Xi Jinping arrived in Washington DC this Wednesday and was welcomed by President Donald Trump who, instead of waiting for him at the White House, gave him an unusual welcome at Andrews Air Force Base, where the Chinese dictator saw B-1 bombers flying over the skies of the U.S. capital.
This is the first state visit of the Chinese leader to the U.S. capital in over a decade, accompanied by his wife, Peng Liyuan. The welcoming ceremony also included the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump. A formal gala dinner is expected to take place at the White House on Thursday night.
Xi's visit to Washington —which will last three days— will also include other formalities, such as a welcome ceremony at the White House with the participation of an honor guard. The main dinner will feature leaders from the tech industry like Jensen Huang from Nvidia and Elon Musk from SpaceX. Both leaders will discuss significant topics behind closed doors.
On Friday, Xi and Peng will return to the White House for a private tea with the Trumps before joining them on a tour of the National Archives in Washington. The White House reported that they will examine historical documents that underscore the relationship between the two countries.
Trump wants to use the visit of his Chinese counterpart to try to maintain "strategic stability" between the two countries. In the words of Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, Washington and Beijing must interact at the highest level because they are the countries with "the two largest economies in the world" and "probably the two most powerful militaries in the world."
