VOA Today’s Focus (September 24, 2026) Xi Jinping arrives at Andrews Joint Base, President Trump personally greets him

Voice of America's Focus Today reported on the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the United States. President Trump personally traveled to Joint Base Andrews to welcome Xi Jinping, demonstrating a high-level reception. The report also mentioned the overseas Chinese who were present to welcome and protest, as well as the appearance of personnel from the Chinese Embassy. Reporters Huang Yaoyi and Wang Yuhe brought live reports from Joint Base Andrews and the area around the White House, respectively. U.S. Secretary of State Rubio and Representative Barratt also expressed their views on this visit and U.S.-China relations, emphasizing the importance of communication and maintaining a vigilant attitude toward China. The report also previewed tomorrow's White House welcome ceremony, bilateral talks, and the state dinner.

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Welcome to VOA Focus Today for September 24th. I am Fan Dongning, broadcasting live from the U.S. capital, Washington. Every day, we take 15 minutes here to help you quickly grasp the latest developments in the United States and around the world. Here are today's focus news stories. President Trump personally went to Joint Base Andrews to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Rubio stated that although there are serious differences between the U.S. and China, a summit between the heads of state is a responsible way of governance. As the U.S.-China summit is about to begin, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told VOA that the Trump administration's policy toward Taiwan remains unchanged.

President Trump is scheduled to personally go to Joint Base Andrews at 6:00 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday to welcome the visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping. Currently, President Trump has already left the White House and boarded Marine One to head to Joint Base Andrews to welcome the arriving Xi Jinping.

Regarding the situation, we will immediately connect with VOA White House reporter Huang Yaoyi, who is still at Joint Base Andrews, to have him bring us the latest situation from the scene. Yaoyi.

This is Donglin. We know that I am currently at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Usually, this is where the U.S. President arrives on Air Force One. However, today is very special because Chinese President Xi Jinping has been invited for a state visit, and his private plane just landed at this Joint Base Andrews. U.S. President Trump also personally came here to greet him in a high-profile manner. First Lady Melania Trump stated on a Fox News program this morning that the decision to personally greet him was made by Trump himself. She said it was because Trump and Xi Jinping have a fantastic relationship. After the greeting, there will be a so-called state welcome ceremony. We can hear that there are many welcoming crowds at the base, making a lot of noise. In fact, as a reporter on the scene today, I saw several large buses carrying many Chinese expatriates to the base. They had stickers with numbers on the buses, which shows that they were planned and brought here to hold a welcoming ceremony for Xi Jinping. We see many people here welcoming him, but we also see many petitioners. Behind me, there are several petitioners who also came to the scene to protest, hoping to petition and have their grievances, which were not heard in China, conveyed during the meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping in the United States. The reason they are specifically in front of Joint Base Andrews is that we see this driveway is the main entrance and exit, so when Xi Jinping's motorcade passes by here, they will see all the welcoming crowds and all the protesters.

Okay, we know there will also be a grand welcome ceremony at the White House tomorrow. Finally, could you please briefly introduce to us the welcome ceremonies for Xi Jinping throughout the day tomorrow, Thursday, at the White House?

So, regarding the protest issue, I didn't hear you clearly. Could you please ask me to introduce... Yes, yes, yes. There are many expatriates welcoming and protesting at the scene. What grand welcome ceremonies will be held at the White House tomorrow for Xi Jinping? I see many, let me see, the police have also arrived, and there are some overseas groups, including some individuals who are specifically wearing masks. According to some protesters who spoke to me, these people wearing masks are actually from the Chinese Embassy. And I also saw these people taking photos of the scene, including of me, the reporter. Just now, a petitioner named Zhao Yantai told me that before he came to petition, he received a call from the state security (MSS) this morning, hoping he would not cause too much trouble. He told the state security person that he was just here to convey his demands, so he would not cause trouble. So it is evident that the U.S. has taken many precautionary measures regarding security during this visit by Xi Jinping. This includes knowing in advance which petitioners were coming to petition, and contacting them. I see some petitioners behind me; they are here because of the forced demolition of a hotel in Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China, and some others are people who, after failing to receive proper handling from officials while petitioning within China, came to the United States hoping to use this summit as an opportunity to petition.

Okay, Yaoyi, I know the atmosphere at the scene is very intense, but if you can hear me, I would like you to introduce the welcome ceremonies for Xi Jinping at the White House tomorrow and give us a brief preview, Yaoyi.

Okay, first of all, as we just mentioned, this afternoon was a high-profile greeting, with President Trump personally coming to Joint Base Andrews to greet him. Then tomorrow, there will be another welcome ceremony at the White House, the White House welcome ceremony. At that time, it will include a gun salute, military aircraft flying over the White House, etc., a very grand welcome ceremony. Afterwards, a so-called military review ceremony will be held in the White House Rose Garden. Then, President Trump and Xi Jinping will proceed to bilateral talks. After the bilateral talks, an expanded bilateral meeting will be held, meaning cabinet officials from both sides will join the bilateral talks. While the heads of state and cabinet officials are meeting, First Lady Melania will take Peng Liyuan to visit the Freer Gallery of Art (Asian Art Museum). This is the itinerary for the First Ladies in the afternoon. In the evening, a state dinner will be held in the East Room of the White House. President Trump previously said that when he was in Beijing, he saw that the Great Hall of the People could accommodate a very large number of people. Since the banquet hall here is not yet finished, he will hold the banquet in the East Room of the White House. Important figures, including Chinese-Americans and executives like Tim Cook, as well as high-level executives from the AI and tech industries, will all attend tomorrow night's state dinner.

