Xi Jinping / Chinese Presidential Flight's Boeing 747 lands at Joint Base Andrews for a state visit to Washington

Xi Jinping / Chinese Presidential Flight's Boeing 747-89L, tail number B-2479, was tracked departing a location near the Alaska coast at 67.495°N, 156.353°W on September 23, 2026, and arriving at Joint Base Andrews (KADW) outside Washington, D.C., after a 6-hour 49-minute flight. The aircraft, one of two VIP-configured 747s operated by Air China's government division, typically flies under the CCA00_ callsign block and is among the most closely watched government aircraft globally. As always, we track the plane, not the person — who was aboard any given flight is unknown.

If Xi Jinping / Chinese Presidential Flight was aboard, the timing would align precisely with a state visit to the United States. Per a Ministry of Foreign Affairs announcement on September 24, President Xi Jinping left Beijing by special plane on the afternoon of September 23 for a state visit at the invitation of U.S. President Donald J. Trump, accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan, senior official Cai Qi, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The aircraft landing at Joint Base Andrews matches the expected arrival for such a visit.

The visit, covered extensively by CNA and other outlets, included a rare personal airport welcome by President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on the tarmac, with a military band, a red carpet, and a flyover by B-1 bombers. The three-day program features a state banquet at the White House and high-level talks focused on artificial intelligence, trade tensions, and the extension of an economic truce — the latter announced by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the same day, extending a deadline to January 10, 2027. The spectacle underscores the diplomatic weight of the trip, even as analysts quoted by CNA note low expectations for concrete breakthroughs.