– As US President Donald Trump’s visit to China drew global attention to Beijing and the image China projected during the high-profile trip, one unexpected moment at the airport quickly went viral online — a Chinese soldier standing guard beside the runway as Air Force One taxied past him without the slightest movement.

On Wednesday evening, Jon Michael Raasch, White House correspondent for the Daily Mail, posted a 35-second video showing a Chinese People’s Liberation Army soldier standing upright beside the airport runway while the plane slowly turned behind him. Despite the roaring engine noise and the close proximity of the aircraft, the soldier appeared entirely unaffected until the plane had fully passed.Raasch captioned the video, “This guy didn’t even flinch… and the plane is roaring loud.” As of press time, the clip had received over 2.8 million views and over 24,000 likes on social platform X.

The footage rapidly spread across multiple social media platforms and was reposted by a number of foreign media outlets. The Daily Mail shared the clip with the caption “Chinese soldier doesn’t flinch as Air Force One taxis past him,” while RT reposted it with the line: “Chinese officer goes viral for standing completely still as Air Force One passes just a few meters away.”
The video also triggered a wave of comments praising the soldier’s discipline and professionalism. Under Raasch’s post, one user wrote, “Not only the soldier but also the nation stands steady in world affairs.” Another comment read, “This is a soldier of the honor guard of the PLA. He always stands proudly upright, and will never let go and collapse. This is the civilization of China’s state of etiquette.”

Several Indian media outlets also highlighted the soldier’s composure. The Times of India posted the clip on its website under the headline “China’s ice-cold guard stuns world as Trump’s Air Force One taxis at Beijing Airport,” writing, “Talk about nerves of steel. As Air Force One touched down in Beijing today, it wasn’t the billionaire CEOs or the President who went viral — it was this Chinese officer. Standing just feet away from the massive jet, he didn’t blink, flinch, or move a muscle. It’s a masterclass in the People’s Liberation Army’s legendary ceremonial discipline. A stone-cold start to a high-stakes summit.” Times Now also reported on the soldier’s online popularity, saying, “The moment quickly sparked admiration, jokes, and debate online, with many users stunned by what they described as extraordinary discipline.”

WION, another Indian media outlet, wrote that “A Chinese officer went viral for standing motionless as Trump’s Air Force One passed nearby in Beijing, with social media users praising his discipline during Trump’s China visit.”

At the same time, some media outlets and social media users noted that the scene may not have been as physically dangerous as it appeared in the viral footage. WION quoted comments suggesting the visual perspective of the video exaggerated the proximity between the soldier and the aircraft. “The plane is at a reasonable distance away from him,” one person stated, while another echoed, “It appears closer than it really is.”

President Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday evening for a state visit to China, the first US presidential visit to China in almost nine years and Trump’s second since November 2017. Trump is visiting China from May 13 to 15, Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday.