Beijing 8 Nov (ANA) - US President Donald Trump has arrived in China for talks likely to be dominated by tensions over North Korea's nuclear programme.

He landed in Beijing, where Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping has a lavish welcome planned for him. Earlier, in a speech to the South Korean parliament, Mr Trump urged China to sever ties with North Korea. Mr Trump is in China as part of a five-nation tour of Asia. He has also visited Japan so far. Before his arrival, Mr Trump piled praise on Mr Xi, saying he was looking forward to meeting the Chinese president after "his great political victory". Mr Xi recently consolidated his power at a Chinese Communist Party congress, a move analysts say will make him less likely to reach compromise with Mr Trump. The US president and his wife Melania have visited the Forbidden City, for centuries the home of China's emperors, followed by afternoon tea. Dining inside the Forbidden City is an unprecedented hour for a US president, CNN reports, a sign of what's been dubbed a "state visit-plus". His arrival came just hours after his speech in the South Korean capital Seoul, in which he described North Korea as "a hell that no person deserves". North Korea's nuclear weapons programme has sparked international alarm, with Pyongyang carrying out its biggest nuclear test yet in September. In typically stark language, Mr Trump warned the North: "Do not underestimate us. Do not try us."(ANA)

FA/ANA/8 November 2017-----