Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Washington D.C. Friday where President Obama welcomed him and his wife to the White House. Despite the pleasantries, tensions were high between the world leaders over allegations of Chinese cyber spying, territorial disputes between China and its neighbors, and Beijing’s economic policies.

Chinese and U.S. officials do hope the world leaders can cast aside their differences to talk about one area of cooperate, the global fight against climate change. However, the cooperation was overshadowed by major disagreements.

President Obama reassured the Chinese President that the U.S. would continue to discuss its differences with China.

“We believe that nations are more successful and the world makes more progress when our companies compete on a level playing field, when disputes are resolved peacefully and when the universal human rights of all people are upheld,” President Obama said in his welcoming speech.

Xi gave a similar statement during his speech, stating that the two countries would have to use respect and compromise to improve relations.

Despite the speeches, experts report that the relations between the two countries are at its most adversarial in decades. This is due to allegations of cyber attacks between the two nations, the territorial disputes in the South China Sea, China’s economic situation, and China’s violations of human rights.