Speculation Over Height Difference Between Trump and Xi Jinping's Chairs
Speculation has arisen during the historic visit of United States President Donald Trump to China to meet President Xi Jinping. One of the hotly discussed topics is the difference in chair height between Trump and Xi. A number of social media users, as reported by The Economic Times on Monday, 18 May 2026, debated whether Trump was deliberately made to appear shorter during the meeting.
In a viral video, Xi is seen seated on a sofa that is slightly higher than Trump’s when they met. This sparked various speculations on X and other social media platforms.
“That sofa must have been specially made. The sofa Xi Jinping sat on is clearly higher than the sofa Trump sat on, while Trump is about 10 cm taller than Xi Jinping. The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) did not hesitate to plan this detail,” claimed a user on X while sharing the video.
However, another viral post offered a different explanation, claiming that Trump himself had removed a cushion from his chair. “The Chinese president was measured to the smallest centimetre by placing a small cushion on Trump’s chair to make them appear the same height. Trump ordered the cushion removed… which made him look shorter than the Chinese president when seated,” said another viral post.
Three-day state visit
Trump carried out a three-day state visit to China last week at Xi’s invitation. It was the first time a sitting US president has visited China in nine years, or almost a decade.
Trump left China on Friday (15 May) after highlighting several business deals reached during his visit, even as Beijing warned Washington not to handle the Taiwan issue incorrectly and criticised the Iran war sparked by the US.
“We have solved many different problems that others would not be able to resolve,” Trump said after meeting Xi in Beijing on the second day of talks.
Social media since then has been flooded with memes and viral videos from Trump’s visit to China. In another video widely shared on social media, Xi is seen pausing briefly as he walks alongside Trump while climbing the stairs at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
“As they walked towards the Great Hall of the People, Xi Jinping noticed Trump looking tired on the stairs, so he paused and gave a brief explanation about the square, giving him a moment to catch his breath,” claimed a post accompanying the video.