BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed US President Donald Trump with a handshake in Beijing on Thursday for a superpower summit.

Xi greeted Trump at the Great Hall of the People at just past 10:00 a.m. (0200 GMT).

Accompanied by Trump, Xi shook hands with several US officials, including Pentagon Peter Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Trump and Xi stood in the center as a Chinese military band played The Star-Spangled Banner, then the Chinese national anthem, as cannons fired.

Jumping schoolchildren in brightly colored outfits waving US and Chinese flags chanted "welcome, welcome" as Trump and Xi walked past them in the square.

The two leaders will also enjoy a state banquet at the hall in the evening, and Trump will visit the historic Temple of Heaven, a World Heritage site where China's emperors once prayed for a good harvest.

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.

The trip to Beijing marks the first by a US president in nearly a decade, following Trump's visit in 2017.

'Big hug'

At the top of Trump's wish list will be business deals in agriculture, aircraft and other areas, with a host of top US businessmen in the US leader's delegation.

Aboard Air Force One en route to Beijing, Trump vowed on social media to push Xi to "open up" China to US firms "so that these brilliant people can work their magic."

The US president said he expected a "long talk" with Xi about Iran, which sells most of its US-sanctioned oil to China, but insisted that "I don't think we need any help with Iran" from Beijing.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck a somewhat different tone.

"We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they are doing now, and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told broadcaster Fox News in an interview aired Wednesday.

Tariff truce?

The long-simmering trade war between the two countries will also be top of the agenda, after Trump's sweeping tariffs last year triggered tit-for-tat levies that exceeded 100%.

Trump and Xi are set to discuss extending a one-year tariff truce that the two leaders reached during their last meeting in South Korea in October, though a deal remains far from certain.

China's controls on rare earth exports, AI rivalry and the countries' trade relationship are also among the topics expected to be taken up by the two heads of state.

Trump will also hope to leave with a firm date for Xi's reciprocal visit to the United States later in 2026.

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Trump and Xi meet for high-stakes talks in Beijing