Xi's Beijing airport welcome

President Trump plans to personally greet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews when Xi's plane lands around 4pm on September 23 - an unusual gesture, since Trump typically waits to receive visiting leaders at the White House rather than the airfield. It's a partial echo of, but not an exact match for, the reception Trump received in Beijing in May, when Vice-President Han Zheng rather than Xi met Air Force One at the airport, with Xi's formal welcome - including a military review Trump later called 'incredible' - coming the next day outside the Great Hall of the People.

As it ran

24 September 2026

• Xi calls for cooperation with US after Trump’s airport welcome – as it happened South China Morning Post

17 September 2026

• Breaking | Xi to get what Trump didn’t in Beijing: a presidential airport welcome South China Morning Post
• Xi to get what Trump didn’t in Beijing: a presidential airport welcome South China Morning Post