US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump rolled out a rare red-carpet welcome for Chinese President Xi Jinping upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, complete with a military aircraft flypast to mark the beginning of a historic three-day state visit.

Following a brief, high-profile welcome and handshake, Presidents Trump and Xi departed for Washington, D.C. A BBC reporter at the White House noted, "I have never seen a welcome ceremony quite like this. It shows just how much importance Trump is placing on this visit."

Key Issues on the Agenda
Tariffs, artificial intelligence (AI), the conflict involving Iran, and Taiwan are expected to dominate the high-stakes discussions between the two leaders this week.

Trade War Truce Extended: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the US and China have agreed to extend their trade war truce, shifting the expiration date from November to at least January 10.

Partners, Not Rivals: In a written statement carried by Chinese state media, President Xi emphasized that China and the United States should be "partners, not rivals."

High-Profile Tech Dinner
Tech executives from both nations are slated to join the two leaders for a state dinner on Thursday. While the inclusion of Chinese business executives in Xi's delegation remains unconfirmed due to potential regulatory risks from Beijing, a powerhouse lineup of US tech leaders is expected to attend: Microsoft: Satya Nadella, Apple: Tim Cook, OpenAI: Sam Altman, Nvidia: Jensen Huang, Amazon: Jeff Bezos, Tesla & SpaceX: Elon Musk, Google: Sundar Pichai, Dell Technologies: Michael Dell, Citigroup: Jane Fraser.

Artificial Intelligence Take Center Stage
With the US and China locked in a fierce race to develop advanced artificial intelligence, AI governance and technology competition will feature prominently in Thursday's talks.

Both Huang and Trump have generally favored lighter government intervention in the AI sector.

Meanwhile, Altman—who recently called on the US to lead global discussions on AI policy—alongside Huang, has previously voiced public concerns regarding the future risks of AI capabilities surpassing human control.

This visit carries political sensitivity for Trump, who risks facing criticism from a faction of his "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) base by hosting Xi, who arrived alongside some of his most influential officials, including close aide Cai Qi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.