With lavish pageantry and an uncharacteristic personal flourish, Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday rolled out a red carpet welcome for US President Donald Trump at the Forbidden City, the ancient home of China's emperors.
After warning the North's "cruel dictatorship" in a speech in Seoul against testing the United States, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were met by Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan for tea at the former imperial palace.
The genial gathering will be followed today by a full day of thorny talks, with Trump looking to prod Xi into doing more to squeeze North Korea economically and to address China's massive trade surplus with the United States.
The Trump administration sees Beijing as the key to controlling Pyongyang, which depends on China for its economic survival and for 90 percent of its trade.
During his speech to the National Assembly in Seoul, Trump directed his words at North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, reported Reuters.
"The weapons that you are acquiring are not making you safer, they are putting your regime in grave danger," he said. "Every step you take down this dark path increases the peril you face."
He called on countries around the world to isolate Pyongyang by denying it "any form of support, supply or acceptance."
Earlier, Trump congratulated Xi on his reappointment as China's Communist Party chief, tweeting: "I very much look forward to meeting with President Xi who is just off his great political victory."
Trump's use of the term "political victory" for the outcome of last month's Communist Party congress was seen by analysts as a conciliatory move before tough talks.
Xi has prepared an extravagant "state visit-plus" for Trump, who was greeted by children waving US and Chinese flags at the airport. He was treated to a Peking Opera performance at the Forbidden City.
Xi said during the tour that he expected Trump's visit to yield "positive and important" results.
The US leader has brought a business delegation and 19 deals worth a total $9 billion were signed yesterday.
During his stay in Seoul, Trump had to abandon a surprise visit to the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas because of bad weather, leaving him "pretty frustrated" according to the White House, reported AFP.
South Korean President Moon Jae-In, who had flown earlier before fog closed in, was left waiting for him at the border, which bristles with electric fences, minefields and anti-tank barriers.
The Kim dynasty, which has ruled for decades, has been accused of committing a range of rights abuses including torture, rape and execution of perceived critics or those trying to flee the country.
It is also known to operate prison camps where hundreds of thousands languish under forced labour, and its 25 million people are cut off from the outside world.
