Global News Podcast - Donald Trump lands in China for high-stakes talks

Episode Date: May 13, 2026

To the sound of a cheering crowd, US President Donald Trump touches down in China for important talks with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping. The two leaders are expected to discuss tariffs, the Iran war and US weapon sales to Taiwan. It's the first visit to China by a US president since President Trump's last visit in 2017. Ahead of the trip, Donald Trump said he would raise the case of the imprisoned Hong Kong media mogul, Jimmy Lai. Also in this podcast: King Charles officially opens the British parliament, as the country's leader, Keir Starmer, fights to stay in office. Plans to build Australia's first Trump tower have been scrapped because the brand is "toxic". South Africa's top police chief has appeared in court, charged with violating public finance law. And a man in the US has been sentenced to two years in prison for breaking into a car and stealing hard drives containing unreleased music by Beyoncé.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: [e-mail]

This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Celia Hatton and at 1,500 GMT on Wednesday, May the 13th. These are our main stories. President Trump has arrived in Beijing for a meeting with China's leader, Xi Jinping. There were warm words ahead of the visit, but the two men will have to navigate many areas of disagreement. And in Beijing, the king has formally opened a new session of parliament, laying out the government's agenda for the next year. year, all as the Prime Minister, Keir Starmor, faces increasing pressure to step down.

Also in this podcast, Alta's Property Group founder David Young, said the Trump organization had pulled out of the deal. He said in his statement that the Trump brand was increasingly toxic in Australia. Plans for a Trump megatower are cancelled in Australia. We start with the superpower summit in China. The US President Donald Trump has landed in Beijing, where he'll meet the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, for intensive talks. My colleague in Beijing, Steve Lai, described the moments immediately after Mr. Trump's plane touched down. We can see Air Force One just landed and taxying to its stopping position.

You can see a person in military fatigues there standing alone and solitary in the center of that screen or just to the left as we go past it. The plane will, we imagine, be turning around. We saw a ladder as well, getting ready to be placed in position. position for the president and his delegation to walk down. And you can see another military figure standing as well. China said Mr. Trump's visit could be the start of a new chapter in relations between the superpowers and a turbulent world. Mr. Trump is being treated to a state visit, but significant tensions remain between the two countries. And there are a number of

complex issues the U.S. and Chinese delegations will need to navigate. Battles over trade and the fight to dominies strategically important technologies like AI, I mean the two sides will have some very difficult conversations ahead of them. So even if this visit seems friendly with Donald Trump predicting several times that Xi Jinping will be giving him a big hug, there's a lot at stake here. For an idea of what's on the agenda, here's our China correspondent, Laura Bicker. I'm calling it the 40s. Let's start with the big one, Tehran. So obviously the war in Iran is now overshadowing these talks.

And when it comes to the United States, they may be hoping that China can perhaps nudge its friend and ally to Iran towards the negotiating table. Now remember, China is Iran's biggest buyer of oil, biggest trade partner and a long-time friend and ally. So it may well be using that economic and political leverage. The US will hope that China can give them a hand here. However, it will be interesting to see how willing Beijing, is to do that. They have been working behind the scenes. They have also been working with Pakistan on that peace proposal. However, China does not want to kind of wade too far into the Middle East conflict. Then we have trade and technology. When it comes to trade, the US really wants

China to buy more American goods. And we think that will happen more American soybeans, more American beef and more American planes. Donald Trump is hoping that China will open its market to the United States. And there's the final tea, and that is Taiwan. And this is the difficult issue because for China, this is the main issue. They will want to pressure the United States to stop selling arms to Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own. Laura Bicker.

So that's the view from China. But what about the United States? What does Donald Trump want from this trip to Beijing? Sarah Smith, the BBC's North America editor, spoke to Justin Webb about the president's agenda. Donald Trump is concentrating on the economics of this trip, and that's what he wants to take away from it. Increased investment from China in America,

building factories there and putting money into the country, and also agreeing to buy more American goods, principally Boeing planes, American beef and American soybeans. The agricultural products were hit quite hard when Donald Trump first imposed tariffs on China last year. They started sourcing soybeans from other countries in South America, and that really hit American farmers hard, and that could hurt Donald Trump. So he needs to get those sales back on track, and he'll come back and say that he has scored some major economic investment.

