VLADIMIR Putin and Donald Trump have agreed to defeat Daesh in Syria, the Kremlin said.

The Russian and US presidents reached an agreement during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in Vietnam today.

A Kremlin spokesman said they agreed to support existing communication channels to ensure the security of the US and Russian armed forces, as well as to prevent dangerous incidents involving the forces of partners fighting Daesh.

The spokesman said they confirmed that these efforts will continue until the final defeat of Daesh.

They also agreed that the Syrian conflict "does not have a military solution," and that final resolution must come in the framework of the so-called Geneva Process.

Putin and Trump say they welcome President Bashar Assad's "recent statement of commitment" to the Geneva process for resolving the conflict in Syria.

Assad's commitment to the process, in line with a UN Security Council resolution, implies "constitutional reform and free and fair elections under the supervision of the United Nations" in which all Syrians can participate, including those in the diaspora, a Kremlin spokesman said.

Trump and Putin also reaffirmed support for de-escalation zones in Syria, including one in the south west that was agreed to in the presidents' previous meeting in July in Germany. They also called on UN members to increase humanitarian aid contributions for Syria.

Meanwhile, Trump has denounced China for unfair trade practices just a day after he heaped praise on President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

"We are not going to let the United States be taken advantage of any more," Trump said at the conference.

"I am always going to put America first, the same way that I expect all of you in this room to put your countries first."

The president — who pulled the United States out of the Pacific Rim trade pact known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership — said the US would no longer join "large agreements that tie our hands, surrender our sovereignty and make meaningful enforcement practically impossible".

Instead, he said, the US will pursue one-on-one trade deals with other nations that pledge fair and reciprocal trade. The message stood in sharp contrast to the behind-the-scenes negotiations taking place among other countries at the summit on a successor to TPP.

As for China, Trump said he had spoken "openly and directly" with Xi about the nation's abusive trade practices and "the enormous trade deficits they have produced with the United States".

It was a stark change in tone from the day before, when Trump was Xi's guest of honour during a state visit in Beijing. There, Trump opted for flattering Xi and blaming past US presidents for the trade deficit.

Trump said China's trade surplus, which stood at 223 billion dollars for the first 10 months of the year, was unacceptable. He repeated his language from Thursday, when he said he did "not blame China" or any other country "for taking advantage of the United States on trade".

But Trump added forceful complaints about "the audacious theft of intellectual property," the ''massive subsidising of industries through colossal state-owned enterprises," and American companies being targeted by "state-affiliated actors for economic gain" — without singling China out by name.

US officials have raised similar concerns in the past about China, especially with regard to intellectual property.