Peng a lady left waiting as Michelle stays at home

When the presidents of China and the United States had their first encounter in the sprawling grounds of the Sunnylands diplomatic retreat in California, first lady Peng Liyuan had to make her own plans because Michelle Obama was with her daughters in Washington.

Greeted by museum officials and California Governor Jerry Brown's wife, Anne Gust Brown, Peng was given a private tour of the Palm Springs Art Museum, which will celebrate its 75th anniversary this autumn.

At Sunnylands, Xi and Obama gave somewhat cheesy smiles before their meeting, but both emerged looking solemn and tired three hours later to hold a news conference.

Xi and his wife were staying at a nearby hotel.

Professor Pang Zhongying, a specialist in international relations at Renmin University, said it was "too early to draw any conclusion about the atmosphere of the summit because they still have a second round of meetings to come".

Outside the ranch, a few hundred protesters gathered as the two leaders sat down for talks.