Donald Trump's China summit with Xi Jinping
From Our Own Correspondent
BBC
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 16 May 2026
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Kate Adie introduces stories on President Trump's visit to China, the Palestine marathon, the Venice Biennale boycott, a young woman's search for her mother in India, and living in the fast lane with Sierra Leone's First Lady.
Laura Bicker has been in Beijing where military parades, red carpets and singing choirs of children greeted Donald Trump as he arrived for talks with President Xi. So what progress was made in China-US relations after a frosty period?
Wyre Davies has been in Bethlehem watching on as runners from around the world took part in the 10th Palestine Marathon - a burst of positivity after the race was postponed amid the war between Hamas and Israel, following the October 2023 attacks.
The Venice Biennale and the Eurovision song contest were both founded with the intention of bringing nations together through art - but Kirsty Lang finds, upon visiting Venice, an art festival swept up in a clash with global politics.
In the Indian state of Maharashtra, Tanya Datta travels with a young woman in search of her birth-mother after she was adopted by a French family and grew up in France. As she goes to the place of her birth, she finds an unexpected connection.
And Megha Mohan recounts a hair-raising journey travelling in the motorcade of Sierra Leone's first lady, Fatima Bio - en route to interview her in the Presidential Palace.
Series Producer: Serena Tarling Production Coordinators: Katie Morrison & Sophie Hill Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, today we're in the occupied West Bank as runners take to the streets for the Palestine Marathon. |
| 0:13.2 | We head to Venice for the Biennale, where Russia's participation led to resignations. |
| 0:18.8 | But what does the art world have to offer beyond the boycott? |
| 0:22.2 | In the Indian state of Maharashtra, the story of a woman who discovers the home of her birth |
| 0:27.8 | and makes an unexpected connection. And we're traveling in a motorcade with Sierra Leone's |
| 0:34.0 | First Lady, where we get a snapshot of life in the fast lane. |
| 0:38.4 | But first to Beijing, where the meeting between China's president Xi Jinping and the US |
| 0:44.2 | President Donald Trump has been closely watched. Donald Trump said the meeting was very successful, |
| 0:50.4 | world-renowned and unforgettable, while she called it a historic and landmark visit, |
| 0:56.4 | according to Chinese state media. And while the pomp and ceremony may have been designed |
| 1:01.6 | to flatter the US president, it also hinted at a broader reality of the global shift in power, |
| 1:08.2 | says Laura Bicker. With a tight grip and the odd shoulder tap, |
| 1:13.2 | Donald Trump and Xi Jinping turned an ordinary handshake |
| 1:16.6 | into a global power statement. |
| 1:19.6 | They shook for 14 seconds outside the Great Hall of the people |
| 1:23.4 | as the world watched in the hope this was a sign |
| 1:26.4 | the two superpowers could do a deal. |
| 1:29.4 | Mr Shee ushered his American counterpart onto the red carpet to inspect the waiting military |
| 1:35.7 | honour guard whose eyes tracked their leader as he walked up the line. |
| 1:40.7 | The stagecraft was meticulous. |
| 1:43.3 | Hundreds of school children waved American and Chinese flags |
| 1:47.2 | and shouted welcome, welcome, warm, welcome. Once inside the hall, the real work began. The two leaders |
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