Trump personally greets Xi at Andrews in rare airport welcome — SkimNews
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- Trump personally greeted Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday (Sep 23) alongside First Lady Melania Trump and Xi's wife Peng Liyuan — the first US presidential airport welcome of a head of state at the base since JFK received British PM Harold Macmillan in 1962.
- Drew Thompson of NTU's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies called the gesture 'relatively easy and low-cost' political currency for Trump but politically valuable for Xi ahead of the Communist Party's fifth plenum on Oct 26–29 and the 2027 Party Congress.
- Yun Sun of the Stimson Center said Trump's May state visit to Beijing and Xi's current Washington trip make 2025 the first year both leaders have made standalone visits to each other's capitals within four months in US-China history.
- Analysts flagged unresolved disputes — trade, national security, Taiwan, and Iran — as barriers protocol cannot bridge, with potential follow-up meetings at APEC in Shenzhen (November) and the G20 in Miami (December).
- Thompson characterized Xi as 'a closer, not a negotiator,' saying most substantive work was completed by officials from both sides before the leaders entered the room.
Why it matters: Xi returns to Beijing able to claim equal treatment from Washington ahead of the Communist Party's Oct 26–29 fifth plenum, while Trump pays essentially nothing politically for the gesture — but analyst Drew Thompson warned warm optics won't move the trade, Taiwan, or Iran disputes that Thursday's White House session must address.
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