Chinese President Xi Jinping greeted President Donald Trump on Thursday with a welcome ceremony featuring the usual pomp and circumstance for a diplomatic visit by an important world leader. Upon his arrival at China’s Great Hall of the People near Tiananmen Square, the president was met with Chinese children waving flowers and flags of both countries, as were members of China’s People’s Liberation Army. It was a continuation of Wednesday’s festive welcome for the U.S. president and delegation after landing at Beijing Capital International Airport.

Trump and Cabinet members, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and War Secretary Pete Hegseth, and tech titans, including Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, were greeted by Xi and other Chinese officials. The People’s Liberation Army band played the Star-Spangled Banner as Trump and Xi observed at the Great Hall of the People. Trump saluted as the U.S. national anthem was played.