Global News Podcast - Trump hails 'fantastic' new trade deals with China

Episode Date: May 15, 2026

Donald Trump has left China after talks with Xi Jinping that the US president says have settled "a lot of different problems". President Xi called it a "landmark" visit, but gave no details of any new agreements. On Iran, President Trump said the Chinese president would pressure Tehran to re-open the Strait of Hormuz. Mr Trump also said he didn't think there was a risk of conflict between China and the US over Taiwan. Also: American media reports say the US is preparing to indict the former Cuban president, 94-year-old Raul Castro. There's been a large prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia as the two sides ramp up their aerial attacks. The BBC has traced dozens of social media accounts - which post AI-generated anti-immigration content about the UK - to countries such as Sri Lanka and Vietnam. And the singer-songwriter with Parkinson's disease using AI to help him make music again. 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 1400 GMT on Friday, the 15th of May. These are our main stories. The China-U.S. summit ends without the announcement of any major deals. American media reports say the U.S. is preparing to indict the former Cuban president, 94-year-old Raul Castro. There's been a large prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia, just as the two sides are also ramping up their aerial attacks.

Also in this podcast, health officials have confirmed an Ebola outbreak in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. And there'll be pianists with arthritis. There'll be young people with mental health challenges. There'll be trumpet players with motor neurone. Who are we to say you can't have an easier way to try and access creativity? I think the potential of this technology is profound. The ways that AI can boost creative projects. The Superpower Summit has come to an end.

Donald Trump has said goodbye to his host, Xi Jinping, in China. Both leaders described the state visit as historic, but few details have emerged on what the two nations agreed. Just one example, President Trump said China will buy 200 Boeing jets, but the Chinese have not confirmed this. On the flight back to Washington on Air Force One, Donald Trump told reporters that President Xi had pushed him to stop selling arms to Taiwan. Our correspondent in Beijing, Laura Bicker, gave her assessment of the United States. the visit to Steve Lye. Let's break this down into three main topics. Let's talk about Iran and talk about the war in Iran. When it comes to that, there have been differing accounts. Before he left,

President Trump said that he didn't need China's help. During the visit and on his interview with Fox News, he said President Xi would help him with the war in Iran. Back on Air Force One, on the way back to Washington, he has said, we can handle it on our own, we can handle it on our own. But he said, he He says that when it comes to the war in Iran, both China and US values align. They both want the street of Parmu's open and they do not want Iran to have nuclear weapons. So that's something the two superpowers can agree on. Now today, the Chinese foreign ministry released a statement saying that they are working tirelessly to end the war.

Now this suggests strongly that Chinese officials are working behind the scenes to nudge their friend, their ally, Tehran, towards the negotiating table. So that is one thing that we can separate. But I think the most interesting thing that has come from the conversation that we've just heard on Air Force One is what Donald Trump had to say about Taiwan. He was asked what happened in the conversation between him and President Xi. He said they had a long talk about Taiwan. He said that President Xi had urged him to end his arms sales to Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing believes is its own territory and has not ruled out the use of force to take it.

Now, when it comes to those arms sales, crucially, Mr Trump said he would make a determination after talking to the leader of Taiwan. Now, this is a very interesting statement that we're still trying to unpick and understand. There is an agreement that dates back to 1982 that the US should defend Taiwan if it is a moment.

attacked. Now, when it comes to whether or not Mr. Trump would defend Taiwan in that statement on Air Force One, he said there's only one person that knows that and that is me. Interestingly, again, he said President Xi had asked him that himself during the talks. He said President Xi asked him if he would intervene if Taiwan was attacked and he said he wouldn't answer that and again he said the only person who knows that is me. He's making no commitment either way. That's what comes down to Taiwan. We just come to the last point on trade. There does seem to be some positive notes there

that China, he says, will buy 200 Boeing aircraft with the potential to buy 750 more. And he says US farmers are going to be very happy. And there has been a suggestion that China will buy billions of dollars of US goods. So that is what I took away from that conversation. Some very interesting points made on Air Force One. Yeah, they certainly were. It would be interesting to know what the reaction is going to be like in Taiwan

to that very non-committal answer by President Trump. He's not the only head of state that's got an interest in coming to China, though. As he's departing, we've had news that President Putin might be on his way as early as next week. That's right. Well, this visit is not unexpected. President Putin was always scheduled to visit around this time and into June. And it does seem certainly that the Chinese foreign ministry and the Russian foreign ministries both say that Vladimir Putin will be in Beijing soon.

