Donald Trump’s greeting after touching down in China is being branded 'disrespectful'
US president Donald Trump's arrival in China was met with great fanfare this evening, but one detail might suggest Chinese president Xi Jinping wants to show him 'who's boss'.
In the three-day high-stakes diplomatic visit, items likely to be on the agenda for Trump and Xi include the US war with Iran, trade between their countries and American arms sales to Taiwan.
On Wednesday evening (13 May), the US president got a fancy welcome as he stepped off Air Force One in Beijing today as he was greeted by Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, a military honour guard and around 300 others waving Chinese and American flags chanting 'welcome'.
That all seems like a warm reception, doesn't it?
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Most people getting off planes don't have 300 people yelling a greeting to them.
However, for some people it's not enough and has been branded 'disrespectful' as Xi Jinping wasn't there on the airport tarmac to welcome Trump personally.
His VP; China’s ambassador to Washington, Xie Feng; their executive vice minister of foreign affairs, Ma Zhaoxu; and the American envoy to Beijing, David Perdue, were all ready to greet Trump, but not the man himself.
One X user wrote: "Xi is showing Trump who is boss."
However, while some interpreted the lack of the Chinese premier's presence to greet Trump as disrespectful, the New York Post reports that an expert is saying it was a warmer welcome than the last time a US president went to China.
Isabelle Vladoiu, founder of the US Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights, pointed out that 2017 was the last time an American leader went to China and Trump and Xi were both leading their respective countries back then.
Xi didn't show up in person for that greeting either, instead sending senior official Yang Jiechi to gladhand with Trump during his first steps on Chinese soil.
Vladoiu said the welcome this time, with a higher-ranking official in the form of China's VP, was a lot warmer as 'in Chinese diplomatic protocol, rank is never accidental'.
Even if the premier didn't show up himself, the expert said sending someone of higher rank to greet Trump this time meant they were taking it more seriously.
On his visit to China, Trump took Tesla boss Elon Musk and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang for a ride on Air Force One to get a red carpet reception.
Talks between Trump and Xi won't be held on the airport tarmac, anyway. Their main summit meeting will come tomorrow (14 May), where the US president will be hoping to convince his Chinese counterpart to buy more things from America.
He also wants American businesses to have more of a foothold in China.
He wrote on Truth Social: "I will be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to ‘open up’ China so that these brilliant people can work their magic, and help bring the People’s Republic to an even higher level."
Trump's relationship with China has been quite fraught in the past, since he went through a phase of slapping them with increasingly high tariffs.
Topics: Donald Trump, China, US News
Joe Harker