I mean, it's quite telling that on the plane with him on the way to China, he has almost 20 of America's biggest CEOs, including Elon Musk, Tim Cook of Apple, Jensen Wang from Nvidia. They're all on the plane with him to go and make economic deals here, rather than say talking about, national security or military geopolitical issues, which you might more normally expect a US president and a Chinese leader to talk about. In return for that economic progress, what do we understand he is willing to give? What does America have to bring to the table?

Well, there's been some discussion about Taiwan and whether or not Donald Trump would change America's position on that. Could he be persuaded to say out loud that he doesn't think Taiwan should be an independent country? Maybe not, but the fact that it's on the table at all, all may mean that he'll hint in that direction. And China would very much like Donald Trump to delay or ideally cancel a lot of weapons sales to Taiwan that are scheduled from America. And as he was leaving the White House, Donald Trump said that he knew President Xi would very much

like the US not to supply those weapons to Taiwan. And I'll have that discussion, he said. So there is definitely something on the table there that they can talk about. And inevitably, the Iran war will come. up because this is going to overshadow the whole of this trip. It's causing problems for both America and China, for both Trump and Xi. Donald Trump could do with President Xi's help in trying to persuade Iran to come to the table and do a deal. He said as he was leaving America, he didn't need help with Iran, but he probably does. He delayed this summit by six weeks because of the Iran war, thinking that by now he would be able to go to Beijing looking like the victor,

having conquered Iran, having got it to give up its nuclear weapons, but that's absolutely not the situation he's in. And instead, China is suffering a bit from the high price of oil and the fact that many of it, the oil and gas exports from Iran that go to China have been prevented. So that's going to cast a pall over everything. And it does make it significantly more difficult for Donald Trump, I think, to get what he wants because he's the one who looks as though he's been unable to finish this conflict in Iran. Sarah Smith. Apart from discussions on trade, Iran and Taiwan, one of the other issues President Trump

is expected to discuss with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, is the case of the imprisoned Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai. Our reporter Danny Vincent has more. For decades, Jimmy Lai was known as one of Hong Kong's most outspoken critics of Beijing. In February, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for violating the national security law. He's the founder of the now defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, once Hong Kong's most read paper. In 2020, the paper was raided. Lai was arrested and paraded around the newsroom.

Beijing says he was the mastermind of the pro-democracy protests which rocked the city in 2019. Ahead of President Trump's trip to Beijing, he said he would raise Jimmy Lai's case with President Xi Jinping. But Jimmy Light, he caused lots of turmoil for China. He tried to do the right thing. He wasn't successful. Went to jail and people would like him out and I'd like to see him get out to.

Last week, more than 100 members of the US Congress wrote to the US president, urging him to press for Lai's release. His son fears the 78-year-old is running out of time. My hope is that my father's case has mentioned that the president tells a president, doesn't she how important my father's case is, how important his freedom is, and how damaging it will be if he passes away in jail. Look, this is about saving my father's life. At this point, he's been in solitary confinement for the last five years. His health is rapidly failing. I honestly don't know how much longer he has. I don't know how many more opportunities there is to raise this case because this is a 70-year-old man who could die at any time.

I spoke with Jimmy Lai just hours before his detention in 2020. Fear is the most inexpensive and convenient way of ruling people and controlling people, you know, if they can induce fear in you. Talks between President Trump and Xi are likely to be dominated by trade, security and the Iran war. Beijing sees Lai as a criminal. His supporters say he's a symbol of eroded freedoms the city was once promised. Danny Vincent. Now to central London, where ceremonies have been taking place

for the formal opening of a new session of Britain's Parliament. King Charles travelled by horse-drawn carriage from Buckingham Palace to the houses of Parliament to lay out the government's agenda for the coming year. Horses hooves there, and it's London, the gentle sound of rain. And let's hear a little of what the King had to say when he said. spoke from inside the House of Lords. An increasingly dangerous and volatile world threatens the United Kingdom. Every element of the nation's energy, defence and economic security will be tested.

