WASHINGTON, September 24, 2026 — Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington on Wednesday evening to begin a three-day state visit and was met by anti-Communist Party protests outside the Waldorf Astoria Hotel where he is staying, with demonstrators chanting “Down with the Communist Party! Down with Xi Jinping!” according to eyewitness videos cited by People News.
Large groups of protesters gathered outside the hotel and along the route to the hotel, displaying anti-Communist slogans and banners calling for democracy, the outlet reported Thursday, citing the videos. The Epoch Times (Dajiyuan) reported that Xi is staying at the Waldorf Astoria and that security around the hotel — where the Chinese delegation is lodged — has been significantly heightened: tall black fences have been erected, all personnel and vehicles entering and exiting are subject to security checks, armed police are present, and surrounding streets are closed to traffic. Police have separated the protesters and the welcoming crowd into different blocks, according to the report.
Separately, Tibetan groups including the Tibetan Youth Congress, Students for a Free Tibet, the Tibetan Youth Association in Europe, and the International Tibet Network protested along Xi’s route to the hotel, displaying banners reading “You are not welcome in the USA,” “Free Tibet,” and “China out of Tibet now,” the Tibet Post International reported. Those protests are set to continue through September 25.
In a statement reported by the Tibet Post International, the Tibetan Youth Congress said Tibet has been under Chinese occupation for decades and that the newly implemented Ethnic Unity Law is accelerating assimilation — separating children from families, restricting the Tibetan language, and attempting to erase Tibetan civilization — adding that more than 170 Tibetans have self-immolated in protest and noting that Tibetan independence activist Lobga Rangzen’s July 2 self-immolation in front of the United Nations in New York was the first on U.S. soil.
Eyewitnesses remarked that the number of Chinese individuals organized to welcome Xi’s visit was noticeably smaller than on previous visits — possibly, they said, due to recent U.S. government actions targeting Chinese Communist Party agents — while turnout among those who came to protest was significant.
Xi is scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday. Thousands of demonstrators from Tibetan, Uyghur, Hong Kong, Taiwanese, Southern Mongolian, and Chinese democracy communities are expected to march through Washington today declaring Xi “not welcome,” as the Free China Movement reported earlier. Rights advocates and lawmakers have urged Trump to raise political prisoners with Xi, including detained Zion church leaders and Jimmy Lai, and the European Parliament last week urged EU sanctions on Hong Kong officials over the crackdown there. Ahead of the visit, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham asked Trump to press Xi for the release of imprisoned Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai.
Sources
- People News, “Down with the Communist Party!” Protests Erupt Outside Hotel Where Xi Jinping Is Staying During U.S. Visit (September 24, 2026)
- Tibet Post International, Tibetans in Washington strongly protested the arrival of Xi Jinping in the U.S. Capital