Trump’s ‘Lavish Welcome’ for Xi Slammed by Key GOP Senator

(Bloomberg) -- Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker sharply criticized Donald Trump for the manner in which he plans to host Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington this week, marking a significant public break from a key member of the president's own party just ahead of the high-stakes summit.

"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 in a Senate floor speech Tuesday.

Xi's trip marks his first visit to Washington in over a decade. Trade and the US-China race over artificial intelligence are expected to dominate the summit.

Tech leaders including Meta Platforms Inc.'s Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk, Alphabet Inc. chief Sundar Pichai, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Qualcomm Inc. head Cristiano Amon are all expected to attend a state dinner on Thursday.

"As we know, a proper state visit requires a proper state dinner," Wicker said in his remarks. "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."

Wicker also urged Trump to advocate for the Uyghur people and discuss other human rights issues, as well as Taiwan.

"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.