Xi Jinping's US Visit: Trump to Receive Chinese President at Airport

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit the US from September 23 to 25. This is his first visit to the US in nearly 11 years. On September 24, he will have a summit meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House. Trump is scheduled to do what has rarely been done before. Trump is scheduled to receive him at Joint Base Andrews Airport, which is considered an unusual step for a US president. It has been very rare for a US president to personally receive a foreign leader at the airport. Common protocol is that the protocol officer or vice president receives at Joint Base Andrews. The president welcomes him in a formal ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House. However, the Pope has been an exception. John F. Kennedy is believed to be the last US president to receive a foreign head of state. Kennedy personally received several foreign heads of state and government at Joint Base Andrews between 1961 and 1919, including Jawaharlal Nehru in Sudan, Abdul Ghafoor in India, and Ibrahim Ibrahim Khan in Pakistan.