Trump concludes visit to Beijing, says he leaves very impressed

US President Donald Trump wrapped up his visit to Beijing today with a meeting at the residence of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Xi took President Trump on a tour of Zhongnanhai, a heavily guarded complex where top Chinese officials live and work.

At a joint press conference after the tour, Trump said his talks with Xi covered trade, Iran and "many other things."

During a walk around Zhongnanhai, Trump noticed "the most beautiful roses anyone has ever seen," reports the BBC, which adds that the US president said Xi would give him roses for the White House rose garden.

Trump also mentioned a possible visit by the Chinese president to the US on September 24th.

"As with reciprocal trade, the visit will be reciprocal," Trump said, adding that he hoped Xi would leave the US "very impressed, just as he was very impressed with China."

Before returning to Washington, Trump and Xi had a working lunch.

According to the White House, cod fish soup, crispy lobster balls, kung pao chicken, braised seasonal vegetables, bamboo shoots, braised beef in a bun, and steamed pork and shrimp dumplings were some of the dishes on the menu. Chocolate brownies, fruit, and ice cream were served for dessert, along with coffee and tea.

During a series of meetings on Thursday, contentious issues such as the war in Iran, trade, technology and Taiwan were discussed.

Trump said they had reached "fantastic trade agreements," without revealing details.

Trump said Xi told him that China wanted to help negotiate an end to the war and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

China is the largest buyer of Iranian oil and Trump hopes that Xi will use that advantage to push Iran into a deal on American terms.

Trump said he and Xi share very similar views on how they want to end the US-Israeli war in Iran. "We don't want them to have nuclear weapons," the US president said.

Trump also said that Xi assured him that China would not supply Iran with military equipment.