My government will respond to this world with strength and aim to create a country that is fair for all. All this took place at a critical period in UK politics. The speech was written by the government of the Prime Minister, Kirstarmer. He was watching on as his future hangs in the balance. It was only on Tuesday a day ago that many thought Mr. Starrmer would be forced to stand down by members of his own ruling Labour Party. And there are still questions about how long he'll remain in charge. Our political correspondent is Rob Watson.

Quite an extraordinary spectacle in British politics because you have the juxtaposition of the extraordinary and rather familiar, and I suppose to some people reassuring pageantry of the state opening of politics. Parliament, where you have the King coming in a gilded carriage to Parliament to read out the speech saying what the government will do with all of the sort of pageantry that we all know. So that sort of stability, contrasting that with the astonishing shenanigans going on within the governing Labour Party because it is now looking more likely than less, because we've heard from allies of Wes Streeting, who's the health minister, that he will indeed challenge Keir Stama

for the leadership of the Labour Party, possibly. as early as tomorrow. So what a contrast, the glitz, the pageantry, you know, the stolidity, if you like, Celia, and then all the uncertainty of the governing Labor Party. Yeah, the shenanigans, as you say, Rob. I mean, tell us more about this senior minister who could be mounting a challenge. Why is all of this coming to a hedge for Kirstarmer right now? So it's coming to a head for Kirstama because of the disastrous results that Labor suffered. in local elections and elections in Scotland and Wales last week. But, I mean, it's been brewing ever since Labour's astonishing landslide in 2024.

But since then, everything has gone wrong. I mean, the public have very much turned against Kirstama personally. There's genuine animus towards them, extraordinary animus. And they feel that the change that they were promised after 14 years of Conservative government simply hasn't happened. And so that has therefore led everyone in the Labour Party to say, what on earth do we do? Now, there are, of course, some. who back here Stama's argument that it would just look nuts to the world and to the country if Britain had a seventh prime minister in 10 years.

But there are those like West Streeting think, no, no, no, we must act. But there are others too who will also perhaps challenge the prime minister. But I mean, that's the nature of the crisis. Labor not sure who should be leading them on in what direction. Rob Watson. Still to come in this podcast, we transferred something negative into something positive by refusing to see rubble only as a symbol of destruction and loss. We'll hear from teenage sisters in Gaza who are turning the rubble of war into something that can be used to rebuild.

This is the Global News podcast. There was a time when having a Trump Tower in your city was something that many would see as a sign of wealth and prosperity. And developers were planning to bring one of those branded buildings to Australia. At 91 stories high, it would have been the country's tallest tower. But now, plans for the $1 billion project in Queensland have been scrapped. Developer David Young blamed what he called the toxic Trump brand and the Iran War for the building's demise. Charmaine Allison is a journalist with Australia's ABC News. She's been covering the story from the Gold Coast, and she spoke to me from there.

So in late February this year, Eric Trump, the second son of the U.S. President Donald Trump, announced plans on social media for a $1.5 billion Trump Tower at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast here in Australia. Now, this 91-story, six-star hotel apartment complex was going to be Australia's first Trump-branded building, and it was pitched as the tallest tower in the country. So it was big news for this area. Australian developers' Altus Property Group confirmed they'd be spearheading the luxury resort build. But despite lots of community controversy and media coverage around this, a development application for this project was never actually submitted to the local council and now just three months after this deal was made, it's been scrapped.

Why has it been abandoned? Well, it depends on who you ask. Altus Property Group founder David Young, who the ABC revealed has twice declared bankruptcy, said the Trump organization had pulled out of the deal. He said in a statement that the Trump brand was increasingly toxic in Australia, citing the Iran War as one example of this. He added that some time ago his company had decided it was time to part company from the Trump brand. However, the Trump organization has hit back today. They've offered quite a different perspective. A spokesperson said that they'd been excited to bring the project to the Gold Coast, but that after months of negotiations and empty promises, Altus had been unable to meet the most basic financial obligations.

