Trade and North Korea expected to be major issues as Trump meets Chinese president

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to his Florida retreat on Thursday for face-to-face meetings where Trump will raise concerns that Beijing should rein in its trade practices and do more to curb North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, drove down a palm-lined driveway past a military guard of honour to Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla. They posed for pictures with Trump and his wife,Melania, before going inside.

The leaders of the world's two biggest economies were expected to spend some private time together before a dinner with their wives and others, kicking off a summit dominated by trade and foreign policy issues that is set to conclude with a working lunch on Friday.

• Trump and Xi: Little in common besides the need to improve relations

Trump promised during the 2016 campaign to stop what he called the theft of American jobs by China and rebuild the country's manufacturing base. Many blue-collar workers helped propel him to his unexpected election victory on Nov. 8 and Trump wants to deliver for them.

"We have been treated unfairly and have made terrible trade deals with China for many, many years. That's one of the things we are going to be talking about," Trump told reporters travelling with him on Air Force One.

Trumphas yet to spell out a strategy for what his advisers called a trade relationship based on "the principle of reciprocity."

Still, the president appeared lighthearted as he greeted Xi, gesturing and pointing to journalists as they tussled to get a shot of the two leaders together for the first time.

Ahead of the dinner, Trump said he and Xi already had had a long discussion and had "developed a friendship," and then joked, "I have gotten nothing, absolutely nothing."

Economic advisers on hand

Trump brought his top economic and national advisers to Florida for the meeting, including Defence Secretary Jim Mattis, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchinand Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross,as well as his daughterIvankaand son-in-law, JaredKushner.

"Even as we share a desire to work together, the United States does recognize the challenges China can present to American interests," said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, also in Florida for the meeting.

Trump and Xi are set to dine in a private dining room at 6:30 p.m. ET at a long, formal table set for about 30 people.

Their summit brings together two leaders who could not seem more different: the often stormy Trump, prone to angry tweets, and Xi, outwardly calm, measured and tightly scripted, with no known social media presence.

What worries the protocol-conscious Chinese more than policy clashes is the risk that the unpredictable Trump could publicly embarrass Xi, after several foreign leaders experienced awkward moments with the new U.S. president.

"Ensuring President Xi does not lose face is a top priority for China," a Chinese official said.

'Concrete deliverables'

U.S. labour leaders say Trump needs to take a direct, unambiguous tone in his talks with Xi.

"President Trump needs to come away from the meeting with concrete deliverables that will restore production and employment here in the U.S. in those sectors that have been ravaged by China's predatory and protectionist practices," said Holly Hart, legislative director for the United Steelworkers union.

The most urgent problem facing Trump and Xi is how to persuade nuclear-armed North Korea to halt unpredictable behaviour like missile test launches that have heightened tensions in South Korea and Japan.

North Korea is working to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States.

The White House has said North Korea was a test for the U.S.-China relationship, and Trump has threatened to use trade to try to force China to exert influence over Pyongyang.

"I think China will be stepping up,"Trump told reporters. Beijing says its influence is limited and that it is doing all it can but that it is up to the United States to find a way back to talks with North Korea.

Trump consulted on Wednesday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who said he and the president agreed by phone that North Korea's latest ballistic missile launch was "a dangerous provocation and a serious threat."