US Secret Service agents were locked in a 30-minute armed standoff with Chinese security officers in Beijing on Thursday during a high-stakes Trump–Xi meeting at the Temple of Heaven religious complex, according to reporters travelling with the US president. The clash unfolded as Donald Trump's motorcade arrived for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, turning a choreographed display of diplomacy into a stand-off over a single American agent's gun.
The news came after a rocky start to Trump's two‑day visit to China, originally slated for April but postponed over regional security concerns linked to his war with Iran. The trip, billed by the White House as a chance to stabilise the Trump-Xi relationship, was already under scrutiny before Air Force One touched down. Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday night and was greeted not by Xi but by Vice President Han Zheng, a protocol detail that did not go unnoticed among diplomats who obsess over such signals.
