Cheering children - check. Military honour guard – check. Cannon fire and marching band - check.
Vladimir Putin's welcome outside the Great Hall of the People was a near mirror image of the reception for Donald Trump last week.
Two high-stakes presidential visits, just days apart, is exactly the image Xi Jinping wants to project to the world: talking to everyone, tied to no-one.
For China, these visits are proof that because of its massive economy and new-found diplomatic clout all roads now lead to Beijing.
The new era of world affairs is less centered around the West, says Samir Puri from Kings College London.
There is a lot of latent power that China has on the world stage, it's not necessarily using it in its most direct form to settle conflicts; instead, China's style is to try to utilise its stature in a more gradual sense.
The optics were strikingly similar - Xi confident in the spotlight as he played host. But the politics driving the two visits were very different.
Putin, who has been to China more than 20 times, appears to have a close personal relationship with Xi. But the war in Ukraine and Western sanctions have left him leaning heavily on Beijing, which is now Russia's top trading partner and its biggest customer for oil and gas.
It has been an unequal partnership for some time now, and that was reinforced; talks ended with 20-plus agreements on trade and tech, but no approval yet for the stalled Russian gas pipeline that Putin has been pushing for years. A lengthy joint statement also yielded no major breakthroughs.
Both China and Russia need each other, but Russia clearly needs China more than before at the global stage, says Dr Zheng Runyu, from the Centre for Russian Studies at the East China Normal University in Shanghai.
Given today's international environment, deep cooperation with China is extremely important for Russia in dealing with many of its current challenges.
The Chinese leader seemed to have a strong hand as he negotiated with the US president too. Stronger trade relationships with the rest of the world and China's dominance in rare earth minerals and advanced manufacturing have given him leverage. Beijing has found itself on an equal footing with Washington in the wake of Trump's unpredictability.
And in talks with both Trump and Putin, Xi faced leaders mired in costly wars that have dragged on for longer than they anticipated. For Trump, the war in the Middle East has turned into a global crisis, while for Putin, the invasion of Ukraine, now into its fifth year, has isolated Russia.
Yet, it seems clear that China has the power to set the tone and the terms of global engagement.
Xi's Chinese Dream
This is a remarkable turnaround for a country that, just five years ago, appeared to be on the verge of diplomatic isolation.
Its borders were closed due to a pandemic that then-president Trump had labelled a Chinese virus. Relations with the West had deteriorated sharply amid the rise of aggressive diplomacy from Chinese diplomats.
However, five years on, China has repositioned itself as an indispensable centre of global diplomacy and trade.
Rather than being treated as a problem to contain, China has become a power to engage. Beijing has moderated its diplomatic style, likely recognizing uncomfortable economic realities and the need for foreign trade.
The timing has also been pivotal; since the election of Donald Trump, China has repaired ties with several Western countries, positioning itself as a global influencer.
For the last decade, Xi has pledged to rejuvenate the Chinese nation, and the past week has provided a significant narrative for domestic propaganda.
A Diplomatic Tightrope
Yet this recent diplomatic success highlights the limits of China's power. Xi only mentioned the conflict in the Middle East in the context of urgency, while omitting any reference to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Beijing's call for peace in one conflict, while remaining silent on another, could undermine its credibility as a centrist global player.
This inconsistency could jeopardize relations with Europe, crucial for sustaining China's export-reliant economy.
Although the last week's diplomacy appeared successful, Xi Jinping must navigate complex global expectations and internal strategies as China strengthens its role on the world stage alongside its authoritarian governance.
