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Cao Jiaxuan

Chinese President Xi Jinping broke into rare laughter as his US counterpart Donald Trump showed him a framed “autopen” displayed in place of the former American leader Joe Biden’s portrait during a White House tour.
The viral moment stood out against the Chinese leader’s otherwise restrained demeanour during his first state visit to the United States in more than a decade.
A video released by the White House on social media showed Trump taking Xi along the White House colonnade on Thursday before stopping at the “Presidential Walk of Fame”, where portraits and plaques honour US presidents.
“This is the autopen ... it’s Biden,” Trump said, pointing to the image. Xi laughed audibly, while several people accompanying the two leaders also appeared to join in.
While parts of Trump’s remarks were difficult to make out in the video, he appeared to be referring sarcastically to Biden’s use of the autopen, a recurring target of the US president’s criticism of his predecessor.

"This is the autopen... it's Biden." 🤣 President Trump shows off the legendary Presidential Walk of Fame to President Xi. https://t.co/qUQEM6XoLj
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 24, 2026

The moment offered a striking contrast with Xi’s generally composed public demeanour during the state visit which is occurring against a backdrop of bilateral tensions over technology and rare earths.
At Wednesday’s welcome ceremony, Xi showed little reaction when a jet taking part in a military flyover produced a thunderous roar as the US national anthem was being played. Trump, standing nearby, appeared startled by the noise and briefly grimaced.
After Xi laughed at the autopen joke, Trump gave the Chinese president a friendly pat on the shoulder as they continued the tour.
Trump is known for using expansive gestures and physical contact when meeting foreign leaders. During previous encounters between the two presidents, however, Xi has generally maintained a more formal posture.
In Trump’s visit to China in May, Xi appeared to deny Trump his trademark tug of war-style handshake, holding firm as the US president tried to draw him closer.
Thursday’s video quickly drew attention on social media. “I have never heard Xi laughing so genuinely with Trump about Biden’s autopen portrait,” one post said. “Quite a moment,” another commenter wrote.
The image of an autopen has occupied the place of Biden’s portrait in Trump’s “Presidential Walk of Fame” since September 2025.
Trump has routinely denigrated his predecessor, refusing to acknowledge his 2020 election loss to Biden and repeatedly peddling the claim that the result was rigged by voter fraud.
He has also repeatedly accused Biden of relying on aides and the autopen to sign official documents by the end of his term in office, allegations that Biden’s administration has disputed.




A separate video shared by White House staff also showed Trump stopping in front of a framed photograph from his meeting with Xi in Beijing in May.
Trump pointed at the photograph and asked, “Who is that? I don’t recognise him.”
Xi turned towards members of his delegation and appeared to give another brief laugh.
US-China relations plummeted to new lows during Biden’s term as a sequence of events unravelled diplomatic ties.
Sharp recriminations over the origins of Covid-19 were compounded by a major cross-strait crisis triggered by then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit in 2022.
Other tensions involved the 2023 “spy balloon” saga and an array of tech-containment measures targeting China’s semiconductor and investment landscapes.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise the self-ruled island as an independent state. However, Washington is opposed to any attempt to take Taiwan by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.


After Biden took office in January 2021, he held three formal in-person meetings with Xi, all on the sidelines of multilateral meetings, including the G20. No state visits were exchanged between Washington and Beijing during the former US president’s tenure.
Xi’s last trip to the United States was in November 2023, when he travelled to San Francisco for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and met then-president Biden.
Before that, Xi’s last state visit to Washington was in September 2015, when then-US vice-president Biden and his wife Jill Biden welcomed Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan at the airport.


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Trump autopen joke at Biden’s expense draws rare laugh from China’s Xi

US President Donald Trump points out the framed image in place of his predecessor’s portrait, prompting an amused response from Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Photo: X.com/The White House

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US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping observe a ceremonial flyover at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on September 23, 2026. Xi is visiting the United States until Friday. Photo: AFP

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US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping sit together during a state dinner at the White House on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Donald Trump toasts with Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan during the dinner. Photo: AP

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The state dinner menu printed in Chinese. Photo: AP

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and then US president Barack Obama chat as they take a walk at the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, California, on June 8, 2013. Photo: AFP

Xi sits alongside Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on April 6, 2017, during the US president’s first term. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS

Xi and then US president Joe Biden walk together after a meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ week in Woodside, California, on November 15, 2023. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS

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US first lady Melania Trump and Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan visit the  Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua

From left, Peng, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art director Chase Robinson and Trump during a tour of the Peacock Room. Photo: AFP

Trump and Peng with students from Hope Chinese School at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua

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China

Diplomacy

Trump autopen remark during White House tour prompts the Chinese leader to respond audibly to his host’s mockery of the former president


Trump autopen remark during White House tour prompts the Chinese leader to respond audibly to his host’s mockery of the former president.


Donald Trump

Joe Biden

United States

Xi Jinping

Trump autopen joke at Biden’s expense draws rare laugh from China’s Xi

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Trump autopen remark during White House tour prompts the Chinese leader to respond audibly to his host’s mockery of the former president

Trump autopen remark during White House tour prompts the Chinese leader to respond audibly to his host’s mockery of the former president