in Busan

With smiles, firm handshakes and warm gestures, Chinese PresidentXi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump set a cordial, friendly tone before their historic summit. More than an hour and a half later, they emerged from their first face-to-face encounter in six years with the same genial manner.

In front of reporters before themeeting in Busan, South Korea, a grinning Trump predicted the summit would be “very successful”. “He’s a tough negotiator – that’s not good,” he said, before giving the Chinese leader a friendly pat on the back.

Trump referred to Xi as his “friend”, praising him as a “very distinguished and respected president” and “a great leader of a great country”. After they sat down, Trump said he was optimistic about their future ties: “I expect we’ll have a fantastic relationship for a long period of time.”

Xi reciprocated the sentiment in his opening remarks, saying he felt a “warm” sense upon seeing Trump again.

After the summit concluded 100 minutes later, Trump and Xi walked out together at Gimhae Air Base and smiled before sharing a final handshake. Trump whispered something to Xi before walking the Chinese leader to his car.

The two leaders had already finalised a series of agreements, ranging from the US trimming its fentanyl-related tariffs on China from 20 per cent to 10 per cent with immediate effect to postponing itsSection 301 investigation into Chinese shipbuilding.