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Trump heads to China this week to meet Xi as Iran war and trade disputes loom over summit – US politics live | Trump administration
A diplomatic minefield ahead of Trump’s visit with Xi Jinping in China
Vivian Ho
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of US politics.
Donald Trump is scheduled to travel to China this week to meet with Xi Jinping, China’s leader. It will be the first time a US president has visited China in nearly a decade, with the last visit being Trump in 2017. But given all that has happened so far in Trump’s second term – a trade war and then an actual war with Iran that has led to oil and gas prices skyrocketing worldwide – the mood of this visit is likely to be quite different.
While the US and China had agreed to a temporary truce in October in the trade war Trump unleashed last year, China’s response to tariffs that reached as high as 145% at one point – restricting the export of rare earths, a move that brought some factories in the US to a screeching halt – was likely an unwelcomed reality check for Trump; one that revealed China’s true economic might.
Then there’s the issue of of China’s influence with Iran, as the biggest biggest buyer of Iranian oil. The US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has called on China to “step up with some diplomacy” – essentially asking for Beijing’s help in a war that Washington started – while ast the same time trade representative Jamieson Greer said Trump planned to address China’s ongoing energy purchases from Iran.
Last week, the US imposed sanctions on several China-based companies, alleging that they provided “satellite imagery to enable Iran’s military strikes against US forces in the Middle East” and enabled “efforts by Iran’s military to secure weapons, as well as raw materials with applications in Iran’s ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs”.
On Monday, China spoke out against these sanctions, describing them as illegal and unilateral, Reuters reported.
“We have always required Chinese enterprises to conduct business in accordance with laws and regulations, and will firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises,” spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing.
“The pressing priority is to prevent by all means a relapse in fighting, rather than using the war to maliciously associate and smear other countries.”
More to come.
Key events
Trump says he hopes to get ‘a lot’ out of China summit with Xi Jinping
Ahead of travelling to China tomorrow, Trump said that he hopes to get “a lot” out of his meeting with Xi Jinping.
The president noted that he had a “great relationship” with Xi, and noted that there had been no ships from Iran to China, despite the country’s reliance on Iranian oil.
Iran ceasefire is ‘on life support’, Trump says
Trump noted that the ongoing ceasefire with Iran was “on life support”, while answering questions from reporters in the Oval Office.
“It’s unbelievably weak,” he said “after reading that piece of garbage” – referring to Tehran’s latest peace proposal.
“I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support, where the doctor walks in and says, ‘sir, your loved one has approximately a 1% chance of living’,” Trump added.
The president added that Tehran’s latest peace proposal did not include a guarantee to not have a nuclear weapon.
“They just can’t get there. So they agree with us, and then they take it back,” he noted.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump reiterated that Iran’s peace proposal was “just unacceptable”.
The president went on to insist that he had a “very simple plan”, and maintained that Tehran could not have a nuclear weapon, without elaborating on the next negotiating steps.
“We’re going to have a complete victory. We’ve already in theory had a complete victory from the military standpoint,” Trump said.
Donald Trump is speaking to reporters in the Oval Office for a maternal healthcare event at the moment. We’ll bring you the latest lines. But the president has already undermined the press so far. “I won in a landslide because you have no credibility,” Trump said, while touting a new website for parents preparing for a child, and for fertility medicine discounts.
Earlier this year, the Guardian reported on how limited the president’s prescription cost savings portal is for patients.
Tom Perkins
New legal action aims to head off a Trump administration plan to open up to 24m acres of federal lands to cattle grazing, which opponents characterized as a gift to big agriculture and said could cause a spike in deaths among already imperiled wolves, grizzlies, steelhead salmon and other wildlife.
The plan also calls for opening up parts of Grand Canyon national park, and other sensitive landscapes. Cattle destroy critical habitats for wildlife because they strip land bare of essential vegetation and pollute streams with feces, urine, sediment and carcasses. Meanwhile, park rangers and ranchers often kill grizzly bears and other predators who prey on cattle, despite that ranchers and the government pushed the cattle into the predators’ home range.
The degree to which livestock grazing degrades ecosystems makes it a top threat to animals and plants at risk of extinction, environmental advocates say. These issues exceed the combined impacts of logging and mining on protected species.
The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) alleges in a notice of intent to sue that the Trump administration fast-tracked the plan without consulting the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which, under the Endangered Species Act, must review the plan’s impact on protected species.
“The federal grazing program is already a disaster for endangered species and the places they live,” said Andrea Zaccardi, carnivore conservation legal director at CBD. “Expanding grazing across 24m more acres will make that devastation even worse and likely drive more animals and plants to extinction.”
Read the full report:
White House press dinner shooting suspect pleads not guilty in federal court
The suspect accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump last month at a gala in Washington has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Cole Tomas Allen did not speak in court on Monday as his attorney entered the plea on his behalf.
