On the ground in Washington: MAGA hats, protests and Chinatown hopes as Trump and Xi meet — SkimNews
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- Xi Jinping arrived in Washington on Sept 23 for his second US state visit in 11 years, greeted personally by Trump at Joint Base Andrews — a rare departure from the diplomatic norm of receiving foreign leaders at the White House.
- Trump will host Xi at the White House on Sept 24 for a summit covering AI, Taiwan, and Iran, followed by a state dinner attended by Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Tesla's Elon Musk, and Apple's Tim Cook.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a two-month extension of the US-China trade truce, which was set to expire on Nov 10, just as Xi touched down in Washington.
- A Pew Research Center survey conducted Sept 14–20 found younger Americans view China more warmly than older generations, with 47% of under-50s giving China a "cold" rating compared to 61% of older Americans.
- Bobby Criss, a MAGA hat vendor near the White House, said he chose the summit days to sell hats at $15 each and made $100 in the first hour, expressing confidence that "Trump is going to get a deal."
- Yu Miao, a Chinese-born bookstore owner in Washington's Dupont Circle, said worsening US-China tensions create "invisible pressure" on Chinese Americans, drawing on his own experience closing his Shanghai bookstore in 2018 after government restrictions.
- Alex Wong, who works at a Vietnamese-Chinese restaurant in Washington's Chinatown, said he hoped the summit would draw diners to a neighborhood that has "steadily hollow[ed] out."
Why it matters: Trump upgraded his own May reception from Xi — who then sent only a vice-president to greet Air Force One — by personally welcoming Xi at Joint Base Andrews and securing a two-month trade truce extension, buying negotiating runway before three more planned leader-level meetings at APEC Shenzhen and G20 Miami this year.
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