SCHEDULED80% CONFIDENCEThe White House[1] programme states that "on Thursday morning, September 24, the President and First Lady will host a State Arrival Ceremony". It gives the day but no hour, so the pin is all-day on 24 September.
- Start
- Sep 24, 202675% CONFIDENCEfrom the source
A State Arrival Ceremony for Xi Jinping on the South Lawn
479 military personnel from every branch, an Armed Forces Full Honor Cordon, a Rose Garden military review and a flyover by a B-2 and four F-22s: the formal welcome for Xi Jinping on the morning of 24 September 2026, his first White House arrival ceremony since 2015.
- The State Arrival Ceremony takes place on the morning of Thursday, 24 September 2026, the centerpiece of Xi Jinping's 23–25 September state visit hosted by President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump[1][5][6]
- It is Xi's first White House arrival ceremony in more than a decade — his last visit was in 2015, 11 years earlier[1][3][5]
- The ceremony spans the South Lawn, the State Floor and the Rose Garden of the White House and involves 479 military personnel representing all branches of the United States Armed Forces[1][4]
- The South Drive is lined with an Armed Forces Full Honor Cordon leading to a national flag display of US and Chinese flags, with a fanfare from the United States Army Herald Trumpets on the South Portico[1]
- On the State Floor, "The President's Own" United States Marine Band plays the national anthems of the People's Republic of China and the United States, followed by remarks from both Trump and Xi[1]
- A Presidential Salute on the South Lawn is given by the United States Marine Silent Drill Platoon and United States Joint Forces Command[1]
- A Military Review follows in the Rose Garden, with the Army Herald Trumpets lining the roof of the West and Oval Colonnades and demonstrations by the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon and "The Commandant's Own" Marine Drum and Bugle Corps[1][5]
- The ceremony concludes with a military flyover of a B-2 Spirit and four F-22 Raptors[1]
- The itinerary was released by the Office of the First Lady on 21 September 2026, the same day China's foreign ministry announced the 23–25 September visit at Trump's invitation; spokesperson Guo Jiakun called the two leaders' reciprocal visits within six months "of historic, milestone significance"[1][5][6]
- Trump broke with custom the previous evening by greeting Xi and Madame Peng Liyuan planeside at Joint Base Andrews on 23 September, with a red carpet and arrival ceremony — AP framed it as showing "how far the U.S. president is going to honor China's leader"; Melania Trump told Fox & Friends "he's coming on our soil, and we need to welcome them with the most respect"[1][3][4]
- The pageantry is intended to reciprocate the ceremonial grandeur of Trump's own May 2026 state visit to Beijing, where a red carpet, honor guard, military band and some 300 flag-waving children met Air Force One[3][4]
- A senior administration official described the summit proper as officially beginning Thursday morning and ending Friday evening, with the arrival ceremony followed by closed-door talks on trade, AI, rare earths and fentanyl precursors[3][4]
- Later on 24 September, Mrs Trump and Madame Peng visit the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, and the day ends with a black-tie State Dinner in the East Room attended by tech leaders including Jensen Huang, Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai, Michael Dell and Jane Fraser[1][3][4]
- On Friday 25 September the two couples take tea in the Red Room before travelling to the National Archives to view records significant to the US–China relationship, where the farewell takes place[1][3][5]
- Washington's Metropolitan Police Department imposed Emergency No Parking and traffic closures for the visit, including Constitution Avenue from 14th to 18th Street NW and 15th and 17th Streets from Independence Avenue SW to H Street NW closed 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday[2]
- The welcome drew criticism from Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who said in a Senate speech on 22 September that Trump should not have invited Xi and called him "a brutal, unelected and oppressive dictator"[3]
References 680% CONFIDENCE
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- [1]75%whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2026/09/first-lady-melania-trump-releases-details-ahead-of-his-excellency-xi-jinping-president-of-the-peoples-republic-of-china-and-madame-peng-liyuans-visit-to-the-white-housewhitehouse.gov· Posted Sep 21, 2026· Starts Sep 24, 2026 ✓· 17% of score
The White House programme states that "on Thursday morning, September 24, the President and First Lady will host a State Arrival Ceremony". It gives the day but no hour, so the pin is all-day on 24 September.
- [2]78%Downtown DC road closures in effect for President Xi Jinping's visit - NBC Washingtonnbcwashington.com· Published Sep 23, 2026· 17% of score
Streets around the White House[1] close from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday for the arrival ceremony and state dinner.
- [3]82%China's Xi kicks off state visit to Washington on Wednesday with a rare planeside welcome from Trump - AP via ABC Newsabcnews.com· Published Sep 23, 2026· 17% of score
AP's account of the state visit programme that continues at the White House[1] on Thursday.
- [4]75%China's Xi set to arrive in Washington for high-stakes Trump summit - Fox Newsfoxnews.com· Published Sep 23, 2026· 17% of score
Thursday South Lawn ceremony, then meetings and the state dinner; agenda covers AI, tariffs, rare earths and fentanyl.[1]
- [5]75%2026 state visit by Xi Jinping to the United States (Wikipedia)en.wikipedia.org· Added Sep 21, 2026· 17% of score
Background on the visit: Xi's first White House[1] visit in eleven years and the reciprocal trip after Trump's May 2026 Beijing visit.
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