Trump to Personally Welcome Xi at Joint Base Andrews
President Donald Trump will personally welcome Chinese leader Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, a rare gesture for a sitting US president, as their superpower summit begins amid fragile US-China relations. Trump and First Lady Melania will greet Xi on the tarmac at 6pm, echoing his welcome for Vladimir Putin in Alaska last year, though Xi did not extend the same courtesy during Trump's May visit to Beijing. The visit includes a state banquet and military flyover, but analysts expect little beyond extending the trade truce. Key issues for Thursday's talks include AI regulation, trade tensions, Taiwan, and Iran, with preliminary discussions only touching on creating an AI communication channel. Republican Senator Roger Wicker criticized the reception, calling Xi a "brutal, unelected and oppressive dictator."