So what's been the reaction in the community to the project, but also to its cancellation? It really has divided the city. There were numerous petitions against the Trump Tower, which attracted more than 120,000 signatures. There was a small protest at the local council chambers earlier this month against the project, even though a formal development application hadn't even been given at that stage. But there was also a petition in support of the build. It gained about 3,500 signatures. So some people say a Trump Tower would have been good for the area, that it would have attracted much-needed investment. Others say they don't want Trump's name anywhere near the Gold Coast. But most people were just sad that a development wouldn't go ahead

at this site, which has been long vacant in the area. Charmaine Allison. To South Africa, where the country's top police chief is appearing in court charged with violating public finance law, General Fannie Massimola is accused of wrongdoing. in connection with a controversial $21 million health contract. He's not the first South African police chief to face a criminal investigation while in office. Pumza Fulani has been following the case. This is actually one of the most serious cases happening in South Africa at the moment, and it's playing out in the country's courts with the citizens able to follow via live streaming.

At the heart of it are allegations that General Fani Masamula, who is the country's most senior officer, along with 11 other police officers, were involved in the awarding of a tender that was supposed to provide wellness services within the country's police force. It's alleged that despite numerous indications that the businessman who had put in the bid for this tender did not have the capacity to provide it and also had been flagged under an other incidence for not complete, work, he went ahead and awarded the tender. So the suggestions by the prostitution of that he, along with these other officers, benefited either through bribery or promises of some kind. And this is what led to them awarding this very lucrative tender. It really sits at the heart for a lot of people of these, the allegations sit at the heart of what the level of alleged rot within the country's police services, allegations that businessmen were able to flout laws, but also

that in some extreme cases, they were able to persuade the police to not investigate serious criminal syndicates here. Pomsa, you mentioned the alleged rot within the police services. How big an issue is police corruption in South Africa? Well, it's one of the key talking points for a lot of people, and this is because of an ongoing inquiry here, known as the Madelanga Commission of Inquiry, which has been hearing. evidence since last September of wide-scale corruption within police services. This was first unearthed by a National Police Commissioner who came out and said that they were being put under

pressure by businessmen, by criminal gangs to not investigate cases and that senior officers within the police were in cahoots with them in doing that. And for a lot of people, this has been greatly concerning because South Africa has not only a crime problem, but a violent crime problem. So it's been shocking for people to hear that this might be because of criminal corruption behind the scenes. Pumse of Falani in Johannesburg. In the last edition of our podcast, we heard about two teenage sisters from Gaza who've been awarded an environmental prize, the Earth Prize for the Middle East region, for a construction idea. They've developed building blocks made out of rubble. Since we broadcast that story, the two sisters, Tala and Farah

Musa, who are 17 and 15 years old, have been speaking to the BBC about their prize-winning idea, which they had after their house in Gaza was bombed. They're now living in a tent. They've been speaking to James Copnell. Farah answers the first question. You'll hear her older sister occasionally helping her out with her English. Our bricks are made from recycled, building, rubble, mixed with symbol locally materials such as clay, ash, and natural. Fibers like straw, they are designed for non-load peering, use such as pavement and partitions and garden beds. What makes them special is that they are low-cost, lightweight. These bricks are more than construction material. They are a way to turn destruction into something useful and helpful again.

And Tala, tell us about how you got the idea for these bricks. I assume there was a lot of need to rebuild, a lot of rubble and destruction all around you. Is that part of where the idea came from? Honestly, after our entire city turned into rubble, like everything around us push us to think about the solution. Even the view from our tent window become the main motivation. When everything around you is depressed, you start searching for a way to turn a solution. this crisis into an opportunity. That's how we began thinking about using Rappell for rebuilding.

Talo, how did you find the strength, the courage to do that in what must be very difficult circumstances? So we transferred something negative into something positive by refusing to see Rappel only as a sample of destruction and loss. And instead of saying it as the end, we tried to see it as the beginning of something new. Like everything around us was destroyed, as I told you. So we asked ourselves, if this rappel came from where, why not turn it into something that helps people around us, rebuild it again? That is why we started recycling it in Driesbola blocks.

