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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Pjotr Sauer, and Amy Hawkins in Beijing

Same but different: how Xi and China welcomed Trump and Putin

Side by side comparison of Trump and Putin shaking hands with Xi
Trump and Putin’s handshakes with Xi in the Great Hall of the People. Composite: White House press office/Maxim Stulov/Sputnik

Days after Donald Trump was greeted in Beijing with a military band, an honour guard and dozens of youths waving American and Chinese flags, Vladimir Putin arrived in China to an almost identical spectacle.

The choreography of the two welcomes appeared deliberately mirrored, designed to showcase Beijing’s ability to host leaders from Washington and Moscow with equal grandeur.

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