Iran, Taiwan, and trade: Trump’s high‑stakes return to Beijing
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 748 Ratings
🗓️ 14 May 2026
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
US President Donald Trump returns to Beijing after nine years to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. The trade war, conflict in Iran, and rising fears over Taiwan shape the talks. With global tensions mounting, can the two leaders find common ground, or will rivalry push the world further into crisis?
In this episode:
- Erin Hale (@erinhale), Journalist
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Marcos Bartolomé and Sarí el-Khalili with Spencer Cline, Catherine Nouhan, Tuleen Barakat, Alexandra Locke, and our guest host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Tamara Khandaker.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Today, Trump's trip to China. |
| 0:14.0 | It's the first visit to China by US President in nearly a decade. |
| 0:19.0 | Trump is due to meet President Xi Jinping. |
| 0:22.8 | The U.S. President says he would have, quote, |
| 0:25.7 | a long talk about Iran, but trade will be the main focus. |
| 0:31.1 | A trade war, a real war, and a contested island nation. |
| 0:35.3 | What are the stakes as the world's two superpowers meet? |
| 0:41.7 | I'm Kevin Horton, and this is the take. |
| 0:51.2 | Before we continue with today's show, remember to leave us a comment telling us what you think |
| 0:55.5 | about this episode. |
| 0:56.8 | Do you have high hopes for Trump and Xi Jinping to accomplish their goals in China? |
| 1:01.9 | And remember, if you're on your favorite podcast app, leave us a review, and a five-star rating |
| 1:06.3 | doesn't hurt either. |
| 1:07.2 | It does help the show. |
| 1:10.6 | My name's Aaron Hale. I'm a reporter based in Taiwan. I also work sometimes as a producer |
| 1:16.5 | with Al Jazeera on the digital side. All right. Well, Aaron, U.S. President Donald Trump |
| 1:21.5 | arrives in Beijing this week for the first time in nearly a decade. The last visit was 2017, |
| 1:32.3 | and it ended with a handshake and a $250 billion deal. A relationship with you and China is a very important one to me and to all of the people of our country. |
| 1:40.3 | I told President Trump that the Asia-Pacific is big enough for both the U.S. and China. |
| 1:47.6 | Both sides should increase communication and cooperation in regards to Asia-Pacific issues. |
| 1:53.7 | Building the same group of friends forms constructive interactions, which jointly protect |
... |
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