Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Donald Trump on Thursday that progress was being made in trade talks at the start of a two-day leadership meeting, but warned that disagreements over Taiwan could lead relations onto a dangerous path. The Chinese leader's comments came after Trump was given a grand welcome at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, which he described as possibly the "most impressive" presidential reception he had ever received. With Trump's approval ratings low due to his Iran war, the first visit by a US president to America's key strategic rival since 2017 has taken on added significance. After an opening ceremony featuring an honor guard and a crowd of children waving flowers and flags, Xi launched the leadership meeting by telling Trump that stable relations between the world's two largest economies benefited the whole world. He said that when we cooperate, both sides benefit; when we confront each other, both sides suffer. In brief remarks open to the media, he said "you are a great leader, some people might not like my saying this, but I say it anyway." Trump responded, saying "there are those who say this could be the biggest leadership conference ever." According to a Chinese Foreign Ministry readout, Xi said that talks between US and Chinese economic and trade teams in South Korea on Wednesday had achieved "overall balanced and positive results." The goal of the talks was to maintain a trade war truce agreed by Trump and Xi in October and establish mechanisms to support future trade and investment, officials familiar with the matter said. Xi also raised the issue of Taiwan, the democratically governed island that China claims and which is armed by the United States. The Chinese leader told Trump that Taiwan was the most important issue in US-China relations and could lead to conflicts and a very dangerous situation if not handled properly, according to the Chinese readout of the talks, which lasted over two hours.