A camera appeared to be knocked to the floor before a scuffle broke out, with someone audibly heard saying “get the f*** out of here”.
In his opening remarks, Trump declared it was “an honour” to be meeting Xi today.
“We’ve gotten along, when there were difficulties we worked it out. I would call you and you would call me,” Trump said. “People don’t know, whenever we had a problem we worked it out very quickly.”
“I say it to everybody, you’re a great leader,” Trump added.
The US president also boasted that he had brought the “best [business leaders] in the world” along on the trip. “Only the top people here today to pay respects to you,” he said.
This followed the president’s grand reception in Beijing on Thursday, featuring an extravagant display with children waving flags as he exchanged handshakes with President Xi Jinping.
Trump extended his trademark handshake to Xi before proceeding to greet many of China’s most senior officials, while Xi in turn welcomed numerous top American officials, including members of Trump’s own family.
Notably absent was First Lady Melania Trump, though the President was flanked by a sizeable delegation that included his son Eric Trump, daughter-in-law Lara Trump, and uneasy ally Elon Musk.
This follows reports that the Chinese public gave Trump an unflattering nickname upon his arrival in Beijing alongside Musk.
Shortly before the meeting got under way, Fox News’ Sean Hannity broadcast an interview with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in which Rubio issued a warning about potential divisions ahead of the high-level, high-stakes bilateral meeting on Thursday morning.
