BONUS POD: Trump and Xi Meet in China

BONUS POD: Trump and Xi Meet in China

From Pekingology by Center for Strategic and International Studies

May 15, 2026 · 44 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the summit between President Trump and President Xi, focusing on their personal relationship and key bilateral issues.

In this bonus episode of Pekingology, host Henrietta Levin is joined by Jon Czin to discuss the May 14-15 summit between President Trump and President Xi in Beijing. Henrietta and Jon unpack the personal relationship between Trump and Xi, as well as the full range of issues on the bilateral agenda - Taiwan, technology, trade, the war in Iran, soybeans, and more. Jon previously served as Director for China at the White House National Security Council and a member of the Senior Analytic Service at the CIA. He is currently Michael H. Armacost Chair in Foreign Policy Studies and a fellow at the Brookings Institution. To learn more about U.S.-China summitry, check out these Pekingology episodes: How to Win a Summit: China’s Economic and Commercial Leverage (https://www.csis.org/podcasts/pekingology/how-win-summit-chinas-economic-and-commercial-leverage) Behind the Scenes of U.S.-China Summitry (https://www.csis.org/podcasts/pekingology/behind-scenes-us-china-summitry) Kurt Campbell on China Strategy and Diplomacy (https://www.csis.org/podcasts/pekingology/kurt-campbell-china-strategy-and-diplomacy)

People in this episode

Host: Henrietta Levin

Guest: Jon Czin

Topics covered

  • U.S.-China relations
  • summit diplomacy
  • trade issues
  • technology
  • Taiwan
  • foreign policy

Keywords

  • Trump
  • Xi
  • China
  • summit
  • trade
  • Taiwan
  • foreign policy
  • technology
  • Iran

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: White House National Security Council, CIA, Brookings Institution

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