Trump Meets With China's Xi, Asia's View Of Summit, Trump Targets Law Firms

May 14, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

President Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing produced no major breakthroughs, but the two sides released competing accounts of what was discussed—a gap that underscores the fragile state of U.S.-China relations. Meanwhile, a federal appeals court is set to hear arguments over Trump’s executive orders targeting law firms that represented his political opponents, a case that tests the limits of presidential power over the legal profession.

The Summit: Show Over Substance

The meeting between Trump and Xi at the Great Hall of the People was heavy on pageantry. Red carpets stretched for miles, soldiers marched in perfect synchrony, a military band played the U.S. national anthem, and cannons fired from Tiananmen Square. Dozens of children waving American and Chinese flags chanted a welcome as Trump arrived. Trump later called the reception “an honor like few have ever seen before” and said he was “particularly impressed by those children.”

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What you'll learn

1 (00:02) **Trump-Xi Summit Opens in Beijing** - The episode begins with the Trump-Xi summit in China, noting Xi repeated a warning on Taiwan and negotiations continued until the last moment.
2 (06:14) **Divergent Readouts from the Summit** - Each government released a summary of the private meeting, highlighting different priorities.
3 (09:11) **Appeals Court to Hear Trump's Law Firm Orders** - The DC Circuit Court of Appeals will hear a case on Trump's executive orders targeting major law firms.
4 Standout Quotes
5 (05:12) "An honor like few have ever seen before, and I think I was particularly impressed by those children. They were happy. They were beautiful." — President Trump on the welcoming ceremony.
6 (11:41) "reluctance on the part of partners in major law firms to sign on to anything because they were concerned or their firm management was concerned about anything that involved getting crosswise." — Philip Locovara, former Watergate prosecutor, on the lack of opposition to Trump's law firm orders.
7 Mentioned Resources

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for more than two hours at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, with the CEOs of Apple, Tesla and NVIDIA in the room as both sides look to stabilize a trade relationship that has been on shaky ground for years.
China's readout of the meeting between the two leaders emphasized the need for "constructive strategic stability" and warned that mishandling Taiwan could put the entire U.S.-China relationship in jeopardy.
And President Trump's crackdown on big law firms goes before a federal appeals court today, as firms that once employed lawyers who investigated Trump fight back against executive orders that targeted their security clearances and government contracts.

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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Miguel Macias, Tina Kraja, Anna Yukhananov, Mohamad ElBardicy and John Stolnis.

It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas.

Our director is Christopher Thomas.

We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.

And our deputy Executive Producer is Kelley Dickens.

(0:00) Introduction
(01:51) Trump Meets With Xi
(05:49) China's Readout Of Meeting
(08:51) Trump Targets Law Firms

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