US President Donald Trump departed for China on Tuesday for a closely watched summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, carrying hopes of stabilising ties between the world’s two largest economies, even as deep divisions remain over trade, Taiwan and global security crises.

Trump is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday evening ahead of two days of meetings with Xi, his first trip to China since 2017 and the first state visit between the two leaders since Trump returned to the White House.

Before boarding Marine One for Andrews Air Force Base, Trump struck an optimistic tone about the visit, saying he expected “great things” from the summit and describing Xi as “a friend” with whom he shares a strong personal relationship.

“I spoke with Xi, we both look forward to the meeting,” Trump said. “We’ll be talking about many things, but more than anything, it will be trade.” Trump said he did not expect Iran to feature prominently in discussions with Xi, adding that “we have Iran very much under control”.

The remarks came a day after Trump dismissed Tehran’s latest peace proposal as “garbage” and said the existing ceasefire was “on life support”.

He did, however, indicate that recent developments in Cuba would be discussed during the visit. “Cuba is not doing well, and we’ll be talking about Cuba on the trip,” Trump said.