BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump has offered China's leader Xi Jinping with a red carpet welcome when he arrived in the United States for a high-stakes three-day visit.
Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed the Chinese President and his wife Peng Liyuan at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday evening.
An American president traveling to Joint Base Andrews to greet a foreign leader is a rare gesture.
The leaders of the world's most powerful economies and their wives exchanged pleasantries followed by a stroll through the red carpet.
The US Air Force band marched on the tarmac, two bombardiers flew over and US and Chinese flags flew as Xi landed in U.S. soil for his first trip to Washington after more than a decade.
Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported that in a written speech upon his arrival, Xi Jinping emphasized that the United States and China should be 'partners rather than rivals.'
Xi noted that he and his U.S. counterpart had agreed to build a constructive bilateral relationship of strategic stability when Trump met with him during a state visit to Beijing in May.
China and the United States should work in the same direction, promote a stable relationship featuring cooperation as the mainstay, moderate competition, manageable differences, and promises of peace, Xin Hua quoted the Chinese leader as saying.
Also on Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.
He announced after the talks that the two governments agreed to extend their trade war truce for two months from its expiry date of November 10.
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