Trump to personally welcome Xi at Andrews Air Force Base

TT-AFP

 

Published 17.15

 

Chinese leader Xi Jinping was welcomed by US President Donald Trump—alongside children holding flowers—outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photo: Maxim Shemetov/Pool via AP/TT

US President Donald Trump has announced that he will personally welcome Chinese leader Xi Jinping upon his arrival in Washington, D.C.

The stakes are high, yet expectations are modest ahead of the anticipated summit between Trump and Xi next week.

The two met in Beijing in May, at which time Xi was invited to pay a return visit to the White House. The date has been set for September 24.

The White House announced on Thursday that Trump will welcome Xi at Andrews Air Force Base, and that a US military honor guard will subsequently await them at the White House's new helipad.

Trump was welcomed by China's vice president during his visit to the country last spring, an occasion marked by elaborate pomp and ceremony.

Ahead of the meeting, the US State Department announced that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding, among other topics, the situation in the Middle East.