US President Donald Trump has welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to his Florida resort for their first summit.

Trump said the two men had “developed a friendship” as they sat for dinner at his Mar-a-Lago retreat.

The American leader is expected to press his counterpart for action on North Korea, and Xi to seek assurances on Taiwan.

Trump has said the summit “will be a very difficult one”. Last year he accused China of “raping the US”.

During the election campaign, he said massive trade deficits and job losses could no longer be tolerated.

But at dinner on Thursday, it was all smiles, with the leaders’ two wives, folk singer Peng Liyuan and First Lady Melania Trump also in attendance.

The visit will conclude with a working lunch on Friday.

All eyes will be on body language between the two leaders - one a softly spoken Communist Party apparatchik and the other a brash Manhattan property tycoon.

BDST: 0916 HRS, APR 07, 2017
SR