Welcome to Meet the Press Now. I'm Kristen Welker, and we begin with the president's high-stake summit in China as he looks to forge a more cooperative relationship with Beijing amid major tensions between the two

nations tied to Taiwan, trade, and of course the war with Iran. Today, China rolling out a literal

red carpet with President Xi greeting President Trump in a formal welcome ceremony, complete with

school children jumping and cheering while waving flags,

a military honor guard, and the performance of both countries' national anthems.

The two leaders then sitting down for the start of the summit.

President Xi saying the U.S. and China should be partners, not rivals, and that the world has

come to a new crossroads, President Trump in turn,

praising his relationship with the Chinese leader.

We've had a fantastic relationship. We've gotten along when there were difficulties. We worked

it out. I would call you and you would call me. And whenever we had a problem, people don't know.

Whenever we had a problem, we worked

at it very quickly. We're going to have a fantastic future together. Such respect for China, the job

you've done. You're a great leader. I say it to everybody. You're a great leader. Sometimes people

don't like me saying it, but I say it anyway because it's true.

I only say the truth. That closed-door meeting lasting over two hours, and according to both

sides, included discussions about several contentious issues. Beijing saying President Xi warned

the U.S. about, quote, clashes and even conflicts over Taiwan, the Democratic

self-governing island that China's communist government claims is part of its territory. The U.S.

maintains an informal relationship with Taiwan, including the sale of billions of dollars of weapons.

Notably, Taiwan was not mentioned in the White House readout of today's

meeting. NBC's Tom Yamas sat down with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and asked him about the

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