The charges against him include attempted assassination of the president, assault on a federal officer and firearms offenses.
Prosecutors have accused Allen of firing a shotgun at a US Secret Service agent and storming a security checkpoint in a foiled attack at the annual White House correspondents’ dinner, where Trump had gathered with more than 2,500 members of the Washington press corps.
Congress returns to Capitol Hill as budget bill negotiations continue
US Senate and House lawmakers return to Capitol Hill this week with several agenda items. Perhaps top of that list is negotiating a $72bn budget bill to fund immigration enforcement, after two Senate committees released the legislation text last week.
A reminder, the package that includes a proposed $1bn that could go to security measures related to Trump’s $400m ballroom. While the money, can’t be used for “non-security elements”, the funding comes after the president said that the East Wing project would not come at any cost to the US taxpayer.
Trump, for his part, has indicated he wanted the bill on his desk by 1 June. Republican leadership aims to pass via a process known as reconciliation, which only requires a simple majority and skirts the 60-vote filibuster threshold.
US Senate expected to confirm Kevin Warsh as next Federal Reserve chair
Lauren Aratani
The US Senate is expected to confirm Kevin Warsh this week as chair of the Federal Reserve, as Donald Trump continues his campaign to influence the world’s most important central bank.
The vote is expected to be split along party lines. Democrats criticize Warsh for being Trump’s “sock puppet” at a time when the president has pushed past the typical boundaries between the White House and the nonpartisan Fed.
A reminder that my colleagues are covering the latest developments out of the Middle East. This includes Trump’s recent rejection of Iran’s latest peace proposal, which he described as “totally unacceptable” – raising the possibility of fresh conflict.
Tehran has warned it would not hold back from retaliating against any new US strikes or permit more foreign warships in the strait of Hormuz.
Ahead of travelling to China tomorrow, Donald Trump is in Washington today.
We’re expecting to hear from the president a couple of times. First at an event for maternal healthcare in the Oval Office at 10:30am ET. Later, at 4pm ET, he’ll welcome the 2026 College National Football Champions, Indiana University, to the White House.
Donald Trump will arrive in Beijing this week knowing that Xi holds all the cards
Simon Tisdall
Like an out-of-control wrecking ball, swinging wildly back and forth, Donald Trump smashes up the international order without much thought for the consequences. Lacking coherent strategies, workable plans or consistent aims, he power-trips erratically from one fragile region, tense warzone and complex geopolitical situation to another, leaving misery, confusion and rubble in his wake. Typically, he claims a bogus victory, demands that others repair the damage and pick up the tab, then looks around for something new to break.
The president will bulldoze into another international minefield this week – the fraught standoff between China and Taiwan – when he travels to Beijing for a two-day summit with President Xi Jinping. After a string of humiliating policy implosions over Ukraine, Gaza, Nato, Greenland, and now Iran and Lebanon, needy Trump craves a diplomatic success to flaunt at home. But his hopes of vote-winning trade pacts are overshadowed by his latest war of choice. He needs Xi’s promise not to arm Iran if all-out fighting resumes – and Xi’s help keeping the strait of Hormuz open as part of a mooted framework peace deal.
The weakness of Trump’s position going into the summit is fuelling speculation that reduced support of Taiwan may be Xi’s price for playing nice.
A diplomatic minefield ahead of Trump’s visit with Xi Jinping in China
Vivian Ho
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of US politics.
Donald Trump is scheduled to travel to China this week to meet with Xi Jinping, China’s leader. It will be the first time a US president has visited China in nearly a decade, with the last visit being Trump in 2017. But given all that has happened so far in Trump’s second term – a trade war and then an actual war with Iran that has led to oil and gas prices skyrocketing worldwide – the mood of this visit is likely to be quite different.
While the US and China had agreed to a temporary truce in October in the trade war Trump unleashed last year, China’s response to tariffs that reached as high as 145% at one point – restricting the export of rare earths, a move that brought some factories in the US to a screeching halt – was likely an unwelcomed reality check for Trump; one that revealed China’s true economic might.
Then there’s the issue of of China’s influence with Iran, as the biggest biggest buyer of Iranian oil. The US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has called on China to “step up with some diplomacy” – essentially asking for Beijing’s help in a war that Washington started – while ast the same time trade representative Jamieson Greer said Trump planned to address China’s ongoing energy purchases from Iran.
Last week, the US imposed sanctions on several China-based companies, alleging that they provided “satellite imagery to enable Iran’s military strikes against US forces in the Middle East” and enabled “efforts by Iran’s military to secure weapons, as well as raw materials with applications in Iran’s ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs”.
On Monday, China spoke out against these sanctions, describing them as illegal and unilateral, Reuters reported.
“We have always required Chinese enterprises to conduct business in accordance with laws and regulations, and will firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises,” spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing.
“The pressing priority is to prevent by all means a relapse in fighting, rather than using the war to maliciously associate and smear other countries.”
More to come.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
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