What A Day - What Does Trump Need Most From China?

Episode Date: May 13, 2026

President Donald Trump is arriving in Beijing today on a long-awaited trip – one that got delayed even further by Trump’s war in Iran. It’s Trump’s second trip to China and his first in nearly a decade. It’s also a trip where both sides see big opportunities (mostly to make money). But, the global balance of power has shifted – arguably, in China’s favor. Trump is in the midst of an unpopular war with no clear exit plan and he’s looking to make deals, not problems. Meanwhile, China has become an economic and military powerhouse more than able to stand up to the US and Trump’s trade wars. So to talk more about Trump’s trip to China and what’s at stake, we spoke to Phelim Kine. He is the DC based China correspondent at POLITICO.And in headlines, Secretary of War/little boy Pete Hegseth returns to the Hill, Food and Drug Administration head Marty Makary steps down, and the What A Day newsletter investigates a new video game that parodies Trump’s second term in office.Show Notes: Check out Phelim's work – politico.com/staff/phelim-kine Call Congress – 202-224-3121 Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/y4y2e9jy What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

It's Wednesday, May 13th. I'm Jane Koston, and this is what a day. A show congratulating Me Too Canceled director Brett Ratner on his upcoming trip to China, alongside President Donald Trump and a bunch of CEOs. The director of the Rush Hour franchise and the Melania documentary, I know you didn't watch, will be scouting locations for Rush Hour 4, a movie that is only happening because Trump wants to see it. No, I am not kidding. On today's show, Secretary of Defense slash little boy Pete Higseth returns to the hill with an inflated ego.

And speaking of inflation, consumer prices are continuing to rise. You probably already knew that. But let's start with China. President Trump will arrive in Beijing today for the long-awaited U.S. China Summit. It's Trump's first trip to China in nearly a decade and one where both sides see big opportunities, mostly to make money. It's also a trip in which the global balance of power has shifted. arguably in China's favor. Back in 2017, when Trump visited Beijing, he was a China hawk who said that China would, quote, lie, cheat, and steal in all international dealings. Now he's heading into China with declining

pull numbers in the midst of an unpopular war with no clear exit plan. He's looking to make deals, not problems. Meanwhile, China has become an economic and military powerhouse more than able to stand up to the U.S. and Trump's trade wars. And the whole world has noticed. So what leverage does Trump have going into these talks in Beijing. And what does it mean for the future of the U.S.-China relationship? To find out, I spoke to Feelham Kine. He's a D.C.-based China correspondent at Politico. Phelam, welcome to what today? Thanks for having me. President Trump and Chinese President Xi are meeting in Beijing this week for the first time since 2017. And I'm curious. It seems like a big question, but how are the U.S. and China different today than they

were in Trump's first term? I mean, different today in the sense that the first Trump administration was overtly hawkish and hostile to China. It was really the peak of China hawkness in D.C. And what we've seen if this administration was this trade war that Trump launched in 2025, both China and the U.S. spent much of last year punching each other in the face with tariffs and export restrictions. and they've kind of come to this point where they're just trying to get along, and they're just trying to be stable. So, you know, I call this summit that's going to be happening next day or two,

the incredible shrinking summit, because it's not about big things. It's not about wrestling China to the floor with the big issues that the administration was talking about even a few months ago, like ending China's subsidies to its industries or retooling its economy to a more like consumer focus instead of an export focus. It's now just about, hey, I need you to help me with Iran, number one.

Hey, number two, can you do something about the fentanyl flows? And number three, I need you to buy a bunch of my stuff because things aren't looking so great back home in terms of domestic polling ahead of midterms in November. That's kind of how it comes down to in terms of the administration's approach to this meeting. There's been a lot of reporting that China feels like the U.S. is weaker than it was. a decade ago. But I think that, you know, I'm an American who reports on American news. I don't know what's going on the ground in China domestically. Who is coming into this with the cards compared to last time? And how will that dynamic play out? So, first thing is, in terms of who's stronger,

who's weaker, look, China is an economic juggernaut. And it has translated and funneled that industrial might into, you know, one of the world's most fastest growing military industrial complexes, right? So we have this massive expansion and its military, has the biggest navy in the world. It is building its strategic nuclear forces at a pace unseen. And at the same time, you know, it is the workshop of the world. It is the world's second largest economy. And to a large extent, it's outpacing the U.S. in terms of, like, key indicators. not least its ability to broker relations, trade, or otherwise, with parts of the world that are increasingly disenchanted with the United States as a result of the Trump administration's foreign policy over the past year.

