The red carpet had been rolled out, a military band was playing and Chinese and American flags were flying. Xi Jinping received a princely welcome when he and his wife Peng Liyuan landed in Washington on Wednesday evening.
In an unusual move, the Chinese leader was welcomed in person by US President Donald Trump at Joint Base Andrews airport. It is the first time since 1962 that an American president has made it to the airport to receive a foreign leader. Then it was John F Kennedy who welcomed the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.
The gesture shows that Donald Trump really wants to impress Xi Jinping and bring about a successful meeting. Even before settling down at the White House later this afternoon, the two countries have agreed on an extended truce in the trade war.
Donald Trump also hopes to get Xi Jinping to agree to export more rare commodity metals to the United States. They are needed in almost all high-tech manufacturing, and China dominates production. In return, Xi Jinping will push for the US to delay a significant arms delivery to Taiwan, which Congress has already approved.
Even before the meeting, it is clear that Donald Trump wants to show that the two leaders get along well. He often calls Xi Jinping his good friend with whom he has good relations.
But several voices are being raised for him to be tougher on China. Among other things, they want to see tougher pressure on China regarding the support it gives to the Russian and Iranian military apparatus, which China's leaders deny.
If Trump wants, he can point to information revealed by the Wall Street Journal in a comprehensive review published almost at the same time Xi Jinping landed in Washington. The paper reveals that China has exported parts that can be used to make missiles and drones to Iran on thousands of occasions in the past year, according to the review, which is based on information from Iranian customs.
At the same time that China has outwardly propagated peace, a torrent of planes loaded with components for the arms industry has landed in the Iranian capital, Tehran. China is said to have played a form of double-dealing. When the United States and Iran signed a cease-fire agreement this summer, China not only welcomed the agreement, it also claimed to have contributed to it by making calls to its contacts in the Middle East.
But on the same day, a plane loaded with Chinese electronic components for the Iranian arms industry landed, according to the paper.
That Chinese exports are contributing components that could ultimately kill American soldiers should bother Donald Trump. The truce is broken and the war, which is pushing up oil and gasoline prices, looks set to be a sinkhole for Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections.
The question is whether Trump will want to disrupt the mood. When Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth previously accused China and Russia of supporting Iran, Trump downplayed it, saying he trusted Xi Jinping.
And from China's side, the official position is that the country is not involved in the conflict in Iran and that it supports all efforts for peace.
