Xi Jinping arrives in Washington for state visit, Trump greets him at airbase

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington on Wednesday for his first state visit to the US capital in over a decade, receiving a rare planeside welcome from President Donald Trump at Joint Base Andrews. The three-day visit, featuring a formal state dinner, is intended to reciprocate the ceremonial grandeur of Trump's May trip to China. Trump's decision to greet Xi at the airbase, rather than at the White House, underscores his effort to honor the Chinese leader despite high tensions over trade, artificial intelligence, Iran, and Taiwan. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker criticized the "lavish welcome," calling Xi a "brutal, unelected and oppressive dictator," while Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended high-level engagement as necessary between the world's two largest economies. The visit includes a White House arrival ceremony, a black-tie dinner with tech leaders like Nvidia's Jensen Huang and SpaceX's Elon Musk, and a private tea and tour of the National Archives on Friday. Expectations are low for major breakthroughs, with the focus on maintaining "strategic stability" between the two rivals.