Story perspectives

Trump Ends Xi State Visit After Handholding Contrast

By Drooid · Sep 29, 2026, 3:56 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

President Donald Trump ended a three-day state visit with Xi Jinping on Friday.
Patti Wood noted Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan held hands while Donald Trump and Melania Trump did not on stairs.
Donald Trump earlier called Canada “one of the worst countries in the entire world.”
Governor Mark Carney likened Donald Trump’s attitude toward Canada to a schoolgirl moving on from an immature boyfriend.

History

Historical Context

In February 1972 President Richard Nixon traveled to Beijing, ending a 23-year diplomatic freeze with the People’s Republic of China and meeting Chairman Mao Zedong alongside National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger. The trip, designed to gain leverage over the Soviet Union after the Sino-Soviet split, paved the way for full U.S.–China recognition in 1979, a precedent echoed in today’s Trump-Xi summit.

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Story summary

President Donald Trump ended a three-day state visit with Xi Jinping on Friday.
Patti Wood noted Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan held hands while Donald Trump and Melania Trump did not on stairs.
Donald Trump earlier called Canada “one of the worst countries in the entire world.”
Governor Mark Carney likened Donald Trump’s attitude toward Canada to a schoolgirl moving on from an immature boyfriend.

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