A senior Republican senator has sharply criticised US President Donald Trump for rolling out a "lavish welcome" for Chinese President Xi Jinping, marking a rare public break within the president's own party just as Xi arrives in Washington for a high-stakes summit, Bloomberg reported.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker said in a Senate floor speech on Tuesday that he would have advised against inviting Xi to Washington had the White House consulted him.
Also read: Xi Jinping unlikely to bring CEOs to summit where Trump seeks deals
"Quite frankly, had the White House asked me for advice, I would have suggested the president not invite Xi Jinping to Washington for such a lavish welcome here in the United States of America, based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party," Wicker said.
'Proper state dinner'
Wicker also took aim at the state dinner planned in Xi's honour on Thursday, which tech leaders including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Alphabet chief Sundar Pichai, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Qualcomm head Cristiano Amon are expected to attend, according to Bloomberg.
"As we know, a proper state visit requires a proper state dinner," Wicker said. "Again, I would not have scheduled such a thing. But as guests converse over the meal, the president might inquire about the purposes of China's massive military build-up, or about China's clear support for Iran."
The Mississippi senator also urged Trump to raise the plight of the Uyghur people and other human rights concerns, as well as Taiwan, during his talks with Xi.
"Our commander in chief should keep in mind that his guest is a brutal, unelected and oppressive dictator who seeks to dominate his neighbors and whose massive military arsenal is aimed directly at the United States of America," he said.
Xi's first White House visit in 11 years
China's foreign ministry announced on Monday that Xi will make a state visit to the US from September 23 to 25, with spokesperson Guo Jiakun describing reciprocal visits by the two leaders within six months as a historic milestone. The trip is Xi's first to the White House since 2015, when he was hosted by then-President Barack Obama.
Trump had invited Xi to Washington during his own state visit to Beijing in May, following an earlier invitation extended at their summit in Busan, South Korea, on October 30, 2025.
Trump will personally receive Xi at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, a departure from his usual practice of meeting foreign leaders at the White House, senior administration officials said.
Also read: Key issues for this week's Trump-Xi summit in Washington
On Thursday, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will host Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan at a White House arrival ceremony, followed by a troop review in the Rose Garden and closed-door talks.
On Friday, the Xis will join the Trumps for a private tea and a tour of the National Archives before departing.
Trade and the US-China rivalry over artificial intelligence are expected to dominate the summit.
US officials have indicated that the two sides may be ready to ease tariffs on some non-strategic goods, and rare earths are also expected to feature in the talks.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
