The highly anticipated bilateral talks between US President Donald Trump and President of China Xi Jinping have begun in the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing. US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are set to tackle thorny issues dividing the two superpowers when they meet with Iran, trade and Taiwan on the cards.
At the bilateral meeting, Trump struck an optimistic tone on ties, saying the relationship between the two countries would be “better than ever” and emphasising that trade would be fully reciprocal from the US side. He added that he looked forward to expanding business engagement with China and expressed confidence in a “fantastic future” for bilateral relations.
President Xi Jinping, meanwhile, underscored that common interests between the two nations outweigh their differences and called for efforts to steer China-US relations in the right direction, signalling a willingness to maintain stable and constructive engagement. He added that China and US both stand to gain from the mutual cooperation.
The US president arrived for the two-day summit on Air Force One late Wednesday accompanied by top CEOs, including Nvidia's Jensen Huang and Tesla's Elon Musk -- symbols of business deals Trump hopes to reach.
He was given a red carpet welcome, with 300 Chinese youth in white uniforms chanting "welcome" and waving small Chinese and US flags in unison as he descended the steps of the presidential plane pumping his fist.
The trip to Beijing marks the first by a US president in nearly a decade, after Trump visited in 2017, accompanied -- unlike this time -- by his wife Melania.
Following that first visit, Trump unleashed a barrage of tariffs and restrictions on Chinese goods. He did so again after returning to the White House last year, triggering a trade war before Xi and Trump agreed to a truce in October.
Get the latest updates on Trump and Xi's meet here.
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