Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) holds a welcoming ceremony for U.S. President Donald Trump, on a state visit to China, in front of the Great Hall of the People before their talks May 14, 2026 in Beijing, China.
VCG | Getty Images
Hello, this is Katie Foley writing to you from London. This morning in the editorial room we looked at the final hours of US President Donald Trump’s trip to China. — which included a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping over tea and a working lunch in Zhongnanhai Garden, next to the Forbidden City.
Diplomatically and symbolically, the trip promises to be a success. But on the merits of the questions, it is too early to say. And after the president returns to the White House tonight, a key problem persists — namely Iran.
What you need to know todayTrump said Chinese leader Xi Jinping “only focuses on business, not games.” in a pre-recorded interview with Fox News broadcast Thursday evening in the United States. Trump also said China had agreed to buy American oil, contribute to negotiations with Iran and not provide military equipment to Tehran.adding that the Chinese leader would like to see the Strait of Hormuz open and without tolls. On the business level, Trump said China agreed to buy 200 Boeing planes.
Here in London we will be closely monitoring developments Golden And action market open after some key developments in British politics. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is set to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s leadership, after former minister Josh Simons announced he would stand down as an MP to make way for a by-election that could return Burnham to Parliament.
Another key candidate, Wes Streeting, bit the bullet and resigned as health secretary on Thursday, after days of briefings and speculation. He criticized Starmer in his resignation letter, saying Labor needed a “vision” but instead had a “vacuum” and where it needed “direction” it had “drift”. Sterling fell to its lowest level in a month.
We saw some big moves in Asian stocks this morning. In a few hours, the South Korean Kospi went from a new record, above the 8,000 mark, to a loss of 6%. The rest of the region is solidly in the red, with European economies and US Futures Contracts also echoing these losses.
On Wall Street, Cerebras Systems soared 68% in its Nasdaq debutclosing at $311.07 after selling shares at $185, well above the company’s expected range. That values the chipmaker at around $95 billion, just barely. he misses joining Meta and Alibaba, Facebook’s parent company as one of the few companies to have ended its first day of trading on Wall Street with a market capitalization of more than $100 billion. The list created two new members of the tech billionaires clubwith company CEO Andrew Feldman and chief technology officer Sean Lie holding stakes worth $3.2 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively.
In other titles, SpaceX IPO prospectus could be abandoned as early as next week in what is expected to be a record stock sell-off, sources told CNBC.
-Katie Foley
And finally…Chinese parts already in US cars as lawmakers warn Trump against China auto deal
As President Donald Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, lawmakers from both parties are warning the White House not to use the U.S. auto market as a bargaining chip in any deal with Beijing.
The warning stems in part from Trump’s suggestion in January that he might welcome Chinese automakers if they built vehicles in the United States with American workers — remarks that were later retracted but nonetheless rattled the state’s auto state lawmakers, unions and industry groups.
“As the administration continues to look to invest more in America’s industrial resurgence, any notion that we could ever compromise our national security is baseless and false,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in an email.
— Luc’s Fountain