Chinese President Xi Jinping broke into rare laughter during his White House tour on Thursday after US President Donald Trump pointed out a framed “autopen” displayed in place of former President Joe Biden’s portrait.
Pointing towards the presidential displays, Trump said, “Trump, and then Trump — and this is the autopen,” before adding, “This is the autopen; it’s Biden”.
Trump and Melania personally welcomed him and Peng Liyuan at Joint Base Andrews, a rare gesture for a visiting foreign leader. He was accompanied by senior Chinese officials, including Cai Qi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The Oval Office talks took place behind closed doors, and the two leaders did not hold a joint press conference afterwards.
Xi responded with loud laughter, while Trump patted the Chinese leader on the arm, according to a video posted by White House on X. Trump said the conversation was “great” but did not take questions from reporters. China’s foreign ministry said the leaders also supported the successful hosting of the informal APEC leaders’ meeting in China in November and the G20 summit in the US in December.
Xi arrived in Washington on Wednesday for his three-day state visit to the US.
