Chinese photographers and other members of the traveling media contingent accompanying President Xi Jinping became involved in several tense confrontations with Secret Service agents, White House personnel and American journalists Thursday as reporters scrambled for position during the Chinese leader’s state visit.
Videos from the White House showed shouting, arguments and physical jostling as security personnel attempted to organize photographers ahead of President Donald Trump’s formal welcome for Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan.
The first disturbance unfolded before Xi’s arrival, as members of the Chinese press corps competed for positions from which to photograph the ceremony. Connor Stringer, chief Washington correspondent for The Telegraph, described the scene as “chaos” and reported that members of the Chinese traveling press were pushing and shoving while attempting to secure better positions. Stringer also reported “lots of shouting and raised voices” as some members of the group resisted instructions from Secret Service personnel.
White House correspondent Christian Datoc of the Washington Examiner reported that the situation became heated enough that U.S. officials threatened to remove one member of the Chinese contingent for interfering with official White House camera positions.
Reuters photographer Jonathan Ernst captured one of the confrontations, photographing a Secret Service agent redirecting a Chinese official photographer who had initially refused to move from his position. The photographer ultimately complied, and the confrontation did not interrupt the arrival ceremony.
Raised voices as Chinese photographers seek better spots for Xi’s arrival at the White House pic.twitter.com/RODKG9CF4l
— Danny Kemp (@dannyctkemp) September 24, 2026
The problems were not limited to the South Lawn. In another video circulating Thursday, a Chinese male photographer appeared to shove past an American female reporter as journalists crowded through a doorway while attempting to enter coverage of Trump’s bilateral meeting with Xi in the Oval Office. The tightly packed group could be seen pressing forward as journalists competed for access.
The incidents highlighted the logistical difficulties surrounding one of the largest and most closely watched foreign-leader visits to Washington in years. Trump and first lady Melania Trump formally welcomed Xi and Peng to the White House Thursday morning following the Chinese couple’s arrival in the United States a day earlier. The White House assembled an elaborate ceremony involving 479 members of the U.S. military.
