President Donald Trump lauded the relationship between the United States and China Wednesday during a two-day summit in China's capital of Beijing, where a U.S. delegation met with top Chinese officials.

The president was initially supposed to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this year but the summit was postponed because of the Iranian conflict, which still hovers over the meeting.

"It's an honor to be with you, it's an honor to be your friend, and the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before," Trump said in remarks to Xi. 

The president said his delegation consists of the “top 30" business leaders in the world, who all said they look forward to working with China. Tesla founder Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Goldman Sachs' David Solomon are all at the summit. 

“I didn’t want the second or the third in the company. I wanted only the top, and they’re here today to pay respects to you and to China,” Trump told Xi. “They look forward to trade and doing business, and it’s going to be totally reciprocal on our behalf."

Xi responded to the U.S. welcome by expressing cautious optimism and claimed the main question at the summit was “whether the two countries can work together to meet challenges and bring greater stability to the world.”

"Can we, in the interest of the well-being of our two peoples and the future of humanity, build a brighter future together for our bilateral relations?” Xi said. “Cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both. The two countries should be partners rather than rivals, achieve success together and pursue common prosperity, and chart a correct path for major-country relations in the new era.”

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.