However, the optics of this, the optics of waving goodbye to the US leader and then welcoming the Russian one is very interesting in itself. I think when they were in the gardens today, when President Xi was showing President Trump around Chongan Hai, the secretive Communist Party headquarters, and Mr Trump was admiring the roses and the trees, he was eager to know if any other world leaders were shown around Chongnan High. any other world leaders were given this particular honour. And President C says, no, diplomacy is not usually carried out here. And then he said, oh, except for Vladimir Putin. So it does look like President Trump and Vladimir Putin are being afforded the same honours here in Beijing. Laura Bicker is speaking to Steve Lai in Beijing.

Well, President Trump has been full of praise for China and its leader, Xi Jinping over the last few days. In an interview with Fox News, he even singled out Mr. Xi's physical appearance. If you went to Hollywood and you looked for a leader of China to play a role in a movie. Central casting. He's central casting. You couldn't find a guy like him.

Even his physical features, you know, he's tall, very tall, and especially for this country because they tend to be a little bit shorter. So what's been the reaction of Chinese citizens to President Trump's comments and also to the wider visit? Our China media analyst Kerry Allen told us social media is tightly controlled when it comes to Xi Jinping. There's no reaction whatsoever. And this is quite typical because there has been long-term censorship on platforms like

Sina Weibo, which is the equivalent of a platform like X or Facebook, long-term any kind of message about President Xi, you've got censors who tightly watch for messaging like this. But even from official media that might have mentioned Trump's comment, there's been no coverage of this whatsoever today. They've pretty much instead just focused on the official talks rather than anything to do with, yeah, Trump talking about She's Hyde. Well, what on social media has caught your eye during the summit? I know members of the Chinese public have really been watching reactions among the American delegation, people like Marco Rubio. Absolutely, they have. This has been a big focus. Marco Rubio giving a thumbs up at the welcome ceremony.

also Tesla's CEO Elon Musk, footage of him has gone viral, showing him with his phone, doing a circuit, filming the ceremony. And China really wants to send a message that the American delegation have had their eyes open to China being very impressive. It wants to send this message to Western officials and Western media that China is an increasingly open country and a friend to the world, not the national security risk that it feels it's been unfairly portrayed to be. So, yeah, being able to show Americans looking quite excited about China, this is very important for China to show the rest of the world. Carrie, any disappointments being aired on social media? I do think so, yes, people have been very disappointed not to see Melania Trump accompanying Trump like she did back in 2017. So one newspaper has said her absence will disappoint her admirers in China who were looking forward to seeing her engage with the Chinese first lady.

Pung the UN again because this is seen as very exciting for Chinese audiences when the first ladies get together and they carry out various engagements. And Kerry, we've already noted the two sides haven't really announced any major deals from this trip. But what does the Chinese public think? What are their expectations to come from this summit? Well, you do get a lot of click farms that post messages on social media very much saying that people feel quite positive, suggesting, you know, your regular Chinese social media user saying, you know, they see this visit as positive and hopeful.

But long-term social media users have said that they mistrust Trump. All they really want to see is a better relationship between the two leaders and whether Trump can live up to that on his side when he returns back. Our China media analyst, Kerry Allen. Well, from Donald Trump's trip to China to another story, story that's making headlines in North America. U.S. media reports say the United States is preparing to take action in Cuba. Breaking news, CBS News has learned the United States is taking steps to indict Raul Castro, the 94-year-old former president of Cuba and brother of Fidel Castro. According to

