The province should deepen links and cooperation with Hong Kong and Macau, Xi tells cadres on inspection tour.

Xi Jinping is not known for his easy smiles. China’s most powerful Communist leader in decades has built a reputation reinforced by state media during his 12-year rule as a serious and steady hand.

President Trump said he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping "agreed to almost everything" in their nearly two-hour meeting in South Korea, which Trump said was "friendly."

U.S. President Donald Trump appealed directly to China's Xi Jinping to free jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai when the two leaders met in South Korea last week, according to three people briefed on the talks and a U.

Leaders of Pacific countries and territories, including China’s Xi Jinping, are gathering in South Korea for a major summit Friday. But the leader of one global powerhouse is conspicuously absent: Donald Trump.

"We're going to have a vey successful meeting, I have no doubt," President Trump said while shaking hands with China's Xi Jinping. "But he's a very tough negotiator. That's not good."

"We have not too many major stumbling blocks," Trump said of a formal trade agreement after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.

FILE — President of China Xi Jinping arrives in the Kremlin for a gala concert held for heads of foreign delegations, in Moscow, Thursday, May 8, 2025, ahead of celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany during the World War II. (Alexandr Kryazhev/Photo host agency RIA Novosti via AP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping is not usually associated with an ecstatic smile. That is because the country's government, along with the state media, has worked hard to build a reputation of seriousness.