Even before US President Donald Trump touched down in Beijing on Wednesday, the first act of the China-US summit was playing out in the skies above the Chinese capital.

Hundreds of professional photographers and residents lined up across various points near Beijing Capital International Airport to capture one of the most recognisable symbols of the American presidency – Air Force One.

Within minutes of its appearance, Chinese social media was flooded with videos and photos of the aircraft’s landing, filmed from multiple angles on the ground. “This is too close,” remarked a social media user with more than 300,000 followers.

Some aviation enthusiasts posted detailed analyses of the presidential aircraft, calling it “a flying White House”, while others tracked its journey from Washington, sharing the flight path and videos of its landing and take-off during a refuelling stop in Alaska.

A few plane spotters also speculated about the arrival of the US E-4B Nightwatch, also known as the “doomsday plane”, at a military base in Okinawa, Japan. The aircraft frequently shadows the US president on international trips for security reasons.

On the runway in Beijing, a stoic Chinese officer won acclaim on social media at home and overseas when a video of him standing completely still as Air Force One taxied past him went viral.

Daily Mail correspondent Jon Michael Raasch, who recorded the video, posted it online with the comment: “This guy didn’t even flinch and the plane is roaring loud.”