President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday for a state visit steeped in pageantry, according to Breitbart News. The day’s events unfolded across the South Lawn, the Grand Foyer, and the Rose Garden, ending with a private meeting between the two leaders away from the press pool — and a state dinner expected later Friday.
The visit opened with a formal welcome ceremony on the South Lawn, where Trump and first lady Melania Trump greeted Xi and Madam Liyuan Peng. The scene drew an unusually large contingent of reporters, photographers, and videographers, and tensions briefly flared on the lawn as Chinese press and a White House photographer jostled over positioning to capture images of the two presidents.
Remarks in the Grand Foyer
Shortly after the welcome ceremony, Trump and Xi delivered remarks in the Grand Foyer. Trump said the two leaders would discuss security, technology, and artificial intelligence, and he described the friendship he and Xi have forged as one “built on mutual respect and the vital interests of our people.”
The president also pointed to the Board of Trade the two countries established in May, saying it is “working to encourage a more balanced trading relationship” between Washington and Beijing.
Xi followed Trump at the podium and at one point turned his attention to artificial intelligence — a policy arena where the United States and China are widely regarded as the two leading powers and where talk of an “AI arms race” has become a recurring theme in bilateral discussions.
“Both China and the United States are leading nations in artificial intelligence,” Xi said. “We have both the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good, and ensure that the development of AI is always under human control and serves the well-being of the people.”
A Military Review in the Rose Garden
The pomp continued in the Rose Garden, where the two presidents took part in a military review. The United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps performed, and Marines staged a drill demonstration that drew the attention of those on hand. The ceremony also included a military flyover featuring a B-2 bomber accompanied by four F-22 Raptors — a striking visual backdrop for a visit centered in part on technology and security cooperation.
Following the public events, Trump and Xi met privately. Trump then gave Xi a tour of the new helipad and Marine One on the South Lawn. At another point, the president showed Xi the presidential portraits lining the West Wing colonnade, where the Chinese leader laughed upon seeing an auto-pen in place of former President Joe Biden’s picture — a small, apparently lighthearted moment that nonetheless gestured at one of the more persistent partisan controversies in Washington.
Tech Leaders Expected at State Dinner
The visit is set to continue Friday evening when Trump hosts Xi for a state dinner. According to Breitbart News, several tech and artificial intelligence executives are expected to attend, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, xAI’s Elon Musk, and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.
The guest list underscores how central the technology portfolio has become to the U.S.-China relationship. Both governments have moved aggressively in recent years to shape the development and deployment of advanced AI, and the presence of three of the most prominent figures in American AI and social media at a state dinner for Xi signals that the commercial and strategic dimensions of the rivalry are being deliberated in the same rooms as the diplomatic ones.
Trump’s comments in the Grand Foyer framed the discussions around security, technology, and AI, alongside trade. The Board of Trade established in May was cited by the president as an ongoing mechanism aimed at rebalancing economic ties — an area that has been a source of friction between the two economies.
The day’s mix of ceremony and substance — a fife-and-drum corps and a stealth bomber flyover on one lawn, a private meeting and a helipad tour on another — reflects the dual nature of the visit. It is at once a formal state occasion and a working session between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies and its two most capable AI powers.
Xi’s remark that AI development should remain “under human control” and serve “the well-being of the people” echoed themes both governments have sounded publicly even as they compete for advantage in the field. Whether the private discussions produced any concrete understandings on AI, security, or trade was not immediately disclosed.
For now, the visible record of the visit is one of full ceremonial treatment: a South Lawn arrival, remarks before the cameras, a Rose Garden review, a flyover, and hours of private engagement between the two presidents. The state dinner Friday will add one more layer, bringing together diplomatic, political, and technology figures for an evening that will likely be scrutinized as closely as the daytime events for signals about where the relationship is headed.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/24/trump-hosts-xi-in-pomp-filled-ceremony/