United States presidential visits to Australia and New Zealand United States presidential visits to Australia and New Zealand Several United States presidents have made presidential visits to Australia and New Zealand. The first visit by an incumbent to these Australasian nations was made in 1966 by Lyndon B. Johnson. His three-day five-city visit to Australia was intended as a show of gratitude to the Australian nation for its then emphatic support for the Vietnam War. Four presidents have traveled there since. Prior to arriving in Australia, Johnson visited New Zealand. He went primarily to shore up support for the war in Vietnam. Only one sitting president has visited since.
2015 Xi Jinping visit to the United States visit occurred at a time of high tensions in China-US relations. The Wall Street Journal quoted experts who said Xi's US visit was to promote local technology companies and to ask the US government to not retaliate in response to accusations regarding the People's Republic of China having engaged in hacking activities, but Beijing has repeatedly denied the allegations of the United States. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Xi's visit was to promote trust between the two countries. Before this visit, the United States Congressional-Executive Commission on China held a hearing on human rights. Experts and members of Congress