logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2025
11m 48s

Trump and Xi break the ice

Financial Times
About this episode

US President Donald Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping agreed to launch a new round of high-level trade talks, the European Central Bank cut interest rates by a quarter point and Europe is being flooded with steel diverted from the US because of high tariffs. Plus, the FT’s Aanu Adeoye explains how a Russia-backed junta leader in Burkina Faso became an icon across Africa. 


Mentioned in this podcast:

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping agree to launch new round of trade talks

Christine Lagarde signals ECB rate-cutting ‘nearly concluded’

‘The cult of Saint Traoré’: how a Russia-backed junta leader became an icon

EU hit by surge in steel imports as US tariffs divert shipments


Today’s FT News Briefing was produced by Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian, Henry Larson, Fiona Symon, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Sam Giovinco, Michael Lello and David da Silva. Our intern is Michaela Seah. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music. 


Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Today
Trump faces backlash on immigration crackdown after shooting
The Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agency faces growing backlash after federal agents fatally shot a second protester in two weeks, and Trump teases his pick for the US’s next Federal Reserve chair. Plus, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer goes on the charm offensive ... Show More
12m 22s
Jan 23
Trump’s divisive 'Board of Peace’
Intel shares slide 12 per cent as supply constraints limit growth, and Trump’s “Board of Peace” is dividing the US’s allies. Plus, Iran’s government is seizing properties and businesses after protests rocked the country, and Victoria Craig unpacks next week’s meeting of the Feder ... Show More
12m 10s
Jan 22
Supreme Court appears sceptical over Fed firing
US President Donald Trump has dropped his tariff threat on Greenland, and the FT’s Derek Brower explains how Trump has navigated the World Economic Forum in Davos. Plus, EU lawmakers have postponed the ratification of a trade deal with the Mercosur group of South American economi ... Show More
12m 5s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2025
Tariffs, tensions, and trade: Trump’s gamble on China
Two weeks after Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement shook global markets, he has now offered most countries a 90-day reprieve—while simultaneously escalating trade tensions with China by imposing harsher penalties. So far, China has responded by matching each tariff hike ... Show More
30m 26s
Sep 2025
Trump wages economic war on US allies, while BRICS builds alternative system
Donald Trump is imposing tariffs and unequal treaties on longtime allies in Europe, Japan, and South Korea, forcing them to pay and move their factories to the US. Meanwhile, BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) are building a new multipolar world order based on ... Show More
1h 25m
Sep 2025
In Brief: Is Trump Driving Modi Closer to Xi & Putin?
In this episode of One Decision In Brief, hosts Christina Ruffini and Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of Britain's MI6, unpack how the latest strike on Ukraine indicates Vladimir Putin's resistance to President Donald Trump's peace negotiations. They also examine how the Shangh ... Show More
16 m
Oct 18
Trump-Zelenskiy, Prince Andrew and Hollywood tariffs
In talks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, U.S. President Donald Trump appears to press pause on upgrading Ukraine's weapons arsenal. The EU unveils a plan for a drone defence wall. Prince Andrew relinquishes the "Duke of York" title after the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. ... Show More
12m 38s
Sep 2025
USA vs China: Which represents humanity's future? Compare their UN speeches
The US and China are the world's two most powerful countries, but they have very different visions for the global order. Compare the speeches delivered at the UN General Assembly by Donald Trump and Chinese Premier Li Qiang. The United States wants a unipolar system based on unil ... Show More
43m 52s