Canada as the 51st state. Let's invade Greenland. Let's take out Maduro in this Operation Venezuela. Iran. So all of these things sort of play to China's strengths in the sense that economically power. militarily powerful, talks the talk about being in favor of multilateral, peaceful, win-wins, and it juxtapose itself against the United States, which is kind of like basically the opposite of everything I just said.

So the talks are expected to cover a lot. You said it was kind of this incredible shrinking summit, but they're still going to be talking about trade, AI, Taiwan's sovereignty, and the Iran war. China has been one of Iran's biggest partners. It's not getting the oil, it typically gets from Iran, obviously, because of the straight-of-form moves being closed. But what do you think each party wants out of this meeting? What each party wants most out of this meeting is a very low bar for

success. And that is maintaining the stability that the two leaders were able to broker in their last meeting in Busan, South Korea. So that means, number one, keeping tariffs stable so that there can be stable, ongoing trade between the two countries. Holding back on export restrictions, you'll remember that Beijing basically almost brought the U.S. to the mat by these restrictions on these rare earth critical minerals. The U.S. doesn't want that to happen again. Both sides have domestic issues that they want to deal with. Trump is dealing with a souring, domestic political environment ahead of midterms. Xi Jinping is dealing with rising unemployment. He's dealing with issues in terms of securing his own future as this strongman, authoritarian leader. So they just want to be able to

take their respective tensions, put them on the back burner for the next 18 months or so. That's what they want to do. It's a low bar. But basically, the status quo right now works for both of them with a few sweeteners in terms of trade and maybe diplomatic incentives. This summit was supposed to take place at the beginning of April, and it was pushed back because of the war in Iran, which is obviously still going on. How does being at war with Iran affect any potential deals Trump could make with China right now? Well, Trump is going to China, kind of like a cap in hand asking for help from Beijing to pressure its partner, ally, Tehran to accept some kind of deal that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz. You know, the Iran War and the fallouts, specifically the paralysis of the Strait of Hormuz, has really become a running sore on the face of the Trump administration.

It's jacked up gasoline prices. It is alienated partners. It is freezing and suspending desperately needed liquefied natural gas and oil cargoes to throughout Southeast Asia and throughout Asia. So this is a real problem. He needs to have addressed. And Beijing has leverage to do that. The big question is, will they apply it? And I'm thinking that Beijing is actually pretty happy to just let Trump and the U.S.

stew in its own juices in terms of Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. Because they're pretty well situated with their strategic petroleum reserves, their massive uptake of renewable energy to see through this current period of disruption that's been created by Hormuz paralysis. How will this new power dynamic where the U.S. needs China more than China needs the U.S. affect future relations between the countries? Well, I think first off is that the United States needs to get used to that, that there needs to be a sense that this is no longer the junior partner in a relationship in which the U.S., as the President likes to say, holds all the cards. This is a country that showed that it's willing to go toe to toe in a really bitter and distrable.

trade war with the U.S. and is willing to accept and bear the types of domestic fallout from those types of engagements. Something that an authoritarian one party state can do that a democratic state like the United States can't. So I think that we're really in an inflection point in this relationship in which the U.S. is really coming to terms of the fact that this is a China that's not just rising. This is a China that has risen, that has agency, that has confidence. And most importantly, a China that really believes that the U.S. has peaked, that this is the eclipse of the American century, and that this century is much more China's, and the U.S. is in decline. That's a huge part of this dynamic. Phelam, thank you so much for joining me.

My pleasure. That was my conversation with Philem Kyn, D.C.-based China correspondent at Politico. We will not be heading overseas. In fact, we'll be right here. If you're enjoying the show, make sure to subscribe. Leave a five-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, watch us on YouTube, and share with your friends. More to come after some ads. This podcast is brought to you by Wise, the app for international people using money around the globe. When it comes to sending money abroad, many providers claim to offer free fees and competitive rates. But don't be fooled. This can be code for inflated exchange rates. With the Wise account, you can send, spend, and receive money in over 40 currencies, without ever having to worry about hidden fees.

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Download the Wise app today or visit Wise.com. Terms the conditions apply. What a day is brought to by Mill? We've been using the Mill Food Recylour in our office kitchen for a few months and the results speak for themselves. I'm astounded by just how much food waste you can. turn into free fertilizer with no smell and no mess. Mill is the odorless, effortless, fully automated food recycler. Potato peels, avocado pits, chicken bones, even dairy, milk takes almost anything. While you sleep, mill quietly transforms your food scraps into nutrient-rich, shelf-stable grounds.

