The superpower leaders last exchanged words at an historic summit in November with Beijing describing it as a “candid and in-depth exchange”

Sources say the meeting was deliberately scheduled separately from the China Development Forum held this week, where an event between Premier Li Qiang and visiting foreign CEOs was axed

Xi Jinping said Beijing was looking for even closer ties with Moscow while France's foreign ministry said the poll victory was tainted

The decision comes after a surprise move last week to scrap the premier's news conference at the end of the annual session of parliament

Observers say many more party chiefs are likely to fall this year with Xi Jinping showing no signs that he’s ready to roll back on his clean-up

The closed-door annual meeting is closely watched by investors looking to gauge China’s policy and reform agenda

China and the US have been competing for influence in Vietnam, which agreed a large-scale strategic partnership with Washington in September

US Commerce Secretary warns chip sector that Washington is set to “transform” its approach to export controls to stop firms like Nvidia from innovating specifically for the Chinese market

A bill requiring US companies to notify federal agencies of investment in Chinese technologies is opposed by a key lawmaker who believes Washington needs to invest more in its rival

While the Chinese president’s US visit didn't do much to ease the weight of Washington's chip sanctions on the world's second-largest economy, it did manage to score several brownie points

For US businesses, the dinner will particularly be a chance to hear directly from the leader of the world’s second-biggest economy as they search for ways to navigate its economic slowdown

Beijing’s top anti-graft body said it was investigating Zhang Hongli, the former VP of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China – the world’s biggest bank by assets