US President Receives Chinese Counterpart at Start of State Visit to Washington

Washington, Sept. 23 (KUNA) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington today, Wednesday, on his first official visit to the U.S. capital in more than a decade, where he was given a grand welcome by U.S. President Donald Trump. President Trump hosted an official welcome ceremony for his Chinese counterpart at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, near Washington, to mark the visit, which will continue until the 25th of this month. The two leaders are scheduled to discuss a range of key issues over two days, including bilateral relations and regional and international files of mutual interest. The last official visit by a Chinese president to the United States took place in September 2015, when Xi visited Seattle, Washington, and New York and met then-President Barack Obama. Trump had recently affirmed in media comments the “good relationship” he shares with his Chinese counterpart, expressing his belief that the meeting “will be very good” and will be accompanied by “the signing of many different deals.” Coinciding with the start of the visit, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Fox News today that the two countries had agreed to extend their economic truce until January next year to allow more time to reach a “broader agreement.” Chinese and American officials had concluded two days of talks in New York focused on trade, investment, and artificial intelligence, as part of their efforts to advance negotiations ahead of the summit between Trump and Xi in Washington. (End) A.M.M. / T.A.B.