Chinese President Xi Jinping, leader of the country’s ruling Communist Party, will depart the United States today, but not before a final stop at the National Archives. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will first meet President Xi Jinping and his wife, Madame Peng Liyuan, for morning tea at the White House's Red Room. After that, the couples will head to the National Archives for what the White House describes as a viewing of "a variety of important records and documents significant to the American and Chinese relationship throughout history." From there, Trump will bid Xi farewell, and the whirlwind two-and-a-half day summit, underscored by a palpable tension, will conclude.
The National Archives houses some of America's most important documents, including the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. TRUMP-XI SUMMIT SHOULD MAKE SURE AMERICAN STRENGTH DELIVERS AMERICAN RESULTS The two heads of state met at the White House on Thursday morning, which began with a state arrival ceremony consisting of military honors, a review of troops, the Chinese and American national anthems and a flyover by a B-2 stealth bomber in formation with four fighter jets.
A frenzied press, foreign and domestic, scurried around the White House grounds to catch glimpses of Trump and Xi, who does not often visit the West. Trump and his administration officials held bilateral talks with the Chinese delegation from the late morning into the early afternoon, lasting for several hours. Xi and Trump also spoke behind closed doors in the Oval Office.
After the meetings, Trump escorted Xi to the White House's South Lawn, where the pair viewed Marine One, and the new helipad on which it sits. They also toured the White House ballroom, which is under construction, and Trump showed Xi the Presidential Walk of Fame outside the West Wing, which features headshots of presidents past. Trump installed an image of an autopen in Biden’s place on the Presidential Walk of Fame, a reference to Trump’s repeated attacks on the former president’s use of an autopen while in office.
Xi and Trump could both be seen laughing at the image, according to footage on social media. Outside the White House gates, protesters against Chinese oppression could be heard chanting throughout the day of meetings. The protests carried into the evening, with chants of "Free Hong Kong," "Xi Jinping, you’re not welcome" and "freedom for political prisoners" at times drowning out the state dinner at the White House, Fox News Digital reported.
XI CAN’T ESCAPE PROTESTERS’ CRIES AT DEAFENING DINNER DEMONSTRATION A White House official told Fox News Digital before the visit that Trump would explore a wide-ranging deal on possible tariff reductions on non-strategic goods in the meeting with Xi. That official also said the nation's leaders would discuss rare-earth exports and possible export controls, and that Trump was expected to press China to do more to curb fentanyl precursor chemical exports. Trump called the meeting "great," but didn't elaborate and didn't take questions from the press during the day.
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