Image source, The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Trump and Xi are now having a working lunch. Here's what's on the menu, according to the White House:

• Minced Codfish in Seafood Soup
• Crispy and Stir-Fried Lobster Balls
• Pan-Seared Beef Fillet Stuffed with Morel Mushrooms
• Kung Pao Chicken and Scallops
• Braised Seasonal Greens, Bamboo Shoots, Mushrooms, and Beans
• Stewed Beef in a Bun
• Steamed Pork and Shrimp Dumpling
• Chocolate Brownie
• Fruits and Ice Cream
• Coffee/Tea

Meanwhile, reporters in the White House travelling pool are having McDonald's delivered to their vans.

Suranjana Tewari
Asia Business Correspondent

One of the clearest shifts emerging from the Trump-Xi summit is how directly Beijing is now linking Taiwan to the broader economic relationship with the United States.

Over the past year of trade talks, Taiwan was largely treated as one of several areas of friction - particularly around semiconductors, US-Taiwan trade ties and American arms sales to Taipei.

But the messaging from Beijing yesterday suggests that how the US approaches Taiwan is becoming more of a pre-condition to long-term economic stability between the two sides.

According to Chinese state media, Xi Jinping said the US and China had agreed to a “new positioning” for relations built around “constructive strategic stability”.

But he then warned that Taiwan remained the “most important issue” in US-China relations, adding that mishandling it could push ties into a “highly perilous situation”.

Taiwan has always been a red line for Beijing, but it seems to be becoming more of a bargaining tool that could shape trade, technology and relations.

As we mentioned earlier, one of the things to look out for in this final round of talks is whether Xi pressures Trump on the issue of Taiwan.

Yesterday Xi had called Taiwan the "most important issue in China-US relations" and warned of potential "conflict" with the US over the self-ruled island.

He added that Taiwan independence is "fundamentally incompatible" with peace in the Taiwan Strait.

Later on Thursday Taiwan's foreign ministry responded saying that "Beijing is the sole risk to regional peace and stability".

The ministry added that it would continue to cooperate with the US and other countries to ensure regional security and prosperity.

Neither Trump nor the US have said anything publicly during the trip so far about what they have discussed about Taiwan.

Now we bring you more quotes from Trump, from the White House pool of reporters.

During their walk around Zhongnanhai, Trump said at one point that "these are the most beautiful roses anyone has ever seen".

Trump was later heard saying, on his way to the tea room, that Xi would give him roses for the White House Rose Garden.

Trump also mentioned Xi's potential visit to the US on 24 September.

"Like reciprocal trade the visit will be reciprocal," Trump said. "So we’re gonna lay it on the line and we’re gonna have and you’re gonna walk away hopefully very impressed, like I’m very impressed with China."

President Xi has taken President Trump on a tour of Zhongnanhai, the heavily guarded compound where top Chinese leaders live and work. This is the main event of Trump's last day in Beijing, before he's set to fly back to the White House.

• In a joint press conference after the tour, Trump said he and Xi had discussed trade, Iran and "a lot of other things"
• On Iran, Trump said "we don't want them to have nuclear weapons", and "we want the strait open"
• Xi said they had reached a "new bilateral relationship", and promised to send Trump some seeds of the Chinese roses they admired during their walk in Zhongnanhai
• Hours before their walk, Fox News aired an interview with Trump, in which he said Xi had promised not to provide Iran with military equipment. "But at the same time, he said they buy a lot of their oil there, and they'd like to keep doing that," Trump said
• In that interview, Trump also said China had agreed to buy US oil and 200 Boeing jets
• The trade talks went "better than last time", Trump said. He later added that the business leaders he had brought along to Beijing were there to "make deals" and "bring back jobs"

Stay with us as we continue to bring you the latest updates on Trump's visit to Beijing.

Trump tells reporters, after his tour of Zhongnanhai, that he and Xi had discussed Iran and "don't want them to have nuclear weapons".

While we are still waiting to hear details of the meeting that is underway, here are some pictures showing what the two leaders did this morning.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

In Xi's address, he describes the Zhongnanhai compound, where he hosted Trump this morning, as the place "central government leaders of China work and live, including myself"

"This place used to be part of the imperial garden, there is a lot of history in this compound," Xi said, adding that one of the trees they admired during their walk was 490 years old.

Xi said he would send the seeds of the Chinese roses they saw in the garden to Trump as a gift.

"I love that, it's great," Trump said.

Later on in the joint address, Xi said the two leaders had reached a "new bilateral relationship" that was "constructive". He called this a "milestone".