U.S. officials familiar with the matter, the potential indictment is in connection with the 1996 downing of a plane operated by a humanitarian group. Now, the news comes as a CIA director, John Ratcliffe, traveled to Cuba today to meet with government officials. To unpick all of this, I spoke to our Cuba correspondent, Will Grant. Raoul Castro, of course, is the brother, younger brother of Fidel Castro, the founder and elder statesman, the godfather, really, of the Cuban Revolution. And he has essentially been the power behind the scenes since he stepped away from

political and public life. He remains ultimately the final decision maker in Cuba when it comes to something like relationship with Washington. And it is fascinating that now at this particular point in his life, age 96, with the Trump administration in Washington, the plans it appears in the Justice Department are to indict him over this 1996 shooting down of two civilian aircraft. They were manned by a Miami-based, a Florida-based organization that alerted the Coast Guard when they would see migrants attempting to reach the United States by sea. But they would also drop leaflets over Havana and had been repeatedly warned by the Cuban authorities that they were violating their airspace. They were eventually shot down by Cuban Migs, fighter jets, and that has led today, 30 years later,

to the potential bringing of charges against Rao Castro. It comes as a time. when the Trump administration is really focusing in, it seems, on Cuba. As we heard in that CBS report, the head of the CIA has been visiting? An extraordinary development, an extraordinary development in Cuban-U.S. relations. I mean, it would be one thing just for the Rao Castro development, but for it to happen on the same day that the director of the CIA, John Rackcliffe, was in Havana, meeting Rao Castro's grandson, meeting the Interior Minister of Cuba,

and the head of the Cuban Intelligence Service, altogether an extraordinary moment. Exactly what was being discussed is hard to know. The Cuban government statement simply said that it was with a view to contributing to the political dialogue of both nations and underscored the fact that from their position, Cuba should not be on the list of state sponsors of terror. But what exactly comes out of this in this particularly difficult moment in Cuba with the US oil blockade now in its fifth month is very, very hard to know. Will you know Cuba very well? well, what stories are you hearing from inside Cuba at the moment when it comes to that oil blockade and how people are coping? I've been a number of times this year and stayed 10 days

each time. Every single time I've gone into Cuba in 2026, the situation gets noticeably worse and I expect it on my next visit to be even worse. I mean, what we're seeing is a deterioration in public life, in the basics of public life, whether or not that is children going to school only to find out that there's obviously no possibility of any learning in that kind of environment, whether or not it is hospitals running on fumes essentially, and everything except emergency procedures being postponed, whether or not it's rubbish not being collected from the streets, etc. There's no cars on the road. In terms of individual stories, I spoke to a pregnant woman who's going through pregnancy with literally no electricity in her house and very, very little food.

Daily life has become virtually unbearable, and that is the same thing. situation with growing protests likely with which Havana is getting around the negotiating table with the Trump administration. And last well, I mean, Donald Trump's even floated the idea of a friendly takeover of Cuba. Do you think he's serious about that? It's very hard to know where the throwaway lines end and the serious remarks begin with Donald Trump on something like that. The very fact that he feels boldened to say such things come to my mind off the back of what took place in Venezuela at the start of this year when US forces removed Nicholas Maduro from office. So I think the sense is that that was a very quick, straightforward win from Donald

Trump's perspective and he would want the same to take place in Cuba if he keeps up this oil blockade, this pressure on the island. Will Grant. Still to come on this podcast, some AI-generated videos are tilting opinion about life in the UK and not for good. As the technology has improved, they've become increasingly convincing, gripping, emotive. And when they pop up on your feed, they are a very good way, certainly for the people sharing them,

to accrue lots of likes, follows, and influence. This is the Global News podcast. As Ukraine and Russia continue to fire drones at each other in huge numbers, there has at least been one positive outcome of negotiations brokered by the US and the United Arab Emirates, a prisoner exchange. 205 soldiers from each side have been released in the first stage of a larger swap. Our correspondent in Kiev is Abduljali al-Abjurz Yerlov. Most of the Ukrainian soldiers were detained by Russia in 2022,

so at the very beginning of the Russian invasion. Some of them were defenders of the city of Mariupil in the south. Some of them were detained in the north. And there were also soldiers who were defending Chernobyl as well. And Ukraine says that one of the main criteria, for them to include those prisons of war in the exchange list is the duration of time they spent in prison in Russia. And also it's very symbolic for Ukraine as well

