The Republican leader will meet President Xi Jinping on Thursday.

From May 13 to 15, U.S. President Donald Trump will be in Beijing for a state visit taking place at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

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Trump is traveling accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a delegation of U.S. techno-oligarchs such as Elon Musk (Tesla), Jensen Huang (Nvidia) and Tim Cook (Apple).

On Thursday, the U.S. president will meet with Xi during a visit marked by the trade truce between the two powers, technological tensions, Taiwan and the war in Iran.

The Republican leader was received on the tarmac by Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, alongside China’s ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, in a welcoming ceremony involving 300 young people, a military band, and an honor guard.

Trump stepped off Air Force One at 8:08 p.m. local time and raised his fist toward the cameras as the military band played before heading to the official motorcade. Behind the president descended his son Eric Trump and his daughter-in-law Lara Trump.

The route from the airport to downtown Beijing was decorated with Chinese and U.S. flags, while several skyscrapers displayed illuminated welcome messages as the presidential motorcade passed by.

More than 2 million viewers watched the landing of Air Force One live on China Central Television. Trump’s arrival also dominated social media, where topics related to his visit occupied five of the top 10 trending topics on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of X. The hashtag “Trump arrives in Beijing” had also accumulated more than 8.3 million views and about 26,000 comments on the platform.

Among the most prominent comments on Weibo were welcome messages and calls for a “stable” and “mutually beneficial” relationship between the two powers, in line with the usual narrative of the Chinese government regarding relations with the United States.

In just two days, Trump will face a packed agenda that will include bilateral meetings with Xi, a state dinner and protocol activities at emblematic sites such as the Great Hall of the People and Zhongnanhai, headquarters of the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.

Both sides are now seeking to consolidate the trade truce reached after months of tariff warfare, although disputes persist over technology, rare earths and access to the Chinese market.

On Wednesday, delegations led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng held “constructive” economic consultations in Seoul to advance the resolution of their tariff tensions.

Before departing for Beijing, Trump said he would address with Xi the situation in Taiwan and the war on Iran, while Washington presses China to help promote de-escalation in the Middle East.

Hours before the U.S. president’s landing, the Chinese government urged the U.S. to “handle prudently” the Taiwan issue and to “stop” sending weapons to the island. For his part, the Republican leader said he would ask China to “open” the country to U.S. companies.

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teleSUR/ JF

Sources: Xinhua – EFE

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