Leaders shepherd $253.5b in deals

President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump witnessed the signing of 15 commercial documents worth of $253.5 billion on Thursday, which was seen as a strong signal of increased trade between the world's two largest economies.

The agreements and memorandums of understanding, signed at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, included energy deals and the purchase of US-produced chipsets and soybeans. Boeing and China Aviation Supplies Holding signed an agreement for 300 airplanes.

Companies from the two countries agreed to cooperate on a gas project in Alaska worth $43 billion and a shale gas demonstration project valued at $83.7 billion.