to exchange those who were defending the city of Mariupil because those people became a symbol of resilience for Ukraine, those units from Azov and from the Ukrainian Marines who spent weeks defending the city despite the fact that they were surrounded by the Russian forces. For many Ukrainians, they are the symbol now of resilience and victory as well because for them once these soldiers return back it certainly boosts their confidence and they believe that the Ukrainian army is on the right path

why it's happening now this discussion of prison exchange started quite a while ago and it was also broken with the help of the United States and the United Arab Emirates and it was part of the negotiations to renew the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. These stocks got delayed because the events in the Middle East, because of the war in Iran, and one of the options for Ukraine was to push this exchange, the prisoners' exchange, and that's what they achieved. Now they're hoping to have a new round of peace talks. Interesting, though, that this prisoner's exchange has happened, just as aerial attacks are ramping up on both sides. That is correct. Yes, in the past two days, there was a massive

aerial attack on Ukraine, Russia launched more than 1,500 drones and missiles targeting different areas across Ukraine, including the capital Kiev. And in fact, just yesterday, they launched ballistic missiles and a number of places were badly damaged, including the residential building in the capital Kiev. And the missile hit an apartment block, an entire section of that building collapsed. And we know that there are about 2,000 people residing in that building. They died. And the number of death toll is increasing every day because the search and rescue operation is continuing and the first responders are still pulling out the dead bodies from the rubble. Abdu Jalil Abdu Rasilov.

Africa's top health agency has declared an Ebola virus outbreak in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. 65 deaths have been reported. The Africa Centers for Disease Control says four of these deaths have been confirmed as Ebola by lab testing. Ebola is spruce. Ebola is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids and through broken skin, causing severe bleeding and organ failure. The BBC's Emery Macomeneu is in the DRC capital, Kinshasa, and has been speaking to Tim Franks. What we know for the moment is that 13 samples tested positive for Ebola,

and that out of the 20 samples that have been sent here to Kinshasa at the biomedical research institute. These samples came from the Ituri province in the eastern DRC. That's north-eastern DRC. And among the 13 which turned positive, you have four dead, four-confirmed case of Ebola. Right. I suppose the concern here is,

obviously, that Ebola itself is a terrible disease, but also where this outbreak is, Because if you're talking about O'Turi and the east of the DRC, presumably that's quite a difficult place for health teams to get to. Ituri is under a martial state, which means that the civilian governor has been replaced by the military to root out quite a number or dozens of armed groups still active in the Eritory region. and the epicenter, the current epicenter of the disease is in Mongualo, which is a mining area,

lots of gold digging with the artisanal miners happening there. There is also some small-scale mining activities still with gold, and the second town, which is also a kind of urban area, is Rwampara, which is also where some cases have been found. And authorities are also worried about the Bunya, which is where they are also suspecting some cases. Of course, investigations are still going on when it comes to Bunya, the capital city of Ituri. So all of these are towns with high mobility among them and not far from the Ugandan borders or South Sudan border, less than 130 kilometers.

Ebola can present itself in different ways. there can be different strains to the virus. Is that an important part of it as far as the authorities in Kinshasa are concerned, are trying to sort of understand what this strain of Ebola is and therefore perhaps how best they can try to tackle it? Yes, of course. Knowing the strain determines the kind of treatment available and it's important for the rapid,

response. What we understand from Dr. Jean-Cassea, who is the director of the Africa CDC, is that they are still sequencing and trying to find out what is the current strain. He has said that earlier indications don't suggest that it is the Zaire strain, which is more common here in the DRC, but they should be able to know that in the 24 hours ahead. But so far, we don't know what is the air. exact strain for what is happening in ituri. Emery Macamino speaking to Tim Franks. AI-generated videos are popping up more and more on social media feeds.

