect on fuel prices has pushed his approval to historic lows ahead of November's midterms. PolitiKool's polling average has Trump at 37.8 percent approve and 59.4 percent disapprove.