Trump arrives in China for superpower summit with Xi

U.S. President Donald Trump landed in Beijing on Wednesday for a high-stakes summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping aimed at easing deep tensions between the rival superpowers.

Giving a fist pump, Trump descended the steps of Air Force One after touching down at Beijing Capital International Airport, kicking off the first visit to China by a U.S. president in nearly a decade.

Right behind him were Tesla boss Elon Musk and Nvidia chief Jensen Huang -- potent symbols of the business deals that Trump hopes to sign between the world's biggest economies.

Trump was greeted with a bunch of flowers and then walked along the red carpet, which was lined with 300 Chinese youth in white uniforms chanting "welcome" and waving small Chinese and U.S. flags in unison.

While en route to Beijing, Trump said on social media he would "be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to 'open up' China so that these brilliant people can work their magic."

Nvidia's Huang was a surprise late addition to the trip, joining the plane at a stopover in Alaska. China is currently banned under U.S. national security rules from buying the cutting-edge AI chips that the company produces.

But Iran, trade, and Taiwan loom over the highly anticipated meeting, which Trump had already delayed from March because of the war the United States and Israel started in the Middle East.

AFP