Donald Trump is in Beijing for his much-anticipated trip to see President Xi - the leaders meet today. But with the US seemingly stuck in a frozen conflict in the Middle East, does Xi see Trump as a lame duck? Will he help Trump persuade Iran to end the war or could the conflict embolden Xi’s pursuit of Taiwan? And how could the trip affect the Asian pivot away from the USA and towards China? #trumpxisummit #geopolitics2026 #uschinarelations This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory Guests: Professor Rana Mitter, S.T. Lee Professor of U.S.-Asia Relations, Harvard. Richard Spencer, China correspondent, The Times. Host: Manveen Rana. Producer: Olivia Case. We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com Clips: CNA, Fox, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Richard Nixon Foundation / YouTube. Photo: Getty Images. This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Read the best of our journalism: https://www.thetimes.com/ Listen live to Times Radio: https://www.thetimes.com/radio/live Subscribe to The Times and The Sunday Times YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=timesonlinevideo Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timesandsundaytimes/ Find us on X: https://x.com/thetimes Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetimes/