Trump personally welcomes Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews in rare protocol gesture

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump personally welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland for a three-day official visit. Xi arrived in the United States to participate in a United Nations summit, marking the first time in 11 years that a sitting US president has greeted a foreign leader on the tarmac at the military installation, according to public affairs network C-SPAN.

The last such tarmac greeting occurred in 2015 under President Barack Obama for Pope Francis. Following his arrival, the Chinese Embassy released a statement quoting Xi as emphasizing that "China and the United States should be partners, not rivals."