{
  "id": 9731579,
  "title": "Trump gives Xi a tour of his pet White House building projects, including the ballroom",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/trump-gives-xi-a-tour-of-his-pet-white-house-building-projects",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-25T08:05:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3368792/trump-gives-xi-tour-his-pet-white-house-building-projects-including-ballroom"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Property developer Donald Trump, now President of the United States, took Chinese President Xi Jinping on a tour of his recent White House construction projects on Thursday. This was done to showcase Trump's building ambitions that have emerged since their last meeting in China.\n\nDuring the Oval Office talks, Trump introduced Xi to the South Lawn, where Marine One, the helicopter used for the US president's transportation, awaited. Videos of this moment went viral, showing the two presidents discussing the helipad, which cost US$5 million to construct.\n\nXi showed interest in the granite used for the helipad, remarking on his \"great interest in granite\" and his expertise in stone. Trump then led Xi to a series of construction sites, with granite again catching Xi's attention.\n\nThe highlight of the tour was a visit to the construction site for the new ballroom. Trump invited Xi to tour the site, highlighting its potential to improve White House security and accommodate larger events.\n\nThis visit to the White House construction sites drew comparisons to Trump's previous visit to China in May. During that trip, Trump had made repeated references to the ballroom being constructed at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, prompting Xi to point it out during their meeting.\n\nTrump, who has been involved in real estate since graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, sees his White House projects as part of his legacy as a first president with no prior government or military background.",
  "summary": "Property developer-turned-president Donald Trump appeared to relish showing off the White House’s latest building works to Xi Jinping on Thursday, eager to give his Chinese counterpart a glimpse of his construction ambitions since they last met in China. In May, Trump was hosted at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, a sprawling complex that the US president compares with his planned White House…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Protesters of Xi’s policies push for change in earshot of White House visit with Trump",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/protesters-of-xis-policies-push-for-change-in-earshot-of-white-house",
        "published": "2026-09-25T01:37:01.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "China’s Xi shares a rare laugh on White House tour at Trump’s Biden autopen joke",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/chinas-xi-shares-a-rare-laugh-on-white-house-tour-at-trumps-biden",
        "published": "2026-09-25T03:13:32.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "BBC News",
        "title": "What was it like inside the White House dinner?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/what-was-it-like-inside-the-white-house-dinner",
        "published": "2026-09-25T04:28:36.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "Who attended the White House dinner for Chinese leader Xi Jinping?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/who-attended-the-white-house-dinner-for-chinese-leader-xi-jinping",
        "published": "2026-09-25T05:01:51.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Euronews",
        "title": "Toasts, handshakes and smiles: Moments from Xi’s White House state dinner",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/toasts-handshakes-and-smiles-moments-from-xis-white-house-state-dinner",
        "published": "2026-09-25T05:02:56.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}