Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said he would have advised President Donald Trump against inviting Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Washington for “such a lavish welcome,” citing unresolved disputes with Xi and the Chinese Communist Party.
Xi is scheduled to arrive on Sept. 23, with Trump set to greet him at Joint Base Andrews.
The White House will hold a state arrival ceremony the following morning involving 479 U.S. military personnel and a flyover by a B-2 Spirit bomber and four F-22 Raptors, followed by Trump–Xi talks and a state dinner.
“Again, I would not have scheduled such a thing,” Wicker said of the dinner during his Sept. 22 Senate floor speech. …