Here is a full list of U.S. presidents who have made trips to China:

• Richard Nixon in 1972
• Gerald R. Ford in 1975
• Ronald Reagan in 1984
• George H.W. Bush in 1989
• Bill Clinton in 1998
• George W. Bush in 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2008
• Barack Obama in 2009, 2014 and 2016
• Donald Trump in 2017 and 2026

Trump repeatedly played up his personal relationship with Xi as the two leaders sat down with their teams to start bilateral talks.

“It’s an honour to be with you,” Trump said. “It’s an honour to be your friend and the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before.”

Trump said he was “particularly impressed” by the crowds of children who greeted him.”They were happy. They were beautiful.”

“You and I have known each other now for a long time. In fact, the longest relationship of our two countries that any president has had, and that’s to me, an honour. We’ve had a fantastic relationship. We’ve gotten along. When there were difficulties, we worked it out.”

Secretary of state Marco Rubio, who is in China as part of Donald Trump’s entourage, said administration officials will underscore that “economies are melting down because of [the Iran] crisis” and that will result in consumers “buying less Chinese product.”

“So it’s in their interest to resolve this,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.

“We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they’re doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf,” Rubio said.

The message contrasts with comments by Trump, who downplayed differences with Xi over Iran before departing from Washington.

“We have a lot of things to discuss,” Trump told reporters. “I wouldn’t say Iran is one of them, to be honest with you, because we have Iran very much under control.”

While Xi opened the meeting by posing several key questions – including whether the U.S. and China can “overcome the Thucydides trap,” a term coined by U.S. political scientist Graham Allison for when relations between a rising power and an existing great power trend towards war –Trump used his speaking time in front of the cameras to praise Xi and talk about himself and the Chinese leader’s personal relationship and brag about the large delegation of corporate leaders who accompanied him to Beijing.

In his opening remarks, Xi said that “the whole world is watching our meeting. Currently, a transformation not seen in a century is accelerating across the globe and the international situation is fluid and turbulent”.

“Welcome back to China after nine years,” he said.

He added: “The world has come to a new crossroads: can China and the US overcome the Thucydides trap and create a new paradigm of relations?

“Can we meet global challenges together and provide more stability for the world?

Can we, in the interest of our world, of our two peoples, and the future of humanity, build a brighter future for our bilateral relations?”“These are the questions vital to history, to the world, and to the people. They are the questions of our times that you and I need to answer as leaders of major countries.”

“This year is the 250th anniversary of American independence,” he added.

“Our two countries have more common interests than differences. Success in one is an opportunity for the other, and a stable bilateral relationship is good for the world. China and the US both stand to gain from cooperation and not lose from confrontation.”

“We should be partners and not rivals. We should help each other succeed and prosper together. Find a way for major countries to get along with each other in the new era,” he said.

Both leaders have opening remarks.

Trump nodded as Xi spoke and the Chinese leader smiled as Trump thanked him for the welcome.

It’s now Trump’s turn to speak and he called Xi a “great leader”.

“You’re a great leader… sometimes people don’t like me saying it but I keep saying it because it’s true,” he said.

Trump said trade is going to be reciprocal.

As if to underscore this, the Russian president will likely arrive in Beijing days after Trump. His will be a red carpet welcome. Donald Trump’s will be far more exposing – and we all know why.

Instead of a mighty demonstration of American firepower, his Iran war has exposed huge vulnerabilities. And less discussed but no less consequential has been the outcome of the economic warfare Trump initiated on his tariff “liberation day”: an American defeat.

Donald Trump did not get a “big fat hug” from Xi Jinping at his formal welcome ceremony in Beijing after claiming that he would be greeted by one.

Trump and Xi Jinping instead exchanged a formal handshake on arrival outside the Great Hall of the People before walking together along the red carpet, with senior officials from both sides looking on.

Trump posted a few weeks ago suggesting that President Xi would give him a “big, fat hug” upon arrival in Beijing.