US President Donald Trump has been welcomed to China with open arms ahead of wide-ranging talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

In a break with tradition, Mr Xi himself gave the Trumps a tour of the imperial treasures of the Forbidden City, a UNESCO World Heritage site cleared of tourists for the day.

The US President and the first lady then joined the Xis for a performance of Chinese opera and an acrobatic display.

“That’s something!” Mr Trump said after the show, as he and Mr Xi walked away. “We’re having a great time.”

With serious talks on trade and North Korea on the agenda, Mr Trump first broke the ice in China by sharing a video of his granddaughter singing in Mandarin and reciting classical Chinese poetry.

Mr Trump showed Mr Xi the video of Arabella Kushner’s performance as the leaders shared cups of tea, prompting Mr Xi to proclaim it worthy of an “A+”, Chinese state media said.

Mr Xi said he hoped Arabella would visit China soon, noting that she was already a “child star” in China, the official Xinhua news agency said.

A video of Arabella reciting a Chinese poem went viral on Chinese social media shortly after Trump’s election last year.

Arabella Kushner’s A+ performance:

Mr Trump is seeking China’s help to rein in North Korea, telling the reclusive state’s leader he was putting his country in grave danger by developing nuclear weapons.

The US President used some of his toughest language yet against North Korea in an address in Seoul on Wednesday that lodged specific accusations of chilling human rights abuses.

He called on countries around the world to isolate Pyongyang by denying it “any form of support, supply or acceptance”.

“Do not underestimate us and do not try us,” Mr Trump told North Korea as he wrapped up a visit to South Korea.

Mr Trump did however promise a “path to a much better future” if North Korea stopped developing ballistic missiles and agreed to “complete, verifiable and total denuclearisation” – something Pyongyang has vowed never to do

While North Korea and trade are set to dominate the formal part of the visit, which ends on Friday, China has been keen to show the importance it puts on Mr Trump’s visit, his first official visit.

The pleasantries and bonhomie shared by the two Presidents is in sharp contrast to the anti-Chinese rhetoric spouted by Mr Trump during his 2016 election campaign.

“We can’t continue to allow China to rape our country and that’s what they’re doing. It’s the greatest theft in the history of the world,” he told a rally in May 2016 rally.

– With AAP