As his English translator was translating this, however, reporters were ushered out of the room and the livestream ended.

We'll bring you more details from their meeting once we have them.

The two leaders are speaking in front of press now, in a room in Zhongnanhai.

Trump begins, saying they talked about trade, Iran, and "a lot of other things".

He says they "settled a lot of different problems that other people woudn't have been able to solve".

On Iran, he says "we don't want them to have nuclear weapons", and "we want the strait open".

He then thanks Xi, saying it's an honour to be in Beijing. He says they will meet again on 24 September, when Xi visits the US, and adds he hopes Xi will be impressed with the US as how Trump is with China this time.

While the two presidents are having tea in Zhongnanhai, here's a quick catch-up of what happened during their first round of meetings yesterday:

• Xi had a grand welcome for Trump as he arrived at the Great Hall of the People, greeted by a military band and children waving flags
• In his opening remarks to Trump, Xi called on the US to be "partners not rivals" and made a reference to overcoming the Thucydides trap; Trump told Xi it was an "honour" to be his friend
• The US and Chinese delegations then held bilateral talks behind closed doors in the Great Hall
• Watching the talks closely was Taiwan, whose leaders fear that the self-ruled island would be "on the menu" in negotiations between Trump and Xi. Xi has warned of potential "conflict" with the US over Taiwan, state media reported
• Trump, on the other hand, is hoping China would open the doors to its massive market. He has brought along executives from 30 major companies, including Tesla's Elon Musk and Nvidia's Jensen Huang

• After the talks, the two leaders toured the Temple of Heaven, an ancient complex a short drive away
• In the evening they attended a banquet back at the Great Hall of the People

China says it's 'working tirelessly' to end Iran warpublished at 04:42 BST 15 May

04:42 BST 15 May

Laura Bicker
China correspondent, reporting from Beijing

The Chinese government says it has been "working tirelessly" to strive for an end to the conflict in the Middle East and hopes to provide "greater support for peace talks and play a constructive role in ultimately achieving lasting peace.”

The statement from Chinese state media comes after Donald Trump told Fox News that he’s “not going to be much more patient” on a possible peace deal with Iran.

The US president also claimed Xi Jinping offered China’s help in reaching some kind of settlement with Iran.

Beijing is a close ally of Tehran. China is the largest buyer of Iranian oil and is the country’s biggest trade partner. The Trump administration had hoped Xi would use this economic and political leverage to nudge Tehran towards the negotiating table.

The Chinese statement said today that the conflict "should never have happened” and "has no reason to continue” while notably avoiding directly criticising the U.S.

Economically this war is causing China’s factories pain as they are forced to pay more for oil products, but diplomatically and politically it is a win for Xi who will feel he is now facing a war-weakened Donald Trump.

In contrast, Xi can appear to play the role of peacemaker - a reminder that China is no longer just at the centre of the global economy, but also increasingly at the centre of global power.

Ian Tang
BBC Monitoring

People’s Daily, the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper, today devoted its entire front page to reports on Xi and Trump’s interactions in Beijing yesterday.

Key stories, such as the leaders’ summit, Xi’s welcome ceremony and state banquet honouring Trump and their visit to the Temple of Heaven received front-page treatment accompanied by pictures of them.

Page two of the newspaper was largely filled with commentaries of Trump’s visit, with one report noting that the two countries’ agreement to work toward building a relationship of “constructive strategic stability” will inject new momentum to the development of bilateral ties.

Notably, the paper also included interviews with two American scholars. Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs said co-operation between China and the United States would bring tangible and mutually beneficial results.

Quincy Institute’s East Asia program senior research fellow Denis Simon was quoted as saying a stable US-China relations would help to mitigate the risks of global economic shocks, enhance supply chain resilience, and drive progress on transnational issues such as climate change.

Asia watches summit with 'anxiety, caution and fatigue'published at 04:21 BST 15 May

04:21 BST 15 May

Suranjana Tewari
Asia Business Correspondent

Asia’s export-led economies will be watching the Trump-Xi meetings with what Reema Bhattacharya of Verisk Maplecroft calls a mix of “anxiety, caution and fatigue”.

Most economies in the region are part of key US-China supply chains, so any shift in relations feeds directly into trade, investment and manufacturing decisions. A renewed escalation could ripple across global markets.

At the same time, any agreement for lower US tariffs on Chinese goods, for example, could increase competition for countries like Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, which have benefited from supply chain shifts away from China in recent years.

