Trump Rolls Out the Red Carpet for Xi Jinping... U.S. China Hardliners Call it "Excessive Hospitality"

Hardliners in the Republican Party Express Discontent

As plans for a "top-tier protocol" to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to the United States became public ahead of the upcoming U.S.-China summit, hardliners in the United States critical of China voiced open criticism.

Photo by AFP on the 22nd (local time) shows U.S. President Donald Trump speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Roger Wicker, Chair of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee and a Republican senator, said at the U.S. Senate on the 22nd (local time), "Frankly, if the White House had sought my advice, I would have told President Trump not to invite Xi Jinping to Washington, D.C. and not to offer such an extravagant reception."

Senator Wicker pointed out to President Trump that "his guest" is attempting to dominate neighboring countries and possesses significant military power directly aimed at the United States. He also urged President Trump to raise the issue, during the meeting with President Xi, that Chinese satellite imagery was used in Iran’s attack that resulted in the deaths of American military personnel.

John Moolenaar, Chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and also a Republican, argued in a letter sent to President Trump on the 18th that China remains "America’s most significant external adversary and greatest external threat."

These concerns are intertwined with the controversy over President Trump’s planned top-tier protocol for President Xi’s visit. According to the White House, President Trump will greet President Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan personally at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. At the official state welcome ceremony the following day, a B-2 strategic bomber and four F-22 fighter jets are scheduled to participate in a celebratory flight. Three meetings between the two heads of state and their spouses are also planned.

In the meantime, on the 23rd, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that President Xi had departed Beijing for the United States on a state visit. He is accompanied by his wife, Peng Liyuan, Cai Qi, Member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo, and Wang Yi, Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission and Minister of Foreign Affairs. President Xi will hold a summit with President Trump in Washington, D.C. on the 24th Eastern Time, and will remain in the U.S. for a two-night, three-day schedule until the 25th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.