U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a visit widely seen as crucial to cooling deep disagreements between the two rival superpowers.
The trip marks Trump's first return to China since his previous term in 2017. Upon arrival in Beijing, he received a warm welcome from the Chinese authorities.
Just before leaving the White House, Trump said he hoped for a 'long conversation' with President Xi about the U.S. and Israel's campaign against Iran – a country that sells most of its U.S.-sanctioned oil to China. However, the U.S. president downplayed the differences, telling reporters 'I don't think we need any help from China' on Iran, and that Xi was 'relatively good' on the issue.
China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it 'welcomed' Trump's visit, adding that 'China is ready to cooperate with the U.S. to expand cooperation and resolve differences.'
