President Trump is rolling out the red carpet for Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week, hosting the first state visit to Washington by a Chinese head of state in more than a decade. The pomp begins Wednesday with a flyover of two B-1 bombers, and the White House is hoping the optics will translate into policy progress.
Xi arrives Wednesday for a formal arrival ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, where Trump and his wife, Melania, will greet him and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at the tarmac. A military band will play as the couple exits their Air China jet. The first couple will depart about 10 minutes after the ceremony ends.
Thursday brings a larger White House arrival ceremony featuring nearly 500 service members from all branches of the U.S. military. The U.S. and Chinese flags will be displayed on the South Portico, and the U.S. Marine Band will play anthems of both countries. Both leaders are expected to speak at the ceremony, with a flyover including a B-2 Spirit bomber and four F-22s overhead.
The visit follows a May meeting in Beijing, where Xi hosted Trump for a state visit.
The Agenda From Arrival to Departure
The visit runs through Friday, with a packed schedule:
- Wednesday: Arrival ceremony at Joint Base Andrews with B-1 bomber flyover.
- Wednesday: Formal meeting and state dinner.
- Thursday: White House arrival ceremony with military honors.
- Thursday: Spouses visit the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art.
- Friday: Tea and a visit to the National Archives.
- Friday: Visit concludes.
The Smithsonian stop is a cultural highlight, pairing the leaders’ wives with a museum dedicated to Asian art. The tea and archives visit on Friday rounds out the week with lighter diplomatic moments.
What’s At Stake In The Trade Relationship
The visit comes amid a fragile tariff truce that expires Nov. 10. That agreement was struck in Busan, South Korea, in October, lowering tariffs and pausing rare earth mineral restrictions. China pledged to buy large quantities of U.S. soybeans but has failed to keep that promise.
The truce ended a tit-for-tat trade war that pushed U.S. and Chinese tariffs above 100% in spring 2025. The two sides have since worked to stabilize the relationship, but the underlying tension remains.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng over the weekend. Bessent said the Chinese have proposed a “bigger deal” beyond the Busan arrangement. He also told reporters the two leaders may meet “up to four times” this year.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced a U.S.-China “Board of Trade” on Fox News Monday. The board would determine a “relatively small subset” of goods that the two countries agree they should protect from trade disputes. That may include things like low-tech consumer goods and some agricultural products. The idea was discussed when Trump and Xi met in May.
Bessent proposed a new “notification system” for AI incidents affecting national security following a meeting with He Lifeng.
Why The Red Carpet Matters
Jake Werner, director of the East Asia Program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, says Trump “loves to put on a show.” The display at Joint Base Andrews and the White House ceremony are designed to signal strength while welcoming a global partner.
Werner also noted that Trump wants to prevent China from using its power as it did with rare-earth elements last year. That suggests the optics are meant to send a message to Beijing about how the relationship is managed.
James Lewis, a distinguished fellow with the Tech Policy Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis, is less optimistic about concrete outcomes. He says “there isn’t much of a formal agenda” for the visit. The visit is ceremonial, but the agenda is thin on specific commitments.
The lack of a formal agenda is notable. The White House has not announced major policy achievements.
The Risk Of Over-Promising
The Board of Trade announcement is a small step. It determines a narrow slice of goods that should be protected from disputes, which means the vast majority of trade remains exposed to the usual pressures. The “bigger deal” proposal from China remains unverified, and the four-meetings figure is a projection, not a commitment.
The White House is betting that the symbolism of the visit — the tarmac greeting, the military honors, the joint appearances — will create the conditions for a more productive relationship. Whether that translates into action is another question.
The visit is also happening against a backdrop of broader geopolitical strain. China’s influence in Asia and its relationship with Iran remain sources of tension, though neither is directly addressed in the current visit.
The smaller, more cautious approach is the wiser one. The Board of Trade determines a limited set of goods and leaves the bulk of the relationship exposed. The bigger deal from China remains unverified.
The risk of over-promising is real. A grand statement with no follow-through would weaken the U.S. position rather than strengthen it.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs neither side on the pomp of the visit, but it backs the deal over the standoff in the relationship between the two countries. The optics are important, but they are not the same as policy.
The truce that expires Nov. 10 was struck in Busan, South Korea, lowering tariffs and pausing rare earth mineral restrictions. China pledged to buy large quantities of U.S. soybeans but has failed to keep that promise. The visit follows a May meeting in Beijing, where Xi hosted Trump for a state visit. The Board of Trade announced Monday would determine a narrow slice of goods protected from disputes — a small step, not a grand bargain.
The White House is betting that the symbolism of the visit — the tarmac greeting, the military honors, the joint appearances — will create the conditions for a more productive relationship. Whether that translates into action is another question.
Key Facts Box
- Xi’s last U.S. visit: May, hosted by Trump in Beijing
- Truce expiration: Nov. 10
- Truce location: Busan, South Korea
- Soybean pledge: Unfulfilled
- Tariffs: Above 100% in spring 2025
- Meeting frequency projection: Up to four times this year
- Board of Trade scope: Low-tech consumer goods and some agricultural products
The visit is a test of whether the U.S. can manage its relationship with China through ritual and symbolism. The White House is hoping the answer is yes. The skeptics, including Lewis, believe otherwise.
Either way, the show starts Wednesday.
See the video the story is built around at CBS News.
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