WASHINGTON, September 24, 2026 — Police had to contain clashes between protesters against Chinese President Xi Jinping and supporters of the Chinese president near the White House on Thursday as Xi met President Donald Trump, the Spanish news outlet democrata.es reported.
A Caribbean television crew reporting on the ground separately confirmed that both anti-Xi demonstrators and a group of pro-Xi supporters had gathered near the White House complex during the state visit. When the crew approached the Xi supporters for interviews, they either declined or said they did not speak English well, One Caribbean Television reported.
The daytime demonstrations, which drew Tibetans, Uyghurs, Hong Kongers, Taiwanese, Southern Mongolians, and Chinese democracy activists, used some of the most recognizable symbols of protest against Beijing: Winnie the Pooh, Tank Man imagery, Taiwan flags, and messages about Xinjiang and Tibet, according to democrata.es.
Video published by NDTV Profit and the sports-news outlet AS showed another dramatic moment: one protester punctured an image of Xi with scissors, while another threw scissors at a cardboard cutout depicting the Chinese leader as an obese emperor. Protesters chanted and held banners and posters criticizing Xi and the Chinese government, the outlets reported.
“I feel that President Trump made a wrong decision, inviting him to come to the land of the free,” protester Kevin Li told One Caribbean Television, saying demonstrators were showing “disobedience against the totalitarian regime of the CCP.”
The clashes mark a more confrontational turn than the pre-announced rallies. Thursday’s protests were planned as a daylong mobilization: a morning demonstration outside the Chinese Embassy, a march through Dupont Circle to the U.S. Capitol, an afternoon coalition rally, and an evening candlelight vigil at Franklin Park — plans this publication covered earlier Thursday. On Wednesday night, protesters had already gathered outside the Waldorf Astoria hotel where Xi is staying.
Attendance figures for Thursday’s events remain organizer estimates only and have not been independently confirmed.
Meanwhile, the summit itself proceeded: Xi arrived Wednesday evening for his first state visit to Washington in more than a decade, and Thursday’s talks were expected to cover trade, artificial intelligence, and Taiwan. Joint remarks are scheduled for Thursday evening.
Sources
- democrata.es: “Winnie the Pooh, Taiwan flags and Tank Man in Washington: the protests in front of the White House during the meeting of Xi and Trump” — democrata.es article
- One Caribbean Television: “Chinese President Xi’s Presence in Washington Brings Protesters, Supporters” — One Caribbean Television article
- NDTV Profit (video): “WATCH: Xi Jinping’s Posters Attacked With Scissors Outside White House As Trump Hosts Him” — NDTV Profit video
- AS (video): “Protesters Rally Against Xi Jinping and China’s Government Outside the White House” — AS video
Related coverage
- Planned Thursday mobilization: https://freechina.live/english/english-news/washington-protest-xi-visit-tibetans-uyghurs-september-2026/
- Xi-arrival Waldorf Astoria protests: https://freechina.live/english/english-news/xi-arrival-protests-waldorf-astoria-washington-september-2026/
- Summit readout omits political prisoners: https://freechina.live/rapid-response/rapid-response-summit-readout-omits-political-prisoners-september-2026/