Nearly nine years after his last trip to China, US President Donald Trump returned to Beijing today hoping for what he had reportedly described as a “big, fat hug” from Xi Jinping amid rising tensions over trade, technology and global power politics. Instead, Trump was received at the airport by Chinese Vice President Han Zheng.
Though the optics on the ground were restrained, Chinese state media launched into a full-scale narrative campaign around the visit, presenting it not as a clash between rival superpowers but as a crucial opportunity to stabilise one of the world’s most important relationships.
From nostalgic stories about walks through the Forbidden City to survey data about global stability, China’s major state-linked outlets are each framing Trump’s visit in their own distinct way. However, beneath the different styles lies one common message is that the world cannot afford a breakdown in China-US ties.
Xinhua speaks of symbolism and history
Xinhua, the country’s official state news agency, has chosen a symbolic and almost cinematic approach. Its coverage revisits the early relationship between Trump and Xi, especially Trump’s 2017 Beijing visit, portraying it as a moment when personal diplomacy helped steady one of the world’s most consequential bilateral relationships. The article recalls Xi’s famous line, “There are a thousand reasons to make the China-US relationship a success, but not a single reason to break it.”
Xinhua leans heavily into imagery and cultural symbolism. It says Trump and Xi walking through the Forbidden City together, touring the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony linking the visit to the Chinese ideal of “harmony.”
The piece even revisits a softer moment from 2017, when Trump showed Xi a video of his granddaughter Arabella Kushner singing in Mandarin. Xi reportedly praised the performance as “A-plus,” a detail Xinhua uses to express warmth and personal rapport between the two leaders.
The tone throughout is diplomatic and optimistic. Xi is portrayed as a steady statesman trying to “steer the giant ship of China-US relations through winds and waves,” but dialogue is presented as the only realistic path forward in an unstable world. A separate Xinhua commentary pushes that message even harder, describing leader-level diplomacy as the “anchor” of bilateral ties and warning that both countries “stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation.”
CGTN focuses on global opinion and economic stability
If Xinhua focuses on political symbolism and personal chemistry, CGTN takes a more data-driven and international approach. CGTN frames Trump’s visit through the lens of global opinion and economic stability. Rather than focusing on personal stories, it shows survey findings from 39 countries to argue that most of the world wants stable China-U.S. ties.
According to the survey cited by CGTN, 75% of global respondents believe healthy China-US relations are “crucial to the international community.” The outlet repeatedly emphasises phrases like “mutual benefit,” “win-win cooperation” and “global stability.”
One of the clearest lines in the report says, “The essence of China-US trade is mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.” CGTN’s coverage is more strategic. It portrays China as the rational actor advocating stability, dialogue and economic cooperation at a time of rising geopolitical uncertainty. The network also subtly pushes back against tensions over trade and technology, arguing that economic and trade relations should act as a “stabilizer” rather than “a source of conflict.”
Global Times keeps it direct and geopolitical
Global Times has adopted the most direct and concise tone of the three. Its reporting is straightforward and focused on immediate diplomacy. The paper explains that Trump’s visit could help both countries “identify areas of common interest,” framing the trip as an opportunity to reopen communication channels after years of friction.
Unlike Xinhua’s historical storytelling or CGTN’s statistics-heavy framing, Global Times stays tightly focused on the political significance of the visit itself that is the meetings, the timing and the geopolitical stakes.
The outlet notes that the two leaders will discuss “major issues concerning bilateral relations and world peace and development,” reinforcing the idea that the relationship now extends far beyond trade disputes alone.
Xinhua explains the symbolism of leadership and personal trust. CGTN shows the argument that the world needs stable China-US ties. Global Times sells the practical importance of engagement between two rival powers.