China’s president, Xi Jinping, is scheduled to travel to the White House today, Thursday, which will mark the first such visit by a Chinese leader in 11 years.
On Wednesday, President Trump was expected to greet Xi, and his wife Peng, when they land at Joint Base Andrews. That tarmac greeting is also rare in diplomatic protocol, since U.S. presidents typically receive foreign leaders on the White House grounds.
Other plans over Thursday and Friday include a visit to National Archives; a state dinner; a tea reception in the White House Red Room; and a visit to the Smithsonian National Museum.
Reacting to the Trump-Xi itinerary, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) stated that Xi doesn’t deserve such a “lavish welcome” to Washington and to the United States, “based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party.”
Xi, x73, has been China's president and general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party since 2012.
Since then he has purged thousands of rivals, in the name of anti-corruption crackdown, to maintain power.
When Xi was a child, his father Xi Zhongxun was a high-ranking communist leader under Mao Zedong. Accused of being a counter revolutionary, the father was arrested, tortured, and imprisoned by Mao's Red Guards.
Sen. Wicker’s speech, which his office posted online, goes on to accuse the Chinese leader of brutalizing China’s citizens, including Christians and Muslims, and bullying and intimidating China’s neighbors such as Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines.
Wicker, who is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also recalled that China shared satellite imagery with Iran that led to the deaths of three U.S. servicemembers. That portion of the speech was referring to Iran’s July 17 missile attack on a military air base in Jordan. Four U.S. servicemembers were also wounded.
The Senator's floor speech combined some of those accusations with descriptions of the lavish plans for Xi during his state visit. “While the servers are switching from chardonnay to cabernet at the fancy state dinner,” Wicker stated, “perhaps the president could turn to Xi’s so-called reunification with China, reunification of China with Taiwan—his wish that Taiwan become a part of mainland China.”
In his final comments, Wicker urged President Trump to “keep in mind that his guest is a brutal, unelected, and oppressive dictator who seeks to dominate his neighbors and whose massive military arsenal is aimed directly at the United States of America.”
Asked by AFN to comment about Sen. Wicker’s criticism, a White House spokesperson said President Trump is “reciprocating” after President X hosted him at a historic summit that was held earlier this summer.
“The President will forge relationships with anyone in order to advance our national interests and make good deals for the American people,” Anna Kelly, a member of the White House Press Office, told AFN.
In a related story, AFN reported that Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) is holding a House hearing this week that will include testimony from a Chinese pastor who was imprisoned. That hearing is being timed for Xi's visit.
