US defence secretary joins Trump on China trip in rare diplomatic move
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is accompanying President Donald Trump on his state visit to China, a rare diplomatic move not seen in decades. Hegseth boarded Air Force One with Trump for the trip to Beijing, where the President will hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Briefing Summary
AI-generatedUS Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is accompanying President Donald Trump on his state visit to China, a rare diplomatic move not seen in decades. Hegseth boarded Air Force One with Trump for the trip to Beijing, where the President will hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. This marks the first time a US president has traveled to China with his defense secretary since Richard Nixon's 1972 visit. Hegseth's presence signifies a departure from the usual practice of defense secretaries undertaking separate trips to China. The visit is also Hegseth's first to China as defense secretary and the first for a US defense chief in nearly eight years.
Article analysis
Model · rule-basedKey claims
5 extractedThis will be Hegseth’s first trip to China and the first US defence chief to visit China in nearly eight years.
It is the first time a US president has travelled to China with his defence secretary since Richard Nixon’s visit in 1972.
Hegseth boarded Air Force One bound for Beijing alongside US President Donald Trump on Tuesday afternoon.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is the first American defence chief in decades to accompany a sitting president on a state visit to China.
Trump is set to hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday and Friday.