WASHINGTON – He has accused China of hacking the US election and plundering its wealth, but President Donald Trump has showered visiting Chinese leader Xi Jinping with tributes and affection during their summit meeting this week at the White House. Trump met his Chinese counterpart on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, outside Washington on Wednesday, rather than waiting at the White House for an official greeting. It is the first time he has shown such courtesy to a visiting world leader. Trump rolled out a red carpet not once but twice for Xi. The leaders walked side by side down a 100-foot-long red carpet after Xi’s Air China plane landed in Andrews. Another red carpet was rolled out Thursday morning as Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, arrived at the White House for the first full day of the summit. In the evening, Trump feted Xi at a state dinner whose menu included sesame-crusted sea bass and braised bok choy, followed by a dessert of vanilla cream and honey ice cream. President Donald Trump with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, in 2025. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP – Getty Images Archive He gave his guest a statue of a bald eagle as a gift. All the pomp and ceremony may seem unusual given Trump’s past complaints that China has meddled in elections and exploited the United States through trade. Just two months ago, Trump gave a rare prime-time speech in which he claimed that China interfered in the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden. But Trump, who has long believed that personal relationships are key to managing geopolitical tensions, has set out to charm the Chinese leader. “From the moment of my first election in 2016, President Xi and I have forged a friendship — indeed, a truly great friendship — based on mutual respect and the vital interests of our people,” Trump said Thursday morning in joint public remarks. Xi did before holding a private meeting in the Oval Office. Xi struck a cordial tone in his remarks, saying he and Trump have developed a “personal relationship and have kept in touch.” 01:22 President Trump in historic meeting with China’s leader 00:0000:00 He also made an announcement that is sure to delight American children and anyone who has ever tuned into a panda-cam broadcast to take a respite from the pressures of life: China will soon be sending two giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu. Shang, to Zoo Atlanta, Xi said. In a rare rebuke from a member of Trump’s own party, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday in a Senate speech that, “frankly, if the White House had asked me for advice, I would have suggested to the president that he not invite Xi Jinping to Washington for such a lavish welcome here in the United States of America, based on all the troubling problems we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party.” China may also have helped Iran in the war with the United States. An F-15 fighter jet that was shot down over Iran in April was likely hit by a Chinese-made shoulder-launched missile, three people familiar with the matter told NBC News. And in the early days of the seven-month-old conflict, China may have given Iran radar capabilities to help detect stealth aircraft, according to one of the people and a U.S. official with knowledge of the matter. Honoring the leader of the world’s largest communist country may also undermine an argument Trump has made to discredit Democrats in the midterm elections. He has repeatedly warned that Democratic candidates would lead the United States in a communist direction if elected. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told NBC News on Thursday: “I personally look at the red carpet treatment and thought it was a little over the top.” John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, said in an interview that while he didn’t mind seeing Xi at a dinner, “I don’t think the president should believe his nonsense…” After the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, the Iranian regime exerted control over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route for oil supplies. Xi “could open that strait with a phone call, and in many ways he is helping Iran with military equipment and intelligence,” Kennedy said. “That guy learned to lie before he learned to talk.” China, which has criticized the US-Israel war against Iran and called for diplomatic negotiations, denies having supplied Iran with weapons or military equipment. No substantial progress is expected at the summit, foreign policy experts said. The two presidents were due to discuss trade, the Iran war and artificial intelligence, among other issues that have divided the United States and China. Trump entered the summit with a weakened posture, experts said, angered by the protracted war in Iran and the looming midterm elections in which his party could lose its slim majority. It lacks the clout to extract concessions from China, experts said. Mark Montgomery, a retired Navy admiral, said at a pre-summit event hosted by the FDD think tank: “We have a president who comes into this playing a weak hand. I’m not 100% sure President Trump knows he’s playing a weak hand. I’m 100% sure Leader Xi knows Trump is playing a weak hand.” an emergency arising from the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence technology, Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested in an interview on “Fox & Friends” this week. “It’s not a bad idea; it’s one we will explore with the Chinese, among others,” Rubio said. Along with the closed-door meetings, Trump made it a point to show off his prized White House projects. He took Xi outside to see the helipad he built on the South Lawn. Both men pointed towards the granite base. As the leaders walked past the press corps at one point, Trump said, “We had a great meeting.” He said Xi was “an expert in stone, apart from many other things, and he loves good granite.” Xi didn’t say anything. As he walked with Xi along the West Wing colonnade, Trump pointed to his “Presidential Walk of Fame”: photographs and biographical accounts of former presidents. He paused on Biden’s portrait, showing how he has mocked Biden by referring to him as an “Autopen,” the device presidents have used when they don’t have time to sign their own names on documents. A video clip released by the White House shows the two presidents laughing at Biden’s photo, with Trump giving Xi a friendly pat on the arm. Confronting Xi at this time may be difficult for Trump. Xi is president for life; Trump is a president who is at risk of losing his governing majority in Congress. His approval rating has reached its lowest level in his second term. One source of Xi’s influence is his mastery over rare earth materials, which are used in high-tech manufacturing. Last year, Trump slapped China with heavy tariffs, sparking a trade war. Trump has long complained that China’s trade policies have stripped the United States of wealth. A White House statement in April 2025, linked to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, said Chinese practices “have given China global dominance in key manufacturing industries, decimating American industry.” But China’s dominance over rare earth supplies has proven to be an effective countermeasure, a resource the Trump administration cannot afford to lose. The two sides agreed to a trade truce last year, and on Wednesday agreed to extend it by two months, from Nov. 10 to Jan. 10. Viewers who wanted to watch the summit live faced unusual difficulties following a press ban Trump imposed last week. It banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from entering the White House grounds, prompting them to sue to regain access. CNN is part of the five-network press “pool” that provides real-time coverage of the president’s public events. In solidarity with CNN and the other outlets that were banned, the other networks chose to suspend video coverage of Trump. Confusion reigned in the hours before Xi’s arrival. ABC News had been scheduled to provide the joint video broadcast. A White House official hurriedly approached a network reporter and asked where the camera was. Lacking clarity on when access to banned media would be restored, ABC refused to record. Trump realized that television coverage had decreased. He wrote on social media that CNN and MS NOW “refused to cover one of the largest and most beautiful events to take place in many years, the arrival at the White House of the highly respected President of China, Xi Jinping, and his beautiful wife, Madame Peng.” CNN and MS NOW journalists were unable to physically cover Xi’s arrival at the White House. Although a federal judge had ruled overnight that their access should be restored, they were still banned from entering the White House until about two hours after Xi appeared. During a photo op with Xi earlier in the day, Trump joked that China had the friendliest press corps, according to a media group report. A Reporters Without Borders survey of press freedom around the world ranked China 178th out of 180 countries, between North Korea and Iran.
