Chinese President Xi Jinping greeted President Donald Trump with a pomp-filled ceremony in Beijing, China, on Thursday.
Trump arrived at the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square at 10:00 a.m. Beijing time, or 10:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, and the president shook hands with the Chinese leader upon exiting his motorcade. The pair shared about a 12-second handshake before posing for photos.
Trump then introduced Xi to the American delegation, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, Trump Organization Executive Vice President Eric Trump, and more.
After Trump and Xi made their way to a Red dais, a Chinese military band played the Star-Spangled Banner, with intermittent cannon fire heard in the background, followed by the Chinese national anthem. They then inspected Chinese troops.
Trump and Xi also passed a group of schoolchildren jumping feverishly and waving Chinese and American flags.
Trump and Xi walked up the steps of the Great Hall of the People and looked out over Tiananmen Square before heading inside, where the American and Chinese delegations gathered around a large table.
“That was an honor like few have ever seen before, and I think I was particularly impressed by those children. They were happy. They were beautiful. The military is obvious; it couldn’t be better. But those children were amazing, and they represent so much, and I know they represent so much to you,” Trump told Xi.
“You and I have known each other now for a long time. In fact, the longest relationship of our two countries that any president and president has had, and it’s to me, an honor,” he added. “We’ve had a fantastic relationship. We’ve gotten along when there were difficulties, we worked it out.”
Trump called Xi “a great leader” and underscored that the American delegation includes the top executives of many of the world’s largest companies, including Elon Musk of Tesla, Tim Cook of Apple, Jensen Huang of Nvidia, and others.
“We have amazing people, and they’re all with me… Every single one of them. We asked the top 30 in the world. Every single one of them said, ‘Yes,’ and I didn’t want the second or the third in the company. I wanted only the top,” he told Xi.
“And they’re here today to pay respects to you and to China, and they look forward to trade and doing business, and it’s going to be totally reciprocal on our behalf. So I really look very much forward to our discussions,” he added.
Trump and Xi participated in a bilateral meeting that the White House press pool reports lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes.
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