US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet in Florida on Thursday in the first face to face meeting between the two world leaders.
Top of the agenda is the nuclear threat posed by North Korea, and trade between the two countries.
Harry Horton looks ahead to a crucial meeting for US-China relations.
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President Trump has said his meeting with President Xi Jinping will be a "very difficult" one.
More missile tests from North Korea this week have set the stage for crucial talks.
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SUPER: DONALD TRUMP, US PRESIDENT
"we're gonna talk about a lot of things, including of course, North Korea, a problem, and that's really a humanity problem."
White House officials say President Trump views North Korea as a test of the US-China relationship.
His administration has mounted pressure on China to do more to help contain North Korea's nuclear threat.
On a recent trip to Asia, the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signalled a new urgency.
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SUPER: REX TILLERSON, US SECRETARY OF STATE
"Let me be very clear - the policy of strategic patience has ended. We are exploring a new range of diplomatic, security and economic measures. All options are on the table."
Also high on the agenda is trade - an issue Donald Trump often brought up during his presidential campaign.
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SUPER: DONALD TRUMP
"I'm going to instruct the United States trade representative to bring trade cases against China both in this country and at the WTO, World Trade Organization."
The White House says Donald Trump is concerned about what he views as an "imbalance in the economic relationship" with China.
Despite the rhetoric, Asia analysts like Mike Mosettig, say neither country wants a trade war.
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SUPER: Mike Mosettig, Writer and Lecturer
"A lot of people are saying that President Xi's major interest out of this meeting is to prevent a trade war between the US and China, because they would have a lot to lose from that. The United States is just in the beginning of reviewing with any kind of depth its various trade policies and we may not know the results of those reviews until the G20 summit this summer."
This is a critical meeting for an administration still finding its feet on the international stage.
Xi Jinping is an experienced politician who'll be well prepared for this meeting - and despite the rhetoric from the White House both sides may find it difficult to come away with any deal.