Trump jokes he?s ?gotten **thing? from Xi so far
 

PALM BEACH, United States: President Donald Trump predicted a "very great" relationship with China’s Xi Jinping as the pair met for the first time at his Florida resort of Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, when cordiality replaced tough anti-China rhetoric.

Trump, in his signature red tie, warmly welcomed his Chinese counterpart Xi, decked out in contrasting blue, to what the US leader likes to call the "Winter White House" for a superpower summit in the sun.

Inside the luxurious resort Trump waxed lyrical that it was a "great ho**ur" to host the Chinese leader, breaking the ice with a joke about his own dealmaking prowess.

"We had a long discussion already. So far, I have gotten **thing. Absolutely **thing," he said to laughs from the delegation.

"But I can see that, I think long-term, we are going to have a very, very great relationship and I look very much forward to it."

This is the first time the two leaders meet, after a US election that featured frequent barbs at China’s "rape" of the US eco**my.

During that campaign, Trump had ridiculed his predecessor’s decision to offer Xi a coveted state dinner, saying that -- if elected -- he would serve the 63-year-old a Big Mac.

But inside Mar-a-Lago’s ornate dining room -- with gold-trimmed chairs, fine cut glass and polished silverware -- it was Dover sole with champagne sauce and New York strip steak with whipped potatoes rather than McDonald’s on the menu.

The open agenda and the personal setting for the 24-hour summit are designed to allow the leaders to freewheel and build a rapport, in what is the world’s most important relationship.

The Chinese leader has plans to reciprocate America’s hospitality, according to Beijing’s official news agency.

Xinhua reported on Friday that Xi invited Trump to a state visit in China later this year, an offer which it said Trump accepted "with pleasure".

The Florida summit has been somewhat overshadowed by Trump’s decision to launch military action targeting the Syrian regime, in response to an apparent

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