When President Donald Trump welcomes President Xi Jinping of China to the White House on Thursday, it will be at a low point in his second term. Republicans are rebelling on issues that are personal to the president: an expensive gift to his son, a media ban, mass deportations, the Iran war — even Xi’s visit. Polls and surveys show him with his lowest approval rating. Trump even seems to have given up on Republicans maintaining control of Congress in November’s midterms.
Meanwhile, Xi arrives preparing to lay the groundwork for his next five-year term, believing he’s visiting a nation in decline and granting Trump a visit the president has sought since before his second inauguration.
“There’s a really unfortunate split screen here for the United States,” said Jonathan Czin, the director for China on the National Security Council under former President Joe Biden.
But as the fractions deepen within the Republican Party, Trump has turned his attention to reciprocating the reception he received in China earlier this year.
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Although Trump greeted Xi when the Chinese president arrived at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday — the first time since 1962 a president has personally welcomed a foreign leader at JBA — the summit truly kicks off Thursday with a lavish and meticulously planned day of events at the White House.
It’s expected to be a continuation of Wednesday’s pageantry, when Xi stepped off his plane and onto a red carpet with a dozen fighter jets to his right, an artillery salute to his left and two B-1 bombers shrieking low overhead. But while some are dismayed by the extravagance, current and former U.S. officials and China policy experts say it is key to the success of the first Chinese state visit to Washington in 11 years.
Daniel R. Russel, who served as the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs during Xi’s 2015 state visit, told The Washington Sun the opulence is the cost of doing business with the Chinese, who he said are reluctant to travel to the U.S. without the prestige a state visit brings. It’s a projection of China’s superpower status, Russel added, even as it sees a distinctive change in its relationship with the U.S.
“The relationship is very different. A lot of it boils down to the shift in relative strength and leverage between Beijing and Washington,” Russel said. “The Chinese leadership is feeling very strong right now compared to the U.S., that they’ve got a considerable amount of leverage, a reasonable analysis of Trump and how to manipulate him.”
In May, a Chinese official told The Sun that the country spent weeks preparing for Trump’s visit to Beijing, a visit punctuated by pomp and circumstance at every event and interaction. Trump has sought to return the favor.
Last week on the White House grounds, reporters could see military rehearsals in anticipation of Xi’s arrival. The administration planned a multilayered welcome for Xi, with a ceremony that will move from the South Lawn to the state floor and the Rose Garden. A flyover by stealth aircraft will cap a military parade of 479 personnel for Xi and his wife, Madam Peng Liyuan. The day is scheduled to end with a state dinner curated by first lady Melania Trump and featuring some of America’s most powerful business leaders.
Melania Trump told Fox News on Wednesday that there were “a lot of details” to plan for a state dinner.
“There is protocol that you need to follow,” she said, adding she was involved in every detail.
An Obama-era official involved in planning the 2015 state dinner, Xi’s last in the U.S., said a dinner for the Chinese president brought heightened pressure compared with other foreign dignitaries.
“We had to be very precise about everything,” the Obama official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to speak freely. “And I mean that’s every state dinner, but China, there is a history of a contentious relationship that we had to consider and make sure everything was to a T.”
Fearing they might accidentally insult the Chinese, the official said, “our main [goal] was to be so detailed … making sure that we didn’t offend or do anything that would mess up any conversations or be a talking point later on.”
Some people aren’t pleased that Xi is here at all. Protesters forced the military to close an access point at JBA during Xi’s arrival. Others marched downtown Wednesday night chanting, “End the CCP!” And Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) denounced the visit during a floor speech on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio brushed off concerns about the displays. When asked by The Sun to respond to Wicker’s comments, Rubio defended the lavishness of Xi’s reception, saying that the relationship between the two nations would “define the 21st century.”
“The idea that we would not interact with them at the highest levels is irresponsible. It’s outrageous,” Rubio said. “So we have, I think, an obligation to be able to interact and speak at the highest levels. And I think that’s what this visit reflects, is the president’s belief that no matter what our disagreements and differences may be with the Chinese government, this is not some small country.”
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