12:30 Report

Trump lands in China: Meeting of the dueling superpowers

by Cate Martel - 05/13/26 12:44 PM ET

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by Cate Martel - 05/13/26 12:44 PM ET

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It’s Wednesday. Trivia time! How many times do you think President Trump has posted on Truth Social since the start of his second term? The Wall Street Journal actually added it all up. Email me your guess and I’ll let you know how close you got. Hint: Just on Monday night alone, he posted 55 times. 😅

- Trump lands in China

- How Trump’s China ambitions have shrunk

- President singles out GOP staffer: ‘FIRE THE BUM!’

- IG probe of Kristi Noem’s $38 billion ICE project

- Trump changes story on Reflecting Pool contractor

 ✈️ IN CHINA

Rolling up with his squad:

Associated Press, Mark Schiefelbein

President Trump touched down in Beijing this morning for his first trip to China since 2017.

Trump walked off Air Force One joined by his son Eric Trump, daughter-in-law Lara Trump, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

^ Psst, Trump invited the Nvidia CEO after coverage of his snub, according to The Hill’s Julia Manchester and Miranda Nazzaro.

He was greeted with quite the show: China’s vice president and foreign minister were there for Trump’s arrival, along with U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue. Oh, and let’s not forget the 300 Chinese children, a military band and an honor guard that made for an impressive welcome ceremony. 🎥 The flashy welcome ceremony

🎥 Watch the plane taxi — I still can’t get over how large of a plane this is.

What’s on tap for the trip?: Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday and take part in a state banquet. He will have more meetings on Friday before flying back to Washington.

💻 Watch Xi welcome Trump at 10 p.m. EDT

💻 Watch Trump and Xi’s meeting at 10:15 p.m. EDT

Helpful primer for the trip: 5 things to watch during Trump’s high-stakes meeting with Xi

➤ WHAT WILL LIKELY TAKE CENTER-STAGE:

The war in Iran. Progress on a U.S.-Iran peace deal seems to be unraveling. The Hill’s Laura Kelly argues this may give China some leverage, leaving the U.S. at a disadvantage.

Issues that may come up: “Trump and Xi … are expected to discuss Beijing’s focus on continued access to U.S. technology and Trump’s pursuit of China’s purchase of American products, such as Boeing jets. China’s role in America’s fentanyl crisis, artificial intelligence and China’s claim to Taiwan are just some of the other major issues of the summit.”

Read more: ‘Iran war may give China, Xi, some leverage on Trump at Beijing summit’

💬 Follow today’s live blog

Trump’s goals for China have shrunk:

When President Trump took office in 2025, he vowed to be fierce toward China, threatening steep tariffs and trade negotiations it couldn’t refuse.

But as The New York Times points out today, the president has had to drastically scale back his expectations. The Supreme Court struck down his landmark tariffs — and economic woes in the U.S. have lowered his ambitions.

Now, the goal is simply to smooth over relations between the two dueling superpowers.

Specifically, Trump is hoping to restore or increase “U.S. sales of products like airplanes, ethanol, soybeans, beef and sorghum.”

Read more in the NYT: ‘Trump’s Shrinking Ambitions on China’

Related read in Foreign Affairs: ‘America Has Lost Its Leverage Over China: How Trump and Xi Could Cement Beijing’s Advantage for Years to Come’

Plus, in Foreign Policy: ‘What Happened to Trump the China Hawk?: The U.S. president heads to Beijing in detente and dealmaking mode.’

➤ FOUR HOT-BUTTON ISSUES THE CHINESE EMBASSY DOESN’T WANT TO BE RAISED:

The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. posted a list of four issues it does not want to be challenged in the summit. The list: “The Taiwan question,” “democracy and human rights,” “paths and political systems” and “China’s development right.”

🔥ON CAPITOL HILL

Trump singled out a Senate staffer — ‘FIRE THE BUM!’:

President Trump demanded today that a Republican Senate staffer be fired for making Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) look “out of it” during a recent Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing.

From Trump’s post: “The guy that came up to Mitch McConnell today when McConnell thought the hearing was over and started speaking in his ear for Mitch to belatedly introduce some other people, all Democrats and