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verge of a strategic loss because we are now negotiating. Just think it's so foolish. Here we are on a committee in the United States Senate, 74 days in, and you're talking about strategic loss. We have the ability to defeat a 47-year threat of a pursuit of a nuclear weapon. We have more leverage than we've ever had. Defense Secretary Pete Higgseth was back on Capitol Hill Tuesday, where he faced tough questions from both House and Senate lawmakers.

That exchange was between the Secretary and Delaware Democratic Senator Chris Coons. Higgs-Seth received pushback from members of his. own party about the levels of U.S. munitions used in the war and President Trump's intense criticism of traditional allies for not taking part in the conflict. Imagine not being able to please anyone. U.S. consumer prices climbed sharply again last month as the 10-week war with Iran delivered higher gasoline prices and more pain for Americans. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett spoke to Fox businesses Larry Kudlow on Tuesday about the Labor Department's latest report. Certainly on the surface, you got to admit today's CPI was a last

number, six-tenths of a percent. Core, ex-food, and energy, still up four-tenths of a percent. So the 12-month change is 3.8 percent, and the core change is 2.8 percent. What does an NEC director say on a daylight today when the CPI is coming out so poorly? Well, first of all, this is a temporary energy shock, and that's very clearly in the data. That's enough out of you, Kevin. The Labor Department's Consumer Price Index rose nearly 4% since last April. That's the biggest jump in three years.

And let's talk about the cost of food. Grocery prices went up 0.7% from March to April. According to NBC News, that's the biggest one-month jump in grocery costs in almost four years. The Department of Justice is sending subpoenas to journalists at publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Axios, and the Washington Post to get their records. The Wall Street Journal reported that the move was directed by Trump, who allegedly gave acting Attorney General Todd Blanche a stack of news articles he objected to with a sticky note on top that read, quote, treason.

Blanche posted on Twitter Tuesday that prosecuting leakers was a top priority, adding, quote, any witness, whether a reporter or otherwise, who has information about these criminals, should not be surprised if they receive a subpoena about the illegal leaking of classified material. Sure. Criminals. The head of the Food and Drug Administration has resigned. Dr. Marty McCarrie's departure comes after a rocky, tenure that drew months of complaints from health industry executives, anti-abortion activists, vaping lobbyists, and other allies of President Trump.

Weirdest possible party invite list. But Trump doesn't seem to worry about losing another administration official. Marty's a terrific guy, but he's going to go on and he's going to lead a good life. To be clear, Marty McCarrie is not being sent to a farm-up state. McCarrie was in the role for just 13 months. An acting commissioner was named on Tuesday hours after the announcement. Should you invade Iran or order a diet cook with the press of a button? A new video game that popped up on the National Mall claims Trump faced this question weeks ago.

Operation Epic Furious, Straight to Hell, pokes fun with the war in Iran and just about everyone in Trump world. It was made by an anonymous activist group known as a secret handshake, which is known for pop-up installations in D.C. trolling Trump. The game begins with Trump deciding to bomb Iran. He flies across the fake news Atlantic and past Greenland, renamed Trump. Trump land yet. And at some point, Pope Leo battles Trump with the powerful weapon of Catholic guilt. Read more about the video game, which you can play online in the Water Day newsletter. The link is in our show notes. And that's the news. Before we go, if you haven't listened to Crooked's critically acclaimed podcast from other country radicals, now's your chance. The podcast is returning with a

bonus episode and a new book. Host Zaid Ayersdorne was born to parents involved in one of America's notorious radical underground movements of the 1970s. His mother was on the FBI's 10 Most Wanda List. His book, Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young is part memoir, part political reckoning. Catch the bonus episode now on the mother country radicals feed. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review. Contemplate how weird it is our president posts bullshit on truth social at like 1.30 a.m.

And tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading, and not just about how, For example, the president posted more than 50 times on Monday night in early Tuesday morning, and most of his posts were weird AI images of Obama or graphics saying the stock market is doing great. Like me, What Today is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at crooked.com slash subscribe. I'm Jane Koston. And let's be real. If your 79-year-old grandpa were posting more than 50 times a night and falling asleep during the day, you would be worried. What a day is a production of Crooked Media. show was produced by Caitlin Plummer, Emily Four, Erica Morrison, and Adrian Hill.

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