President Trump and his Air Force One entourage have arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, greeted by a lavish red carpet welcome. The American president was received by Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, China’s ambassador to Washington Xie Feng, Executive Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxuong, and US envoy to Beijing David Perdue.
Reports describe the extravagant welcoming ceremony as made up of a military honor guard and band, as well as about 300 Chinese youths waving alternating Chinese and American flags.
"We’re the two superpowers," Trump had told reporters just before departing to China the day prior. "We're the strongest nation on Earth in terms of military. China’s considered second."
This is Trump's first visit there in nearly nine years, and an array of pressing issues will be discussed over the next two days of a packed-out schedule.
Official events with President Xi Jinping will kick off Thursday at 10am (local) with a formal welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, leading into the first meeting with Xi, after which the Chinese leader will host Trump for a state banquet at 6pm.
Also looming large over the historic visit is the ongoing Iran conflict. Just before departing Washington Trump while talking to reporters raised eyebrows in remarking that the financial situation for Americans was not a factor in his decision-making when it comes to Iran and dealing with the nuclear issue.
"Not even a little bit," he said in the remarks at a moment Americans continue to face rising gas and food prices, connected to the war.
A day earlier, the U.S. president said Washington does not need China’s help on Iran. According to Trump, the U.S. will “win one way or another — peacefully or otherwise.”
Meanwhile, over in the Strait of Hormuz:
A Chinese supertanker carrying two million barrels of Iraqi crude has passed through the Strait of Hormuz, according to ship-tracking data.
The Yuan Hua Hu crude carrier is now anchored off the Gulf of Oman near where the US navy has set up a blockade of Iranian vessels. It marks the third known passage by a Chinese oil tanker through the waterway since the US-Israeli war on Iran began.
While Iran and Taiwan remain pressing geopolitical challenges between the US and China, and for the whole globe really, Trump appears ready to focus on major business deals, per the Associated Press:
But Trump appeared firmly focused on business deals, with Nvidia chief Jensen Huang boarding the plane at the last minute in Alaska and Tesla’s Elon Musk also traveling on the presidential jet.
As the global AI race hots up, China is currently banned from purchasing the cutting-edge chips that Huang’s company produces under US export rules that Washington says are to protect national security.
Trump said in a social media post en route that he would be “be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to ‘open up’ China so that these brilliant people can work their magic.”
But this is how Beijing is going to read this....
Apparently very few of the CEOs were on Air Force One, with the rest flying presumably on private jets...
The US has banned an array of Chinese technology imports, citing national security, and so it's likely that China will only see this as having to go the other way - that it is the United States which must 'open up' to more Chinese business and tech.
The Chinese foreign ministry meanwhile stated Wednesday it "welcomes" Trump’s visit and that "China stands ready to work with the United States... to expand cooperation and manage differences."