WASHINGTON – Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in the United States for a three-day visit, receiving a red-carpet ceremonial welcome from US President Donald Trump at a military base in Maryland.
Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed Xi and his wife at Joint Base Andrews, where a 100-foot-long red carpet was laid out for the visiting Chinese leader.
The ceremony included a 21-gun salute, performances of the national anthems of the United States and China, and a military flypast. The scale of the reception was described as going beyond the usual protocol for a visiting foreign leader.
An unprecedented arrival ceremony 🇨🇳🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Dhk3Erc18P
— Mao Ning 毛宁 (@SpoxCHN_MaoNing) September 24, 2026
According to C-SPAN, it was the first time in 11 years that a US president had welcomed a foreign leader at Joint Base Andrews.
The previous such occasion was in 2015, when then-President Barack Obama welcomed Pope Francis at the Maryland military base.
Xi’s arrival marked his first visit to the United States in nearly three years. During the welcoming ceremony, Trump and Xi exchanged smiles, shook hands and spoke briefly before departing separately for Washington, DC.
The two leaders are scheduled to hold their formal meetings on Thursday.