They may be attention-grabbing, but sometimes beneath the surface, such videos can have much darker motives. And now a BBC investigation has traced dozens of these accounts to countries such as Sri Lanka and Vietnam, posting what they describe as patriotic UK-based content against immigration. Our social media investigations correspondent Mariana Spring told us more. People might have come across this kind of content. AI generated videos that look almost like their vox pops, TV interviews,

or sometimes they'll show, for example, an elderly person crying about their pension, or they might show somebody talking about immigration and their concerns, particularly in the UK, about the impact of that immigration. The thing is, is that these videos, not only have, the thing is, that these videos, not only go beyond real evidence around any of these issues, but they also just aren't real at all. They're AI generated. But as the technology has improved,

they've become increasingly convincing, gripping, emotive. And when they pop up on your feed, they are a very good way, certainly for the people sharing them, to accrue lots of likes, follows and influence. And what I've found is that dozens of these pages, often calling themselves things like the Great British People, for example, on Facebook and Instagram, are sharing this content, getting millions of views,

saying that they are based in the UK, so the great British people says they are based in Yorkshire, in England. But turns out that they're not there at all. They're actually based in places like Sri Lanka, Vietnam, the Maldives. There's also some accounts that appear to be linked or connected to Iran and the UAE. I found this out by looking at some of the transparency data that exists on Facebook so you can go and see where accounts are registered to, the accounts that are running these pages. And there are lots of other clues as well, whether that's spelling errors or the kinds of accounts that they're following. I managed to speak to some of the people behind these pages as well.

And I think what's particularly interesting is that they seem to have a kind of eclectic mix of aims. So some of them are looking to build a following and then sell things online. They'll have links to merchandise and shops. Others genuinely seem to be exploiting political outrage and looking to make a political point. One European account I spoke to who are posting lots of these kinds of edits showing what European cities and American cities will look like in the future in their view and they make them look very sort of apocalyptic. They say, oh, well, this is about pushing an ideological agenda because we are essentially opposed to immigration. Just bravely, Marian. I mean, who's the

intended audience for these videos? And do the people watching these videos, do they believe what they're seeing? Well, if you look at the comments, there's a whole mixture of different people, some who are based in the UK, and I've verified their accounts, who genuinely seem convinced by this stuff saying, oh, I agree with what you're saying, or I'm very concerned about immigration, I'm concerned about these issues. But then some of them are people saying, well, I know this is AI, but it's the impression that it creates that is the worry. And it's almost besides the point whether people believe this stuff or not. It ends up being about the kind of drip, drip, drip of these kinds of narratives. I should say I contacted

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, and they say that they have policies in place to deal with AI generated content that could cause harm. Our social media investigations course correspondent Mariana Spring. And now for a story that has a more positive take on artificial intelligence, although many artists may view AI as a threat to creativity, when singer-songwriter Samuel Smith developed Parkinson's disease and found he could no longer play his guitar, he turned to AI for help. Here's Samuel singing the lyrics of his song, I Know Now, into his phone. Thought I heard a stone coming, thought I heard the lightning strike again, thought I was always coming down.

And here are those same lyrics transformed via AI. Samuel Smith told us what led to his realization that AI could be a force for good. The last five and a half years have been a kind of battle to figure out a hang in there creatively and to continue to make music, which I've always done. The last year has been a bit of a reckoning. I went to Nashville last February to make a record with all my heroes who I'd written to and reached out to sort of try and capture these songs, actually, primarily, so they could hear me while I'm still at my peak, so to speak.

But when I got to Nashville, it was clear I couldn't play anymore. And that left the songs in my head. How do I get them out of my head and into the world? And so this was part of that journey. The debate around AI and music is focused purely on replacement so far, but for me it's enabled and unlocked. What you heard there is an early version, but we'll translate and eventually go into the studio with real musicians.

It's my lyrics, my melody, and I will replace my voice onto what you heard. So those questions of ownership, IP and rights are important, and they have to be addressed. There has to be a transparent discussion around how creativity is flagged and shown, But for me, what will eventually come to be will not be AI-generating music, will be human musicians bringing this to life.

This lets me bring the songs to the musicians and say, this is what's in my head, this is what I'm hearing. There'll be people listening to this. There'll be pianists with arthritis. There'll be young people with mental health challenges. There'll be trumpet players with motor neurone. Who are we to say you can't have an easier way to try and access creativity?

I think the ownership debate is critically important. But at the same time, I do think the potential for music therapy, for rehabilitation, for education in these areas, I think the potential of this technology, if shaped right, is profound. Samuel Smith. 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.uk. 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 Daniela Varela Hernandez, and the producer was Judy Frankel. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Celia Hatton. Until next time, goodbye.