As Chinese President Xi Jinping’s special plane arrived in Washington, the capital of the United States, his three-day visit to the United States officially began.
This was his first state visit to the United States in 11 years. US President Donald Trump personally welcomed him. Excluding the Roman Catholic Pope, it was the first time in more than 60 years that a US president has welcomed the visit of a head of state from another country in this way.
Topics are expected to include artificial intelligence competition between China and the United States, the Taiwan issue, tariffs and the situation with Iran. At the same time, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the United States and China will extend the truce period in the trade war between the two countries until January next year.
Compiled by BBC Chinese, the moment Xi Jinping arrived in Washington, the main focus of the outside world was: Who are the members of Xi Jinping’s delegation to visit the United States? What is the attitude of the American Republican Party and the people towards China?
Who are the members of Xi Jinping’s visiting delegation?
Xi Jinping's special plane landed at Joint Base Andrews on the outskirts of Washington at approximately 17:40 EDT (21:40 GMT; 05:40 Beijing time on Friday 24th) on Wednesday (September 23).
In addition to Xi Jinping's wife Peng Liyuan, those who arrived on the same special plane included Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee who is regarded as an important confidant of Xi Jinping, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
In addition, there are also officials who have arrived in the United States earlier, including Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. He met with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in New York before the summit. Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng also greeted him at the airport.
China's official Xinhua News Agency reported that Xi Jinping said in a written statement that "the two countries should be partners, not rivals," adding that he believed the visit would "achieve fruitful results, enhance the well-being of the two peoples, and add hope to world peace."
It is unclear which business leaders will accompany Xi Jinping on the trip.
It would be a stark contrast if several U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) company CEOs attended the state banquet, while none of the Chinese AI company CEOs seemed to show up. Especially when Trump visited Beijing in May this year, he took company CEOs with him.
But it is not surprising that Xi Jinping made such an arrangement.
BBC China correspondent Laura Bicker analyzed that Xi Jinping may think this is risky for Beijing, because such activities can quickly evolve into occasions of high media attention, and the last thing Chinese leaders want to see is a corporate CEO making remarks that are inconsistent with his message at any time.
Bringing Chinese companies to the United States may also raise questions about China's business operations, government subsidies, and overcapacity. Each of these issues is likely to attract more criticism and questions than Xi Jinping or the Chinese Communist Party would like to tolerate.
During Trump's visit to China in May this year, he was accompanied by a delegation of senior executives from large American technology companies, including Apple's Tim Cook, Tesla's Elon Musk and Huida's Jen-Hsun Huang.
The South China Morning Post reported earlier that Xi Jinping plans to follow the arrangement of the delegation sent by Washington last May, which means that the delegation is expected to be composed of business leaders from technology, finance, electric vehicles, etc.
What special plane did Xi Jinping take?
When the President of the United States travels abroad, he flies on Air Force One, one of the most well-known aircraft in the world.
When Xi Jinping's special plane appears over Joint Base Andrews, it can be found that it is similar to "Air Force One" in many aspects. It is almost always a Boeing 747 airliner, equipped with all the facilities required for a Chinese leader's trip. But in comparison, it is less known to the outside world because it does not always use the same aircraft.
Unlike the United States, the Chinese government does not have aircraft specially used for official visits by heads of state. Xi Jinping was flying a Boeing 747 from the Air China fleet.
Chinese officials have told the media that the arrangement is aimed at making better use of existing aircraft to reduce waste.
According to Chinese media reports, the Chinese air force will inspect and modify the aircraft to suit the needs of the president, including removing some seats to make room for sofas and beds.
Beyond that, not much is known about the aircraft. But one can usually see official flags flying near the door where Chinese leaders disembark.
Melania: "I was involved in every detail"
US First Lady Melania Trump said that she was deeply involved in the planning of the Chinese delegation’s visit.
"I was involved in every detail," she said in an interview with Fox News.
She said Trump decided to personally greet Xi Jinping at the airport because "their relationship is very good," and she was involved in other major arrangements for the visit, including the state banquet.
"The entire planning involves a lot of details and there are protocol procedures that must be followed," she said.
In addition to the welcome ceremony at the White House, Melania also arranged to visit the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art with Peng Liyuan to showcase the cultural ties between the United States and China.
The White House stated that the visit will conclude with an itinerary of historical and symbolic significance.
The two couples will go to the National Archives (National Archives) to visit important national archives collections, including some historical records that are "important to U.S.-China relations."
High-level reception triggers Republican backlash?
The White House has been heavily promoting Xi Jinping's visit to Washington for months, and President Trump himself has frequently cited his "excellent" relationship with the Chinese leader.
White House officials and staff clearly believe that this visit, as well as Trump's trip to China in May this year, may be the two most influential diplomatic activities of his second presidential term.
But for years, Trump's "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) supporters have generally been skeptical of China. Now, Trump has rolled out a red carpet to welcome Xi Jinping, who is also the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, which has attracted the attention of some people in the Republican Party.
After all, Trump has repeatedly raised the threat of the creeping spread of communism as a danger to the United States.
Republican Senator Roger Wicker criticized Xi Jinping's "grand welcome" in a speech on Tuesday. As chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he said Trump should have carefully considered whether to invite Xi Jinping to the United States given "all the worrying issues we have with President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party."
Republican strategist Barrett Marson said in an interview with Politico that Xi Jinping's trip is "another example of Trump's message being inconsistent with the Republican position."
"One of the most direct arguments made by Republicans in this election cycle is that Democrats want to bring socialism or communism to the United States," Masson said.
"And Trump's enthusiastic embrace of one of the two most outspoken leaders in supporting these ideologies makes it even harder for this message to resonate with voters."
Are Americans warming up to China?
More than half of Americans (57%) believe the United States should cooperate with and maintain engagement with Beijing.
Among Republicans who do not agree with "Make America Great Again" (MAGA), 57% support cooperation; most Democrats, whether moderate or liberal, hold the same view.
