The first summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping was always expected to be tense, even more than usual when a new American president meets the head of the ruling communist party in the world's most populous nation.
During last year's election campaign, Trump labeled China a trade cheat and currency manipulator, and said he would serve Xi "a McDonald's hamburger" instead of throwing him a state dinner. Trump has kept up the drumbeat of criticism, tweeting on March 30: "We can no longer have massive trade deficits and job losses" and predicting a "very difficult" summit with Xi.
