US President Donald Trump welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday for a lavish state summit expected to be heavy on symbolism but light on substance, with both leaders keen to showcase stable ties despite a deep underlying rivalry.
It will be the year’s second meeting of the leaders of the two biggest economies, but Xi’s first visit to Washington in more than a decade.
Trump greeted Xi on arrival on Wednesday evening, the first time a US president has welcomed a foreign leader at Joint Base Andrews in 11 years, when President Barack Obama welcomed Pope Francis in 2015, according to C-SPAN, which tracks presidential events.
In a statement on arrival carried by China’s Xinhua news agency, Xi voiced hope for a more stable relationship with the United States, saying Beijing and Washington should be “partners, not rivals” and that the “historical logic of peaceful coexistence” between the two countries had not changed.
For Trump, who relishes ceremony and prizes his ties with powerful leaders, the visit is as much a matter of national prestige as an opportunity for high-stakes diplomacy.
The US president aims to reciprocate the grand welcome he received in China in May and impress Xi with a ceremony spanning the White House South Lawn, State Floor and Rose Garden.
Major breakthroughs are not expected.
Analysts say tangible outcomes are likely to be limited to an extension of a trade truce expiring in November and an agreement to examine threats posed by artificial intelligence.
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