Ahead of United States President Donald Trump’s grand entry to Beijing on May 14, his cavalcade is already on the move in the Chinese capital.

Two black SUVs with tinted windows and US government plates were spotted on a Beijing highway, according to images that circulated on Wednesday (May 6), signalling the start of an intense security build-up for the year’s most significant diplomatic event – the China-US summit.

Chinese social media is full of the images showing heavily-armoured US Secret Service Suburban cars, which have long served as primary SUVs for the presidential motorcade, alongside the US president’s limousine nicknamed “the Beast”.

Some of the images included details of a vehicle’s plate - D01290 - which prompted online jokes about whether the cars had permits to operate on Beijing’s roads. “Did the foreign cars get an entry permit?” a social media user quipped.

The SUVs were reportedly delivered in recent days by US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft.

Since May 1, multiple C-17s have landed at Beijing Capital International Airport carrying specialised infrastructure for the presidential visit, including armoured vehicles, Secret Service communications equipment, and federal security advance teams.

The centrepiece of the motorcade is the presidential limousine “the Beast”, a custom-built Cadillac also code-named “Stagecoach” that is widely regarded as a moving fortress.

According to parent company General Motors, the current version is based on its CT6 model and was first deployed in 2018 during Trump’s visit to New York. Priced at US$1.5 million, it weighs an estimated 6,800kg to 9,100kg and is mounted on a heavy-duty truck chassis measuring about 5.5m in length.