Beijing, May 14 -- US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday began a closely watched bilateral meeting, with Trump hailing Xi as a "great leader" and expressing optimism about future ties between the two countries.

Opening the talks, Trump thanked Xi for the reception accorded to him and his delegation, describing it as "an honour like few have ever seen before."

"Well, President Xi, I want to thank you very much. First of all, that was an honour like few have ever seen before," Trump said, adding that he was especially impressed by the children present during the welcome ceremony.

"I think I was particularly impressed by those children. They were happy. They were beautiful. The military is obvious. It coul...