President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, beginning a three-day visit shaped by disputes over trade, artificial intelligence and Taiwan. The ceremony included a 100-foot red carpet, a military band, ceremonial cannon fire and a B-1 bomber flyover. It was the first time in 11 years that a U.S. president had welcomed a foreign leader at the base, according to C-SPAN. Xi arrived without the Chinese business delegation Beijing had sought to bring, Reuters reported, citing sources. The schedule includes a White House military ceremony, a Thursday state dinner and a visit to the National Archives, with Apple Inc. Chairman Tim Cook, Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI's Sam Altman expected among the technology leaders attending. Tesla Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. CEO Elon Musk called Xi a "great leader," while Polymarket bettors placed Xi at the top of the odds to attend the dinner. The meeting follows an agreement by the United States and China to extend their trade truce, known as the Busan Agreement, by two months to Jan. 10, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's comments to Fox News. The countries remain divided over Taiwan, narcotics, rare-earth minerals and artificial intelligence. Xi is expected to press Beijing's claims to Taiwan, while Trump is likely to maintain existing export controls, Reuters reported. The summit also comes as Trump faces falling approval ratings ahead of the November midterm election and public frustration over the Iran war. Last month, Bessent warned that China's continued purchases of Iranian oil could expose it to U.S. sanctions as Washington pressures Tehran's remaining economic lifelines.