US President Donald Trump has arrived in Beijing to an incredibly warm welcome ahead of his two-day visit and critical meeting with President Xi Jinping.
This article covers events on Wednesday (Australia time). For live updates on the US, Donald Trump’s China visit and the war with Iran click here.
In a telling show of bonhomie, hundreds of students waved American and Chinese flags and chanted “welcome, welcome” in Mandarin as he descended from Air Force One.
Mr Trump smiled and gave a fist-pump as he walked down a red carpet towards a waiting car.
Mr Trump has said he will discuss the Middle East war during the high-stakes talks, but insisted he doesn’t need help from Beijing to end the conflict with Iran.
High on Beijing’s agenda will be loosening the US’ support of Taiwan, particularly a huge new weapons deal that is currently on Mr Trump’s desk to sign off on.
“China welcomes President Trump on his state visit to China,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a news briefing, adding that “China stands ready to work with the United States … to expand co-operation and manage differences”.
Earlier, Mr Trump let fly at a reporter calling them a “dumb person” after they asked him a seemingly innocuous question about the size of his new ballroom.
The clip quickly went viral after he let fly at the female journalist, telling her she was “not a smart person” while cameras were rolling.
Read on for more updates from Wednesday.
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