US defence secretary joins Trump on China trip in rare diplomatic move

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Pete Hegseth becomes first Pentagon chief to accompany a US president to Beijing since Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit

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Yuanyue Dangin WashingtonPublished: 4:54am, 13 May 2026

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has become the first American defence chief in decades to accompany a sitting president on a state visit to China, in a rare departure from long-established diplomatic practice.

Hegseth boarded Air Force One bound for Beijing alongside US President Donald Trump on Tuesday afternoon, according to the White House.

Trump is set to hold highly anticipated bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday and Friday.Advertisement

A South China Morning Post tally shows it is the first time a US president has travelled to China with his defence secretary in tow since Richard Nixon’s groundbreaking visit in 1972.

It will also be Hegseth’s first trip to China since taking up the post and the first US defence chief to visit China in nearly eight years.

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Previous US defence secretaries have generally arranged their China visits as stand-alone trips.

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