[Anchor]
Chinese President Xi Jinping has made a state visit to the United States for the first time in 11 years. U.S. President Donald Trump went out to the airport runway in person, waiting for an hour to greet him with the highest level of courtesy.
Reporting from Washington, this is correspondent Lee Hanseok.
[Reporter]
The Chinese Air China special flight glides onto the runway at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington.
U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were waiting in advance right in front of the aircraft stairs.
President Trump arrived at the airport by presidential helicopter at 4:54 PM and waited inside his presidential vehicle for over an hour before welcoming President Xi.
This is the first time since taking office for his second term that President Trump has gone out to an airport runway in person to greet a visiting foreign leader.
At 6:01 PM, as the cabin door opened and President Xi Jinping and his wife appeared, the two leaders shook hands with bright smiles.
Amid a 21-gun salute echoing over the red carpet and two B-1 bombers cutting through the sky, President Trump displayed his trademark physical touch, patting President Xi on the shoulder and back to flaunt their close relationship.
President Trump warmly welcomed President Xi, calling him a great leader and stating that this is a great moment, while President Xi responded through a written statement that the two countries must prioritize cooperation and keep competition and differences manageable.
Just before the meeting between the two leaders, preliminary negotiations between both sides were busy to secure outcomes for the summit.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng went through final coordination in Washington and agreed to extend the additional tariff suspension between the two countries, the so-called "trade truce," which was set to expire this coming November, by two months until January 10 of next year.
Shortly afterward, the leaders of the two countries will continue their talks and state dinner at the White House, entering into formal negotiations on key pending issues such as blocking the inflow of fentanyl, tariffs, and the Iran issue.
As to whether this U.S.-China summit will serve as an opportunity to find an exit from conflict or become the start of new tensions, the entire world is watching Washington.
(Video by Oh Jung-shik | Video Editing by Choi Jin-hwa)
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