Trump hails their 'great friendship'. Does Xi feel the same?

President Donald Trump showed off everything from his new helipad to a portrait mocking his predecessor as he sought to project a close friendship with Xi Jinping.

During the Chinese leader's state visit to the White House on Thursday, Trump repeatedly touched Xi's arm and hailed their "truly great friendship." The question is whether Xi feels the same.

Does Xi Jinping feel the same way about Trump?

Xi laughed along with Trump's jokes and let the US president play up their closeness in public. But his own remarks were notably cooler: he spoke of their "responsibility" to coexist peacefully rather than echoing Trump's language of friendship, and set out Beijing's red lines on AI, Taiwan and Iran.

How did Trump show off his friendship with Xi at the White House?

Trump pointed out the presidential portraits in the White House Colonnade, where Joe Biden's photo had been replaced with an image of an automated signing device. "Trump, and then Trump, and this is the autopen," he said, patting Xi on the arm as the Chinese leader laughed.

In another video, Trump gestured at a photo of a past meeting with Xi and joked, "Who is that? I don't recognize him!" He again patted Xi's arm before adding, "We have a lot of respect for you."

What happened during Xi's state visit to the White House?

A day earlier, Trump had personally greeted Xi at the airport, the first time a US president has done so for a Chinese leader. It was a courtesy Xi did not extend to Trump during his own state visit to Beijing in May.

On Thursday, Trump took Xi to see the newly built landing pad on the White House South Lawn, then brought him aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter, for a tour of one of the most sensitive aircraft in the world. Afterwards, the pair ignored questions from reporters on Iran, Taiwan and AI. Trump talked about stone instead: "He likes granite. He's an expert on stone, aside from many other things, and he loves good granite." Xi, who had sat largely stone-faced through the day's formal pageantry, briefly chuckled. Trump also praised the Chinese press corps in the Oval Office as the friendliest he'd encountered, days after banning three US media outlets from the White House.

What did Trump and Xi say about their relationship?

Trump has long reached out to authoritarian leaders and expressed admiration for their power, but he has been especially keen to build a friendship with Xi since returning to office. It marks a sharp shift from his first term, when he frequently attacked China over trade and the Covid pandemic.

Ryan Hass, who served as Barack Obama's top China advisor and is now at the Brookings Institution, called it "striking" that an already limited schedule was trimmed further to fit in a helipad tour. "Xi talks in terms of state-state relations and power. Trump talks in terms of personal chemistry. The contrast is pretty stark," Hass wrote on X.

How has Trump's approach to China changed?

Analysts say Xi is happy to let Trump believe they are friends while he plays for time, aware that Trump will leave office in just over two years. For Xi, the visit may ultimately be about respect rather than friendship.

"It's more like China, as the middle kingdom, is once again getting the acknowledgement and respect that it deserves," Judith Shapiro, a China specialist at American University, told AFP. "For Xi, getting a state visit at the White House is the very least that he could expect."