Trump to welcome Xi at US air base in break with decades-old protocol

US President Donald Trump is set to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington on September 23, in a departure from decades of diplomatic protocol that underscores the importance Washington places on the Chinese leader’s visit.

Xi’s arrival will mark the first time since 1962 that a US president has greeted a foreign leader at the military base, when President John F. Kennedy welcomed British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan on the tarmac, Financial Times reports. 

The visit also highlights the evolving relationship between Trump and Xi, whom the US president has repeatedly praised as a “great leader”.

The contrast was notable in May, when Xi did not travel to Beijing’s airport to personally receive Trump.

Trump has previously personally welcomed another leader of a major world power. In August 2025, he greeted Russian President Vladimir Putin at an airfield in Anchorage, Alaska.

Xi’s state visit to the United States is scheduled for September 23–25. It will be his first visit to the country in his current capacity in 11 years.

By Sabina Mammadli