BBC News Briefing

15 May, 2026

Sofia has long brown hair and brown eyes and is wearing a green top

Sofia Lotto Persio

Hello. CEOs, choreography, ceremonies... but few crucial deals have emerged during President Donald Trump's China visit, we report. In Russia, we investigate why a raid on a 30th birthday party shows the rise of a vigilante group. And finally, a giant new dinosaur has been identified - find out what it might have looked like.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Trump flies top CEOs to Beijing - but no big breakthroughs made

Trump and Xi sit on white armchairs with a table with pink flowers arranged in a vase between them.

Trade, oil, Iran and Taiwan were among the topics discussed over two days of meetings. Credit: Reuters

After much pomp and pageantry, President Trump has now left China, saying he has struck "fantastic trade deals, great for both countries" following talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The summit between the world's two largest economies was seen as potentially consequential and Trump was accompanied on his trip by a gaggle of a high-profile CEOs spanning agriculture, aviation, electric vehicles and technology - as well as unexpected guest Brett Ratner, director of the Rush Hour film franchise and the recent documentary about First Lady Melania Trump. Yet the two-day summit was defined more by warm rhetoric and symbolism than concrete economic outcomes, writes our Asia business correspondent Suranjana Tewari.

Read our analysis

Key takeaways: The much-anticipated summit follows tensions over trade and the Iran war, but both leaders seemed conciliatory.

At the table: Here is what was on the menu for Trump and Xi's working lunch - while the press pool got McDonald's delivered to their vans.

Watch: Xi treated Trump to a tour of Zhongnanhai, the heavily guarded compound where top Chinese leaders live and work.

WORLD HEADLINES

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