U.S. President Donald Trump takes part in a welcome ceremony with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday. | AFP-JIJI

Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned U.S. President Donald Trump during a summit in Beijing on Thursday that missteps on Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict,” even as Xi emphasized a “new positioning” of ties with the United States.

As the meeting of the two superpowers’ leaders kicked off with a welcome ceremony full of pomp at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, Trump heaped praise on Xi, calling him a “great leader” and pleading that the rivals’ ties would “be better than ever before.”

But Xi’s focus on Taiwan — and putting China on a more equal footing with the U.S.…