Trade imbalance

When they aren't discussing security challenges, the two world leaders are likely to focus on trade.

Trump has made recalibrating US trade relationships a central tenet of his administration's agenda, and during the campaign, he repeatedly railed against the trade imbalance between the US and China.

Trump has so far held back, though, on that front. While he promised to formally label China as a currency manipulator on his first day in office, he has yet to do so. And he has not been as vocal on the issue of China's impact of US trade since becoming president.

But the issue is not likely to fade into the background. While he has changed his political positions on a range of issues, Trump has for years been consistent in how he views the US-Chinese relationship, blaming China as a major source of the decline of US manufacturing and exporting years before he decided to run for president.

Tillerson's trip to Beijing -- which will come this week after official meetings in Tokyo and Seoul -- will lay the groundwork for Xi's visit and the agenda items.

Trump's meeting with the Chinese president comes as he has already formed a bond with another major leader in Asia, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whom Trump hosted at Mar-a-Lago last month. That meeting was the second between Trump and Abe, who first met privately at Trump Tower during the transition.

This story has been updated.