Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Washington for a three-day state visit, his first to the US capital in more than a decade. President Donald Trump broke with protocol by personally greeting Xi on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland instead of waiting at the White House. US media reported it was the first time in about 11 years that a sitting president had welcomed a foreign leader at the base. The two leaders and their wives exchanged handshakes on a red carpet, followed by a gun salute, military music and a flyover by a B-1 bomber. The visit is expected to include a formal White House military ceremony, a state dinner attended by leading technology executives and a stop at the National Archives.
As Xi landed, the Trump administration announced that both sides had agreed to extend an 11-month trade truce that has shielded them from steep tariffs, which had been due to lapse on November 10. Talks are expected to span trade, technology, rare-earth minerals, security and the status of Taiwan. The US war with Iran is also likely to feature, given Beijing’s position as a major buyer of Iranian oil and its interest in stable Gulf energy flows. Washington has also reportedly been preparing to pitch a US-China communication channel on artificial intelligence. Despite the warm ceremonial welcome, both governments remain wary as they compete for economic and strategic influence worldwide.
Relations had soured after Washington imposed heavy tariffs on Chinese goods and Beijing retaliated. The summit matters for India too, since any US-China thaw on trade and technology could reshape supply-chain strategies and the regional balance in the Indo-Pacific. The outcome will be closely watched by markets already rattled by high crude prices and geopolitical uncertainty.