Why Trump gave Xi an eagle statue at White House state dinner

President Trump said he and First Lady Melania helped design the statue

US President Donald Trump has presented Chinese President Xi Jinping with a sculpture of a bald eagle, a bird native to North America and his country's national symbol, during a lavish state dinner in Washington.

He said that he and First Lady Melania Trump participated in its design. The statue is part of a valuable - but sometimes tricky - aspect of international diplomacy: gift-giving.

"They're going to discuss all of these complicated issues," Daniel Kritenbrink, partner at The Asia Group says. "But at the end of the day, these are still two human beings.

Kritenbrink, who spent over 30 years as a US diplomat, mostly in Asia, says personal relationships are of particular importance to Xi.

He says Trump, too, values what Kritenbrink calls "leader-level diplomacy".

The US president has received a luxury jumbo jet, an engraved gold bar, a diamond-and-jewel encrusted gold ring, and more.

On Thursday morning, Xi announced a gift of two Chinese pandas to a zoo in Atlanta - and a new student exchange programme, which will welcome 100,000 US students to study in China over five years.

It's unclear if he gave any further presents. The BBC has contacted the White House.

Today, the practice of giving lavish gifts mostly exists in Gulf states and autocratic governments.

In the West, Andersen says, the tradition has been watered down by democratic guardrails and restrictions.

Currently, the limit is $525 (£397). Anything higher and it becomes federal property, unless the president chooses to buy it back with his own money.