UNITED STATES President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing today for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the Iran war, trade and US arms sales to Taiwan.

The meat of the summit won’t happen until Thursday, when the leaders will hold bilateral talks and a formal banquet.

The president was to be greeted by Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng, China’s Washington ambassador Xie Feng, Executive Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Ma Zhaoxu and US envoy to Beijing David Perdue, according to the White House.

The welcoming ceremony included 300 Chinese youths, a military honour guard and military band.

“We’re the two superpowers,” Mr Trump told reporters as he departed the White House on Tuesday for the long flight to Beijing. “We’re the strongest nation on Earth in terms of military. China’s considered second.”

The visit occurs at a delicate moment for his presidency, as his popularity at home is at rock bottom, weighed down by the illegal and unprovoked US-Israeli war on Iran.

Mr Trump is seeking a win by signing deals with China to buy more US soybeans, beef and aircraft, saying he’ll be talking with Mr Xi about trade “more than anything else.”

The Trump administration hopes to establish a board of trade with China to address differences between the countries.

But China also has its own clear lines for the talks.

China’s Foreign Office spokesman Guo Jiakun said before Mr Trump’s arrival that China would make it clear that it regarded the sanctions against Iran to be illegal.

Also ahead of Mr Trump’s arrival the People’s Daily newspaper, official outlet of the ruling CCP, published a strongly worded editorial asserting China’s view that its breakaway province of Taiwan is “the first red line that cannot be crossed in China-US relations” and is “the biggest point of risk” between the two nations.