President Xi Welcomes President Trump at the Great Hall of the People
Beijing (ANTARA) - Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed US President Donald Trump in the courtyard of the East Gate of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday (14/5) around 10 a.m. local time.
Upon Trump’s arrival, Xi waited at the foot of the steps of the Great Hall of the People until Trump exited the presidential limousine “The Beast” and then shook hands with him.
The two leaders then introduced their respective delegations. From China, attendees included Secretary of the Communist Party of China Secretariat Cai Qi, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Defence Minister Dong Jun, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Zheng Shanjie, and other related officials.
From the US side, introductions included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, as well as Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla and SpaceX), Ryan McInerney (CEO of Visa), Jensen Huang (CEO of NVIDIA), Tim Cook (CEO of Apple), and others.
The two heads of state then proceeded to the honour podium, after which a military band played the national anthems of China and the US.
A 21-gun salute was then fired in Tiananmen Square. Presidents Xi and Trump subsequently inspected the honour guard of the People’s Liberation Army and watched a military parade.
At the end of the troops, Xi and Trump were greeted by dozens of children jumping with flowers and flags of China and the US, shouting “Welcome” in Mandarin.
After the ceremony, Xi and Trump briefly conversed at the foot of the steps, with Xi appearing to point out Tiananmen Square, which lies directly in front of the East Gate of the Great Hall of the People.
In a regular press conference, Spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry Guo Jiakun stated that head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance for China-US relations.
Following that, the two entered the Great Hall of the People to begin bilateral talks.
“We welcome President Trump’s state visit to China. During the visit, the two heads of state will conduct in-depth exchanges of views on major issues concerning China-US relations and world peace and development,” said Guo Jiakun on Wednesday (13/5).
China, according to Guo Jiakun, is ready to work with the US to expand cooperation and manage differences in the spirit of equality, respect, and mutual benefit, while providing more stability and certainty to a changing and turbulent world.