Thank you very much for the live report from Joint Base Andrews. We can see on the screen now that there is a row of military aircraft on standby at Joint Base Andrews. Vehicles have already arrived at the airport runway. It is expected that the plane carrying Chinese President Xi Jinping for his visit to the U.S. will soon arrive at this base in Maryland. According to information released by the White House, President Trump has already left the White House and is taking Marine One to personally arrive at Joint Base Andrews to welcome the visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping. As this is an unprecedented high-level reception arrangement, it has attracted attention from all sectors. As VOA reporter Huang Yaoyi just introduced to us from the scene, in addition to the military personnel and security staff on standby on the runway, there are many overseas Chinese with different stances outside the venue—some are there to welcome him, and some are there to protest. So, it is actually quite lively outside Joint Base Andrews. We know that after Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland today, Wednesday, September 23, he is expected to stay at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C., to begin his three-day state visit. VOA reporter Wang Yuhe is currently outside the Office of the United States Trade Representative, located between the White House and the Waldorf Astoria where Xi Jinping often stays. We will now ask Yuhe to give us the latest situation from the scene. Yuhe?

Yes, Dongning. I am currently outside the Office of the United States Trade Representative near the White House. Why am I here? It is because there were some groups protesting against Xi Jinping outside the White House, and they marched all the way here. The person in charge is right beside me. Could you please introduce the demands of your protest this time? We are from Los Angeles, and we are the Los Angeles Committee of the Democratic Party of China. The target of our protest here today is the CCP authoritarian regime, and also Xi Jinping. We hope that the CCP government can put away their authoritarian regime and move toward true democratic politics. This is our demand. Today, we are also here to show solidarity with many political prisoners. Political prisoners including Gao Zhisheng, Jimmy Lai, and Wang Bingzhang—we want to show solidarity for many such political prisoners who are being held in CCP jails, and we hope the CCP will release them as soon as possible and stop suppressing the Chinese people.

Yes, there are a lot of them today, a group of over forty people. You can see them on camera here, and they also have some costumes. They will head to Joint Base Andrews, where Yaoyi is, to continue their protest later. Dongning.

Yuhe, besides the organized protesters you see on the scene, have you seen other international media paying close attention to this visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping? What other first-hand observations can you share with us from the scene, Yuhe?

Yes, Dongning. Just now, Mr. Jiang actually saw some CCP officials walking into the Office of the United States Trade Representative building. Can you tell me what you just saw? When we arrived at this intersection, we discovered several vehicles carrying CCP officials arriving here, and after getting out of the cars, they immediately walked into this building. Yes, that is what we saw.

Alright, yes, we have also captured the relevant footage, which will be available on the X platform later. Yuhe, we know it has been confirmed that Xi Jinping will be staying at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C. Have you observed any obvious security situations or an increase in security personnel around the hotel? What are your observations from the scene?

Yes, Dongning. The roads around the hotel have all been blocked off. When we tried to go over just now, we couldn't get through at all. About one or two blocks around the area are sealed off. So it is certain that President Xi Jinping will be staying at the Waldorf Astoria. We have seen some welcoming crowds around the hotel.

Alright, we thank VOA reporter Wang Yuhe very much for the report from the scene. Thank you, Yuhe.

So, in addition to President Trump personally arriving at Joint Base Andrews to welcome the visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio also stated on Wednesday that he expects the talks between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to cover disagreements on trade, critical minerals, and supply chain issues. Secretary of State Rubio pointed out that although there are serious differences between the U.S. and China, high-level meetings between heads of state are a responsible way of governance. President Trump will also have opportunities for further high-level interaction with the Chinese side later this year during the APEC meeting and the G20 summit. Let us listen to what Secretary of State Rubio had to say.

I believe we have an obligation to communicate and engage at the highest levels. This visit reflects the President's belief in this. Regardless of the differences we have with the Chinese government, China is by no means a small country. It is the world's second-largest economy, possesses a powerful military, and is undergoing perhaps the most rapid military expansion in history. Furthermore, we have serious friction with China in areas such as trade, supply chains, and critical minerals. Therefore, I believe that dialogue and meetings between leaders are a responsible way of governance. This is our position, and this is how we view this visit. We have visited China before, and the Chinese side also hosted us earlier this year. The agreements reached by both sides included arrangements for reciprocal visits, and this visit is the implementation of that agreement. There will be future opportunities for both sides to interact again, likely later this year, during the APEC meeting held in China and the G20 summit held in Florida.

Meanwhile, U.S. Representative Barratt, a Republican, also told Voice of America that he emphasizes the U.S. must maintain an attitude of distrust toward China, but one that is timely. Let us listen to what the representatives have to say.

This is very interesting. You have to be clear about what you are dealing with, right? China is a very powerful country, and that must be acknowledged. Whether you like it or not, we must deal with China. I know the President wants to initiate some dialogue with the Chinese side on the issue of artificial intelligence. I think this is very critical. Regarding artificial intelligence.

Alright, we will now cut immediately to the live footage from Joint Base Andrews to conclude today's program. Subtitle volunteer: Yang Qianqian.