Farah, can I ask you, please, what do you hope to do to achieve with these blocks? We hope the project helped community see rubble not only as a symbol of loss. but also as a resource that can support rebuilding, the project focus on training, training young people and spreading practical knowledge. So community can participate in reconstruction themselves instead of waiting only for outside help. Tala, is it true that you have been displaced and you're no longer with the prototype? for your bricks?

Yeah, we have displaced like five times, and the last one we've got lost, like, the final prototype. Because we made a lot of prototypes, but the final one, which was the Pest Virgin, and when we, like, use it for our prototype, it was lost. How did that feel? It was, like, a sad thing, because we had, like, a big passion about it,

and we bought a big passion and dreams on this blocks, but it was, like, this. disappeared, but we are trying to make another one and another prototype these days. And we will. Tala and Faramusa, teenage sisters speaking to James Copnell from Inside Gaza. And you can find more about the sisters and their invention on the BBC News website. And last, crazy in love or single ladies, just a couple of Beyonce songs you might recognize. But a story now about some of Beyonce's music that's never been heard by most of her fans.

A man in the U.S. has been sentenced to two years in prison for breaking into a car and stealing hard drives containing unreleased music by the global star. Calvin Evans pleaded guilty to charges, including entering an automobile and criminal trespass last year in Atlanta, Georgia. The thefts, which happened during Beyonce's Cowboy Carter World Tour, will have come as a blow to the singer who hasn't released any new music since 2024. The newsroom's Pete Ross is here to tell us more. It seems that this is a case of opportunism. Calvin Evans did not set out to specifically steal the music of Beyonce. It wasn't targeted. Apparently at random, he broke into a car that had been rented by a choreographer and a dancer.

They were part of Beyonce's Cowboy Carter Tour, which was taking place around the world famously last year. They were doing four nights in Atlanta. The choreographer and the dancer, they went off. They came back to find that the back window of the car had been smashed, that all the things inside the car had been taken, which included a suitcase, inside that suitcase. There was a couple of hard drives, as you said,

and on those hard drives were music that nobody or very few people have heard of Beyonce. Now, fans, of course, will be most interested to know what's on that hard drive or on those hard drives, but around the time investigators said that they hadn't recovered anything that had been stolen, and Beyonce herself has been very tight-lipped about the whole affair. And what about Calvin Evans?

Was he aware of what he'd taken? What's he been saying? He struck a plea deal today ahead of trial later this week, and he's now being sentenced. And again, he didn't set out to steal this music, which, of course, Beyonce is not the first star to have their music deliberately taken so that someone can release it online,

either for the kudos of doing it, going, look here, I've got this music that nobody else has heard, or perhaps to make some money from it through engagement or what have you. But I think what's particularly ironic about this is Beyonce is someone who has worked particularly hard to avoid leaks. After her early albums, Dangerousy and Love, and number four, found their way online illegally well before the anticipated release dates. She pioneered something that was called The Surprise Drop, which in 2013, her fifth album, eponymously titled, it apparently just came out of nowhere.

There was no hype, no ramp up to it, it arrived. It worked for her. It became at the time the fastest selling album ever released, sold almost a million copies in something like three days. So it's a trick that she's continued to repeat over the years. And she's going to increasingly at long lengths to keep her music secret. You know, if you are a collaborator with Beyonce, as she often doesn't tell you if she's ever going to use that music or where it's going to be used. And there are even reports that dancers in her videos, you'd expect to hear the music if you were dancing along. They don't get to hear the music either. It's just a beat or a metronome.

you know, increasingly longer lengths to keep that music secret. Pete Ross. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email us at global podcast at BBC.co. You can also find us on X at BBC World Service. Use the hashtag Global NewsPod.

And don't forget our sister podcast, The Global Story, which goes in-depth and beyond the headlines on one big story. This edition of the Global News podcast was mixed by Robin Schroeder, and the producer was Stephanie Tillotson. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Celia Hatton.

Until next time, goodbye.