Beijing, China - Chinese President Xi Jinping warned President Donald Trump during a summit in Beijing that any missteps on Taiwan run the risk of sending the US and China into "conflict."

Xi's comments came shortly after Trump arrived in China with accolades for his host, praising Xi as a "great leader" and his personal "friend" while predicting that their countries would have "a fantastic future together."

Beyond the pomp and pageantry, however, Xi used less effusive language in reference to Trump, telling the US leader that the two countries "should be partners and not rivals" and highlighting the issue of Taiwan.

China has claimed the self-governed island as its sovereign territory since 1949, when the nationalist Kuomintang Party (KMT) fled to Taiwan after losing a civil war against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

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Beijing's failure to take control of Taiwan has led to increasing tensions over recent years, with regular Chinese military drills intimidating the island nation and fears growing of an impending invasion.

"The Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations," Xi said on Thursday, according to remarks published by Chinese state media shortly after talks began.

"If mishandled, the two nations could collide or even come into conflict, pushing the entire China-US relationship into a highly perilous situation," he added during opening talks that lasted a little over two hours.

Xi greeted Trump with a red-carpet welcome at the opulent Great Hall of the People, with military band fanfare, a gun salute, and a host of schoolchildren jumping and chanting "welcome!"

Seemingly enjoying the ceremony, Trump said that "the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before."

Xi entered the frame with a more measured approach, instead referencing an ancient Greek political theory about the risks of war when a rising power rivals a ruling power – a not-so-subtle warning to the US.

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"Can China and the United States transcend the so-called 'Thucydides Trap' and forge a new paradigm for major-power relations?" Xi asked, adding that "cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both."

"Safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the biggest common denominator between China and the United States," Xi said.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry, however, hit back on Thursday with a warning that it is China that is the "sole risk" to regional stability and peace.

"The Beijing authorities are currently the sole risk to regional peace and stability," the ministry said in a statement.

They went on to highlight China's "military harassment" and gray-zone activities around Taiwan, adding that "Beijing has no right to make any claims on behalf of Taiwan internationally."