Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) holds a welcome ceremony for U.S. President Donald Trump, who is on a state visit to China, outside the Great Hall of the People prior to their talks on May 14, 2026 in Beijing, China. <\/p>\n
VCG | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Hello, this is Katie Foley writing to you from London. This morning in the newsroom, we’ve been watching the final few hours of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trip to China\u00a0\u2014 which included a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping over tea and a working lunch at Zhongnanhai garden, adjacent to the Forbidden City.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Diplomatically and symbolically, the trip looks like a success. On the substance of the issues, though, it’s too early to tell. And upon the president’s return to the White House tonight, one key issue persists \u2014 namely, Iran.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What you need to know today<\/p>\n Trump said Chinese leader Xi Jinping is “all business, no games,” in a pre-recorded interview with Fox News<\/a> that aired Thursday evening stateside. Trump also said China has agreed to buy American oil, to help with Iran negotiations and not to supply military equipment to Tehran<\/a>, adding that the Chinese leader would like to see the Strait of Hormuz open and free of tolls. On the corporate front, Trump said China has agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here in London, we’ll be closely watching the gilt<\/a> and stock<\/a> market open after some key developments in U.K. politics<\/a>. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is one step closer to challenging Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the leadership, after former minister Josh Simons announced he would stand down as an MP to make way for a by-election that could return Burnham to Parliament. <\/p>\n Another key contender, Wes Streeting, bit the bullet and resigned as Health Secretary on Thursday, after days of briefings and speculation. He hit out at Starmer in his resignation letter, saying the Labour Party needs “vision” but instead has “vacuum,” and where it needs “direction,” it has “drift.” Sterling<\/a> fell to a one-month low.<\/p>\n We’ve seen big shifts in Asian stocks this morning.<\/a> In a matter of hours, the South Korean Kospi<\/a> swung from a fresh record high, above the 8,000 milestone, to a 6% loss. The rest of the region is solidly in the red, with European and U.S. futures<\/a> also echoing those losses.<\/p>\n On Wall Street, Cerebras Systems soared 68% in its Nasdaq debut<\/a>, closing at $311.07 after selling shares at $185, well above the company’s expected range. That values the chipmaker at about $95 billion, narrowly missing joining Facebook-parent Meta and Alibaba<\/a> as one of the few companies to have ended its first day trading on Wall Street with a market cap of over $100 billion. The listing minted two new members of the tech billionaires club<\/a>, with Andrew Feldman, the company’s CEO, and technology chief Sean Lie, owning stakes worth $3.2 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively.<\/p>\n In other headlines, SpaceX’s IPO prospectus could drop as soon as next week<\/a> in what’s expected to be a record share sale, sources told CNBC.<\/p>\n \u2014 Katie Foley<\/p>\n And finally…<\/p>\n