Chinese President Xi Jinping held a welcome ceremony on Thursday morning outside the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing for U.S. President Donald Trump, who is on a state visit to China.
Accompanied by Xi, Trump reviewed the Guard of Honor of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and watched a march-past.
The visiting U.S. president was also greeted by a military band and children waving flags and chanting "warm welcome!"
At the invitation of Xi, Trump is on a state visit to China from Wednesday to Friday. This is the first U.S. presidential visit to China in almost nine years, after President Xi previously hosted Trump in Beijing in November 2017.
Xi, Trump greeted by Chinese Honor Guard, children waving flags at welcome ceremony
Ukraine's civilian casualties rose to their highest monthly level since March 2022 in July, marking a new peak in this year's escalation of civilian harm, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission.
UN Associate Spokesperson Daniela Gross De Almeida said at a press briefing on Thursday that the mission's verified toll was likely to rise further as it continued to assess reported deaths and injuries.
"The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission today said that more civilians were killed or injured in the country in July 2026 than in any month since March 2022, marking a new high in this year's escalation of civilian harm. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission verified that at least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 injured in Ukraine in July, which is a 30 percent increase compared with the previous month and a 70 percent increase compared with July 2025. The actual figure is likely higher, as the Monitoring Mission continues to verify information," De Almeida said.
Long-range missiles and drones remained the leading cause of civilian casualties in July, accounting for 38 percent of the total, the mission said. Casualties from aerial bombardments rose 143 percent from June, while 17 children were killed and 166 injured, the highest monthly child-casualty toll since April 2022.
In the first seven months of 2026, the mission verified 12,477 civilian casualties in Ukraine, up 44 percent from the same period last year.
Ukraine civilian casualties climb to new high: UN
