Xi and Trump will meet for the first time away from the glare of attention in Washington, D.C.

So what’s the advantage to an informal meeting in a casual setting? Can it help ease perceived tensions in the relationship between China and the U.S.?

CGTN’S Mike Walter has more.

Are we about to witness another Sunnylands summit or something else? In 2013, the two leaders from the two largest economies came together in an intimate setting all in an effort to get to know one another.

Now the question is, can the relationship building we witnessed in Palm Springs be duplicated in Palm Beach.

Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen said body language will be a key in determining the answer to that question.

“The relationship is important, that you feel you have a counterpart where you can pick up the phone and say we have a problem or we have an opportunity. And you’ll see that when the two men come out and give a report on how the meetings went,” Cohen said.

Cohen said unlike state visits, the real emphasis on a meeting like the upcoming one in Mar-a-Lago will be on optics not outcomes.

So like Sunnylands, there will be a lot riding on this first face-to-face meeting between these leaders of the most important bilateral relationship in the world. After the U.S. China Mar- a-Lago summit, trained diplomacy watchers will be looking for signals and symbolism to see where this vitally important relationship is headed in the future.