Deals and words: Reading the tea leaves for the ‘historic’ Xi-Trump summit | Asian Insider podcast

Twists and turns can be expected for the rest of this year For May, host and deputy foreign editor Albert Wai teams up again with senior China correspondent Yew Lun Tian. Their focus is on the Xi-Trump summit held in Beijing from 13 to 14 May, 2026.  Heading into the event, expectations were modest as Mr Donald Trump appeared to be distracted by war in the Middle East. At first glance, the deliverables might have seemed slightly underwhelming.  But the bottomline is both men got a bit of what they needed. Mr Trump got purchases for Boeing jets, agricultural products and possibly energy, while Mr Xi Jinping articulated a “new positioning” of bilateral relations. There are also implications for cross-strait ties, with Beijing framing the Taiwan issue as something to be treated with utmost caution while Washington signalled that it might be rethinking the latest tranche of arms sales to the island. With many geopolitical issues on the agenda, the tariff war appeared to have taken a back seat. Nonetheless, the announcement on the boards on trade and investment has opened up additional and much-needed room for dialogue. There are at least three more bouts of engagement between Mr Trump and Mr Xi for the rest of this year, and plenty of opportunities for both sides to bargain and make deals. Highlights (click/tap above):  0:00 Intro 2:40 The world can breathe a sigh of relief 5:25 What is “constructive strategic stability”? 9:34 Temple of Heaven, Imperial Garden: Visit steeped in symbolism 11:17 A captivated Chinese public 13:54 Taiwan should be worried 20:27 Trade tensions take a back seat 22:46 China hugs the US and Russia Read more: https://str.sg/pyWN  Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters  Host: Albert Wai ([email protected])  Produced and edited by: Fa’izah Sani Executive producer: Ernest Luis Follow Asian Insider Podcast on Fridays here: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7  Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8  Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX  Feedback to: [email protected]  --- Follow more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 Get more updates: http://str.sg/stpodcasts  The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa  Follow The Straits Times on YouTube: https://str.sg/ytsub Turn on notifications ? to stay updated. -------------------- WEBSITE ➤ https://www.straitstimes.com WHATSAPP ➤ https://str.sg/whatsapp TIKTOK ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@straitstimes INSTAGRAM ➤ https://www.instagram.com/straits_times FACEBOOK ➤ https://www.facebook.com/TheStraitsTimes TWITTER ➤ https://twitter.com/straits_times TELEGRAM ➤ https://t.me/TheStraitsTimes PODCASTS ➤ https://str.sg/stpodcasts #straitstimes