President Trump arrived Wednesday morning in Beijing for two days of high-stakes meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The president stepped off Air Force One and walked along a red carpet as 300 Chinese children dressed in blue-and-white uniforms waved American and Chinese flags.
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng led the welcome delegation on behalf of Mr. Xi, a sign of the trip’s importance to Beijing. Mr. Han is Mr. Xi’s envoy for diplomatic relations, and he attended Mr. Trump’s 2025 inauguration.
Mr. Han and Mr. Trump walked the red carpet together, and children chanted in Mandarin, “Welcome, welcome, enthusiastically welcome.” The U.S. president was also greeted with a military honor guard and military band.
Mr. Trump pumped his fist in the air but did not make any comments before boarding a motorcade.
Other officials on the ground include U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue, Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Xie Feng and Ma Zhaoxu, China’s executive vice minister of foreign affairs, according to the White House.
Mr. Xi will formally welcome Mr. Trump on Thursday morning in Beijing, which would be Wednesday evening in Washington.
The leaders of the world’s two largest economic and military powers will discuss Taiwan, trade, the U.S.-China relationship and the Iran war. Mr. Trump is expected to press Mr. Xi on China’s economic and strategic support for Iran and Russia, including purchasing Iranian oil and potential weapons purchases.
Among those traveling with Mr. Trump are Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and executives from Apple, Boeing, BlackRock and Goldman Sachs, underscoring Mr. Trump’s desire to strike economic deals in addition to discussing the Iran war.
“President Trump will continue doing what he has done over the past year: rebalancing the relationship with China and prioritizing reciprocity and fairness to restore American economic independence,” White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told reporters on a conference call to preview the Trump-Xi meeting. “The American people can expect the president to deliver more good deals on behalf of our country.”
Ms. Kelly emphasized that the two sides would focus on establishing a board of trade to oversee exchanges of goods between Washington and Beijing unrelated to national security.
The trade discussions will center on Chinese purchases of American agricultural products, U.S. energy and aerospace technology, including Boeing aircraft.
Mr. Trump will leave Friday, giving the two leaders two days for deal-making. The schedule includes a welcoming ceremony on Thursday, followed by a meeting with Mr. Xi, a tour of the Temple of Heaven, a state banquet and a working lunch.
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