WASHINGTON: Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Washington for a state visit at the invitation of US President Donald Trump, opening a high-stakes round of diplomacy between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies.
The Chinese President said the US and China should be “partners, not rivals” because the interests of their two peoples “are deeply intertwined.”
Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were greeted by Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at Joint Base Andrews in an unusually elaborate planeside welcome. American children presented flowers to the Chinese couple while honour guards lined the red carpet. The ceremony featured a 21-gun salute, the national anthems of both countries and a military flyover.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday afternoon for a state visit to the United States at the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump https://t.co/A8ZhoSuOIo pic.twitter.com/hijqUp1zAF
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) September 24, 2026
Trump’s decision to greet Xi personally at the airport marked the first time in 11 years that a US president had welcomed a foreign leader at Joint Base Andrews, according to C-SPAN.
Xi’s visit is his first to Washington in more than a decade and comes just months after Trump travelled to China in May for talks with the Chinese president.
The exchange of visits underscores the importance both sides attach to maintaining high-level communication despite persistent strategic rivalry.
Xi calls for partnership over rivalry
In a written statement issued after his arrival, Xi called on China and the United States to be “partners, not rivals”, saying the interests of the two peoples were deeply intertwined.
“China and the United States should be partners, not rivals,” Xi said, adding that the rejuvenation of China and Trump’s goal of “making America great again” could proceed alongside each other. He said the two countries could help each other succeed while contributing to global well-being.
China and the United States should work in the same direction and promote a stable relationship featuring cooperation as the mainstay, moderate competition, manageable differences and promises of peace, Xi said in a written speech upon his arrival. https://t.co/TK4y1nnROL pic.twitter.com/R3Ps4r6Bh7
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) September 24, 2026
Xi also referred to the understanding reached during Trump’s May visit to China to build a “constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability”. He said the agreement had provided strategic guidance for the future development of bilateral relations.
The Chinese president said Washington and Beijing should work in the same direction and pursue a relationship in which cooperation remained the mainstay, competition was moderate and differences were manageable.
He said the two countries needed to find the “right way to get along in the new era”, arguing that although the world was changing, the historical logic of peaceful coexistence between China and the United States remained unchanged.
Xi said he looked forward to detailed discussions with Trump on bilateral relations and the international situation, as well as to expanding exchanges and cooperation in different fields. He also said he hoped to engage with people from different sections of American society to strengthen ties between the two peoples.
