A brief video recorded at Joint Base Andrews has drawn widespread attention after showing US military personnel on their hands and knees preparing the red carpet shortly before Chinese President Xi Jinping stepped off his aircraft.
The footage shows several uniformed service members hurriedly smoothing and cleaning the approximately 30-meter-long red carpet positioned at the foot of the aircraft stairs. Chinese officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi, could be seen watching the final preparations from the doorway of the plane.
Xi arrived in the Washington area on September 23 for a state visit to the United States, accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan and senior Chinese officials. US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump personally greeted Xi and Peng at Joint Base Andrews.
The reception included an honor guard, a 21-gun salute and military aircraft flyovers as Washington prepared an unusually elaborate welcome for the Chinese leader.
The short red-carpet clip quickly circulated across social media, where it generated debate over the optics of American service members kneeling to prepare the carpet for the visiting Chinese president.
Xi’s visit comes as Washington and Beijing hold high-level discussions on trade, artificial intelligence, technology, Taiwan and other major issues affecting relations between the world’s two largest economies.