China’s export controls on rare earths have already hit automakers and electronics producers across the region in Japan, South Korea and India.

Energy is another pressure point, with South East Asia heavily reliant on oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz and vulnerable to price swings.

For many governments, especially in South East Asia, the challenge is balancing ties with both Washington and Beijing as trading partners.

Expectations for major breakthroughs are low. The most likely outcome is a limited stabilisation in relations.

The key concern for businesses and economies across the region is continued uncertainty.

Image source, Reuters

Trump and Xi are meeting at Zhongnanhai, the secretive Chinese leadership compound.

Only a small number of reporters have been allowed into the complex, according to a White House pool report.

It also says roads were cleared for the presidential motorcade, which rolled by as passersby filmed on their phones.

During their meeting on Thursday, Trump and Xi "exchanged in-depth views on major issues concerning both countries and the world, and reached a series of new consensuses", a foreign ministry spokesperson said in response to press queries, according to Chinese state media.

The spokesperson did not elaborate on specific topics, but added that the two presidents have "reached important consensus on properly handling each other's concerns" and agreed to boost coordination on global and regional issues.

We've now received a statement from China's foreign ministry responding to media queries.

On Iran, a foreign ministry spokesperson said that the conflict "should never have happened" and "has no reason to continue".

"Finding a solution sooner is beneficial to both the US and Iran, as well as to countries in the region and the world as a whole," the spokesperson said.

We'll bring you more updates from the ministry as we get them - as well as newslines from Trump's meeting with Xi at Zhongnanhai.

Image source, Reuters

Trump's motorcade is arriving at Zhongnanhai, where the two leaders are due to meet for a tea session and lunch.

There's little detail about what progress has been made on the key issues. Today's events will be closely watched as it's the leaders' last chance to speak face to face in a while.

One thing to watch is if there will be more talks about Taiwan.

"What will be interesting to watch for is the upcoming one-on-one tea session between the two leaders, it is really an opportunity for President Xi to press President Trump on Taiwan," says Amanda Hsiao, China Director at Eurasia Group.

Beijing does see an opportunity in Trump on Taiwan, she explains to our News Day programme. Beijing thinks Trump is fundamentally transactional, and "Beijing's assessment is that Trump himself may be open to collaborating or softening support to Taiwan in order to maintain stability with China".

What is the Thucydides Trap?published at 03:46 BST 15 May

03:46 BST 15 May

Tessa Wong
Asia Digital Reporter

There's been much discussion over the Thucydides Trap - a term that Xi mentioned yesterday during his opening remarks to Trump. But what does it mean?

It's a political term popularised by American scholar Graham Allison that has been used to describe the US-China relationship.

Referencing the ancient Greek historian Thucydides, who wrote about the war between Athens and Sparta, the term describes a situation where an established country becomes anxious about the rise of a developing power, leading to rivalry and eventually conflict.

In recent years the Chinese government has latched onto this analogy, with Xi himself invoking it when urging for co-operation with the US.

So when Xi told Trump to "overcome the Thucydides Trap", he was essentially appealing to the US leader not to fear China's rise but instead, as he said later, become "partners not rivals".

Trump talks about what he got - but not what China wants in returnpublished at 03:34 BST 15 May

03:34 BST 15 May

Joel Gunter
Senior international reporter, in Washington

Image source, Reu

Two days ago, as President Trump prepared to board the helicopter for the start of his journey to Beijing, he told reporters at the White House he did not need China’s help to win the war with Iran.

But with his stated war goals – on regime change, destroying Iran’s nuclear capability, and now reopening the Strait of Hormuz – manifestly unachieved, there is a sense that Trump needs all the help he can get.

He said during the interview that China had agreed not to provide weapons to Iran, and that President Xi had offered to help in any way he could with settling the conflict.

In normal circumstances, China buys around 80% of Iran’s oil exports, and is a longstanding ally of Iran, so the Trump administration sees potential leverage there to bring Iranian officials to the table to make a deal – something it appears that Trump badly wants, in order to exit a deeply unpopular war.

But there was nothing here that China hasn’t said before. This sounds like more of a restating of its existing position than an offer to take any new action. At least in Trump’s telling – we have had no word from China yet on the detail of the negotiations.

Trump was in more comfortable territory on trade. He said that the trip was “much bigger” in terms of potential deals than his previous trip, in 2017, when 36 trade deals were signed. He even suggested that China was even going to send ships to Texas to buy American oil.

On the thorny issue of what China wants in return for all of this — Trump refused to go there. “Too much to discuss,” he said.