From the New York Times, it's the headlines.

I'm Tracy Mumford.

Today's Thursday, May 14th.

Here's what we're covering.

In Beijing this morning, President Trump was welcomed with a 21-gun salute.

As Chinese president, Xi Jinping, greeted him for the start of their high-stakes summit.

Such respect for China, the job you've done, you're a great leader. I say it to everybody.

You're a great leader.

The meeting marks the first visit to China by a U.S. president in nearly a decade. And in their

opening remarks, both leaders stressed the importance of U.S. China cooperation.

We've gotten along when there were difficulties. We worked it out. I would call you and you

would call me. But hanging over that relationship and this week's talks are long-standing clashes over trade and Taiwan, as well as a new source of tension, the war in Iran.

Iran is China's closest partner in the Middle East, and the country buys about 80 percent of Iran's oil exports.

Since the beginning of the war, China has given Iran intelligence,

plus access to a spy satellite that has tracked the positions of U.S. forces in the region.

And just as Trump was flying to China, the times learned from U.S. officials that Chinese

companies have been discussing selling weapons to Iran. No Chinese weapons seem to have been used

on the battlefield yet, but the American officials say the plan would be to send the weapons via

third-party countries to hide the fact that they're coming from China. Whether President Trump

will bring any of that up on this visit, though, and pressure China over its support for Iran,

is an open question. He seems eager to keep the U.S. relationship with China stable,

rather than stirring up conflict. And, notably, the war in Iran has actually tied the U.S.

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