But he also urged Mr Xi to
"work very hard" on persuading North Korea to denuclearise.
On China's trade surplus, Mr Trump
surprised many when he said he did "not blame China" for "taking
advantage".
China has said it will lower market
entry barriers to some sectors.
The US president was speaking in
Beijing while on a state visit.
He is in the Chinese capital as
part of his five-nation tour of Asia. The two leaders held talks earlier on
Thursday after a grand welcome for Mr Trump.
China will further lower entry
barriers in the banking, insurance, and finance sectors, and gradually reduce
vehicle tariffs, the Chinese foreign ministry said.
Deals worth $250bn (£190bn) have
also been announced, although it is unclear how much of that figure is past
deals being re-announced or simply potential future deals.
But Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson told journalists the deals were "pretty small" in terms of
tackling the trade imbalance.
Trump tried to cajole Xi on Pyongyang
Discussion on how to deal with
North Korea's threats to the region has dominated Mr Trump's agenda, and China
is Pyongyang's main economic supporter.
Mr Trump said China could fix the
problem of North Korea's nuclear programme "easily and quickly".
He added: "I am calling on [Mr
Xi] to work very hard. I know one thing about your president. If he works on it
hard, it'll get done."
Mr Xi, for his part, said both
sides would "continue to work towards" fully implementing UN sanctions
and "enduring peace" on the Korean peninsula.
Mr Trump has previously been more
critical and tweeted in
July that Beijing was doing "NOTHING for us with North Korea, just
talk".
Just before his arrival in Beijing
he urged China to sever ties with the North. Beijing has consistently said it
is doing all it can.
He swerved away from blaming China for the trade deficit
"I don't blame China - after
all, who can blame a country for taking advantage of another country for the
benefit of its citizens... I give China great credit," said Mr Trump while
addressing a room of business leaders.
Instead, the US leader said
previous US administrations were responsible for what he called "a very
unfair and one-sided" trade relationship with China.
Mr Trump has in the past accused
China of stealing American jobs and threatened to label it a currency
manipulator, though he
has since rowed back on such rhetoric.
Mr Xi on Thursday promised
"healthy" and "balanced" economic and trade relations.
The two leaders also said they
would to work together to tackle terrorism and drug trafficking. Mr Trump
upheld the "one
China" policy in his talks with Mr Xi, Xinhua state news agency
reported.
He has poured praise on Xi
Since arriving in Beijing, Mr Trump
has been fulsome in his praise for the Chinese leader, saying at one point:
"You are a very special man."
He has also enthusiastically
thanked Mr Xi for his hospitality in several tweets.
President Xi, thank you for such an incredible welcome ceremony. It was a
truly memorable and impressive display! 📸https://t.co/J9x51h1LBe pic.twitter.com/g4Z7mO5cV9
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November
9, 2017
End of Twitter post by @realDonaldTrump
Looking forward to a full day of meetings with President Xi and our
delegations tomorrow. THANK YOU for the beautiful welcome China! @FLOTUS Melania and I
will never forget it! pic.twitter.com/sQoUWIGAiQ
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November
8, 2017
End of Twitter post 2 by @realDonaldTrump
Mr Trump flew into Beijing on
Wednesday and was greeted with great pomp and ceremony,
in what was billed as a "state visit-plus".
He has tweeted several times since
arriving in China - where Twitter is banned. But a White House official told
reporters that he would "tweet whatever he wants".
As part of his Asia trip Mr Trump
has already visited South Korea and Japan, and will go on to Vietnam and the
Philippines later in the week.
By BBC's John Sudworth in
Beijing
Across the negotiating table, Mr
Trump held Mr Xi's gaze. "My feeling towards you is incredibly warm,"
he said. It's a statement that in many other circumstances might lead the
recipient to glance nervously in the direction of the exit. Mr Xi just smiled
and nodded.
At the ceremony where US and
Chinese businesses signed a number of deals, the US president appeared to have
dropped his old China-bashing ways completely.
His "I don't blame China"
declaration over the trade imbalance was met with an audible gasp.
Even here, one year on and 6,000
miles from the US presidential campaign trail, the audience couldn't quite
believe what they were hearing.
Is President Trump softening China
up for tougher action on the trade imbalance further down the line?
Maybe. But as the two men left the
podium he had another gift for his Chinese host. Both men refused to take
questions from the press. US presidents used to stand up for press freedom on
visits to China.
Not this one.
·
He's warned North Korea to "not try" the US
and the world.
·
But he also called on Pyongyang to "come to the
table" for a disarmament deal.
·
He said Japan and South Korea will be buying US
military equipment which could
shoot down Pyongyang's missiles - the two countries said they are
considering it.
·
He's also lashed out at
"unfair" trade ties with Japan - while in Tokyo
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