China is at odds with the United States on many issues, but it pulled out all the stops when President Trump arrived in Beijing for a state visit, with extravagant receptions, a state banquet and rarefied access to the compound where China’s leaders live and work.
China does not always put on the same level of ceremony for every visiting world leader. Visits by U.S. presidents are major, high-stakes events. Chinese officials described Mr. Trump’s last visit, in 2017, as a “state visit plus.”
Mr. Trump expected his visit this week to be just as impressive, saying in February that it was “going to be a wild one.”
The lavish welcome began on Wednesday as soon as Mr. Trump arrived in Beijing and descended from Air Force One. Top Chinese officials accompanied him on a red carpet to his limousine and included Vice President Han Zheng, one of the highest-ranking officials to welcome an American president in China.
The group walked past a military honor guard and rows of smartly dressed youths waving American and Chinese flags.
The next morning, Mr. Xi welcomed Mr. Trump on the forecourt of the imposing Great Hall of the People at Tiananmen Square. A 21-gun salute rang out as a military band played “The Star-Spangled Banner”; there was a procession by a ceremonial honor guard; and rows of children cheered and waved flags and flowers.
Mr. Trump said he was struck by the display.
“That was an honor like few I’ve ever seen before,” he said in a meeting with Mr. Xi after the ceremony. “And I think I was particularly impressed by those children. They were happy. They were beautiful. The military is obvious. It couldn’t be better. But those children were amazing.”
In their first round of talks, behind closed doors, Mr. Xi issued a stark warning on Taiwan, the self-governing island that China claims as its own. He said that if handled poorly, the issue could lead to conflict and an “extremely dangerous situation,” Chinese state media said. Other contentious issues such as trade and the Iran war were also discussed, according to the White House.
After the discussions, though, the pleasantries resumed with Mr. Xi giving Mr. Trump a tour of the Temple of Heaven, a 12th-century UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On Thursday evening, Mr. Xi hosted a state banquet for Mr. Trump and the American delegation in an ornate setting at the Great Hall of the People. Mr. Xi gave a warm welcome speech at the start of dinner, toasting to Mr. Trump’s health and comparing his own efforts in China to the president’s MAGA movement.
For their final talks of the summit on Friday, Mr. Xi invited the president to Zhongnanhai, the secluded government headquarters where China rarely hosts foreign leaders. Top officials from the Chinese Communist Party, including Mr. Xi, live and work in the secretive compound that was once an enclosed imperial garden.
The Chinese leader said during his welcoming remarks at Zhongnanhai that Mr. Trump was interested in learning about the garden at the compound, including the Chinese roses.
“I’ve agreed to send the seeds for these roses to the president as a gift,” Mr. Xi said through an interpreter.
“I love that, that’s great,” Mr. Trump said, smiling.
As Mr. Trump walked to Air Force One for his departure on Friday afternoon, there was another elaborate ceremony with crisp rows of soldiers and, again, children waving American and Chinese flags.
Lily Kuo, Pei-Lin Wu and Alexandra Stevenson contributed reporting.
