US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping visited the historic Temple of Heaven in Beijing after concluding high-level talks on Thursday in a historic meeting between leaders of countries usually thought to be adversaries.
The two leaders arrived at the World Heritage site shortly after 1 p.m. (0500 GMT), where Trump told reporters that “China is beautiful,” after talks that touched on thorny issues. Track updates from Trump’s China visit here
As global attention turns to US President Donald Trump’s high-profile visit to China and stops at iconic sites, memories of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic visit to the Temple of Heaven in 2015 have returned – a visit that produced one of the most memorable diplomatic images of the decade.
Located in a sprawling imperial complex filled with symbolism, the Temple of Heaven is believed to be the place where China’s emperors once prayed for a bountiful harvest.
A powerful portrait of Prime Minister Modi at the Temple of Heaven
During his trip to China in May 2015, then Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang hosted Modi at the historic imperial complex. The visit was distinguished not only by its symbolism, but also by the informal chemistry that emerged between the two leaders at a time when New Delhi and Beijing were trying to deepen economic engagement despite ongoing border tensions.
The decisive moment came when Modi and Lee stopped at the sprawling grounds of the Temple of Heaven to take an impromptu selfie. The photo – which shows the Indian Prime Minister holding up his phone with the ancient memorial in the background – quickly spread across social media and international news platforms, becoming a symbol of a new era of personal diplomacy and leader-driven optics.
The two leaders at the time reviewed the progress made in bilateral relations and noted that there is a historical necessity for India and China to enrich their relations.
A joint statement issued during Prime Minister Modi’s visit said that the leaders agreed that the simultaneous re-emergence of India and China as major powers in the region and the world provides a critical opportunity to realize the Asian Century.
“They noted that bilateral relations between India and China are poised to play a crucial role in the 21st century in Asia, and indeed globally. The two leaders agreed that the two countries’ process of achieving their national development goals and security interests should unfold in a mutually supportive manner with both sides demonstrating mutual respect and sensitivity to each other’s concerns, interests and ambitions,” they noted.
At the time, the selfie was widely interpreted as a carefully calculated soft power gesture by both sides, which demonstrated warmth and accessibility while subtly highlighting the importance of India-China relations.
More than a decade later, Trump is now in the Temple of Heaven on a trip watched by the world with expectations of some breakthroughs on contentious issues ranging from the Iran war to trade, technology and Taiwan.
In a closed meeting, Xi Jinping told Donald Trump that if Taiwan was handled well, US-China relations “will enjoy all-round stability,” according to a readout of their bilateral talks published by the official Xinhua news agency.
However, if not, the two countries risk “clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship at great risk,” Xi was reported to have said.
Xi says US and China should be ‘partners, not competitors’
Xi told Trump before their bilateral talks that the United States and China should be “partners, not competitors.”
“I have always believed that the common interests between China and the United States outweigh their differences,” Xi was quoted as saying, adding that cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both sides.
