US President Donald Trump (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (Second, R) at a sideline meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan on June, 29, 2019 ( Photo: AFP/VNA)

The meeting kicked off in a positive tone, with Trump saying: "It would be historic if we could do a fair trade deal. We are totally open to it." For his part, Xi said that "dialogue" was better than confrontation after both sides had slapped tit-for-tat tariffs on each other's goods.

This is the first face to face meeting between the leaders of the world's top two economies since the last G20 in December, and also the first one since the bilateral trade negotiation ended this May without reaching a deal. The meeting was a unique opportunity for the two sides to find new common ground in easing trade tensions and bring the troubled ties back onto the right track.