It's Trump Week here in Beijing, as the US President is in town for three days of talks with Xi Jinping.
The visiting delegation — which includes The Donald, First Lady Melania Trump, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, communications director Hope Hicks, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, US ambassador to China Terry Branstad, chief of staff John Kelly, National Security Adviser HR McMaster, senior adviser Jared Kushner and several others — are reportedly staying at the St. Regis in downtown Beijing, according to several posts on social media.
Pool reports from the White House press secretary seem to confirm this, with one daily schedule from this morning noting when POTUS' pool would depart from St. Regis en route to today's big meetings at the Great Hall of the People (next to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City).
The Jianguomen area is seeing heightened security this week, with a fence already put up around the hotel, several nearby local businesses either temporarily closed or forced to put up shutters, restricted parking and increased security checks at road stops and neighborhood apartments.
Some streets around the Second Ring Road have also been temporarily closed off to traffic while Trump's motorcade rolls through. Here's a screengrab from a video taken near the CBD yesterday (see the full video from Gabriel Clermont here):
We'd suggest avoiding these areas until Trump's visit ends Friday (November 10).
As Chinese media are also reporting, while a visit to the Great Wall isn't in Trump's schedule this week, the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall will be closed to visitors all day tomorrow.
Have fun on the toboggan tomorrow, Melania!
[Images via Twitter]
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