Fast Thinking
May 15, 2026 • 1:11 pm ET
Atlantic Council
It was a big show—with little to show for it. On Friday, US President Donald Trump concluded talks in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping, soaring away in Air Force One after two days of meetings and ceremonies. Trump said that he and Xi settled “a lot of different problems,” yet they did not appear to strike major agreements on closely watched issues, from trade to tech to the Iran war. Below, our experts, who were tracking the meeting with a close eye, shed light on the outcomes.
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