First ladies step forward as Trump lays on rare honors for Xi
U.S. President Donald Trump, second from right, talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, second from left, with their wives, first lady Melania Trump and Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan, as they pose before dinner at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, April 6, 2017. AP-Yonhap
Three-day itinerary from September 23 to 25 will feature extensive ceremonial honors along with dedicated cultural exchanges and events
U.S. first lady Melania Trump is set to lead key cultural diplomacy events during the coming official state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, marking their first visit to the White House since 2015.
According to an official itinerary released by the first lady’s office, the three-day visit, scheduled from September 23 to 25, will feature extensive ceremonial honours alongside dedicated cultural exchanges highlighting Sino-American relations.
Melania will join U.S. President Donald Trump to officially welcome Peng and President Xi to the White House on Thursday following their scheduled arrival at Joint Base Andrews the previous evening.
The SCMP reported on September 17 that Trump would greet Xi at Joint Base Andrews, not only at the White House, a rare presidential airport welcome.
The official reception will take place across the South Lawn, State Floor and Rose Garden of the White House. It will begin with military pageantry along the White House grounds, where an Armed Forces honour guard will line the South Drive alongside displayed U.S. and Chinese flags.
The arrival proceedings will feature a full honour guard display by 479 military personnel across all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, a presidential salute, and military demonstrations by the United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon and the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps.
A joint military flyover featuring a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber and four F-22 Raptors will conclude the morning’s lawn ceremonies.
A major focus of the first lady’s agenda will take place on Thursday afternoon following the official State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn.
Melania and Peng will visit the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art — the Smithsonian’s first art museum, housing over 45,000 works spanning thousands of years of Asian heritage.
U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan at Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, April 6, 2017. Reuters-Yonhap
On Thursday evening, Melania will co-host a formal state dinner in the East Room of the White House for the visiting couple.
Both presidents will speak at the start of the event. Officials said the American guests would include Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai, Michael Dell, Jensen Huang, Sam Altman, Jane Fraser and Tim Cook.
“It’ll be a very popular and hot-ticketed event here in Washington,” a senior official said last week.
The diplomatic schedule will continue into Friday morning, September 25, when Trump and the first lady will greet President Xi and Peng at the South Portico for morning tea in the White House Red Room.
It would be the first time since 2017 that Melania and Peng have held separate engagements during a Trump-Xi summit.
Melania did not accompany Trump to Beijing in May, but joined him on his 2017 trip to China, when she and Peng took part in several joint activities.
In Beijing, she visited the Banchang Primary School alongside Peng, attended the Peking opera and took part in a variety of classes, including astronomy, calligraphy, cooking and Chinese architecture.
Her interactions with Peng also drew comparisons between the two first ladies — from their pre-marriage lives to their fashion choices and public demeanour.
During the trip, Melania remained in Beijing after Trump left for Vietnam, visiting the Beijing Zoo’s panda exhibit and touring the Great Wall.
At the zoo, Melania fed a giant panda named Gu Gu and interacted with schoolchildren.
“Thank you to the Beijing Zoo! Wonderful to meet Gu Gu! Melania Trump,” she later wrote on a panda print.
After visiting the Great Wall, Melania posted a one-minute video on social media with a caption, “Thank you #China!”
Read the article at SCMP.