What Big Tech wants out of Trump’s China visit
FT News Briefing
Forhecz Topher
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 15 May 2026
⏱️ 12 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Opponents are lining up to potentially challenge UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Chinese President Xi Jinping says his country will ‘open wider’ for American tech, and Saudi Arabia is considering a Middle Eastern non-aggression pact with Iran. Plus, what does one city in Pennsylvania tell us about the intersection of US politics and the economy?
Mentioned in this podcast:
Starmer braces for leadership challenge by Burnham
Xi Jinping tells Nvidia, Tesla and Apple CEOs that China will ‘open wider’
Saudi Arabia floats Middle Eastern non-aggression pact with Iran
AI chipmaker Cerebras surges more than 100% in Wall Street debut
The Bethlehem Project: US politics and economics through the lens of one city
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Today’s FT News Briefing was hosted and edited by Marc Filippino, and produced by Katya Kumkova, Saffeya Ahmed, and Sonja Hutson. Our show was mixed by Sam Giovinco. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann and Michael Lello. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s Global Head of Audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Good morning from the Financial Times. |
| 0:04.6 | Today is Friday, May 15th, and this is your FT News briefing. |
| 0:08.8 | The walls are closing in on Kier-Starmer, and China says it's willing to play ball with U.S. tech companies. |
| 0:15.5 | Plus, what can a small city in Pennsylvania tell us about American politics? |
| 0:19.4 | Turns out a lot. |
| 0:20.5 | I've watched my members in the |
| 0:22.3 | firehouse drift to either independence or even to Republicans. I think Democratic parties start to see |
| 0:29.0 | that we need some working class people to get involved here. I'm Mark Filipino and here's the |
| 0:33.3 | news you need to start your day. |
| 0:47.5 | Opponents are lining themselves up to challenge UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer. |
| 0:52.2 | Starmor is under fire because of how badly his Labor Party performed in last week's local elections. |
| 0:53.9 | Booky favorite Andy Burnham looks poised to take on Starmer. |
| 0:57.2 | That's because a Labor MP resigned yesterday, |
| 0:59.6 | which potentially allows Burnham to get elected to Parliament |
| 1:02.2 | and make a run for the premiership. |
| 1:04.4 | Burnham currently serves as the mayor of Greater Manchester. |
| 1:07.9 | Labor officials said No. 10 had indicated to the party's MPs that it would not |
| 1:11.6 | seek to stop Burnham. Earlier in the day, West Streeting also resigned from his post as health |
| 1:17.7 | secretary, but he didn't launch a challenge. Starmer's allies are claiming he did not have enough |
| 1:23.1 | support yet. |
| 1:29.4 | U.S. President Donald Trump is in Beijing this week, and he's brought some tech muscle along with him. |
| 1:35.1 | Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, Apple's outgoing chief executive Tim Cook, and NVIDIA boss, Jensen Wong, all tagged along. |
... |
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