Good morning. We’ll get to Harry Styles soon enough. First, though, President Trump has left Beijing. There wasn’t a big diplomatic breakthrough. How’d the trip go?
At the summitI’ve been marveling at this ☝️ amazing photograph of the U.S. delegation standing outside the Great Hall of the People, as Trump and President Xi Jinping started their summit meetings in Beijing yesterday. It provides a pretty good sense of what was on the agenda, at least for the Americans. Click here to explore the image. Many of Trump’s top guys were up front, including the secretaries of State, Treasury and Defense. Xi shook hands with all of them, including the China hawks. In the next rows were the titans of industry, many with business in and with China. There was the leader of Cargill, the agricultural behemoth that wants China to start buying U.S. soybeans, sorghum and beef again. Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX was there, along with Tim Cook of Apple, David Solomon of Goldman Sachs and others. The chief executive of Boeing joined them. During the summit, Trump announced China had made a big order of jets from the company. China was silent.
But if Trump wanted trade out of the summit, Xi’s agenda was focused on Taiwan. At a dinner served at ornate, gold-plated settings (read about the menu), Xi said that China and America can both be made great again, together. But after journalists left the room, my colleague Chris Buckley reported, Xi gave a blunt warning about Taiwan: “If handled poorly, the two countries will collide or even clash, putting the entire U.S.-China relationship in an extremely dangerous situation.” Xi cited the “Thucydides Trap,” the idea that conflict is inevitable when a rising power faces an incumbent one. He said the United States and China could avoid clashing if they both pursued stability — a word rarely associated with Trump. The upper hand?
Another photograph, by Kenny Holston, captured the attention of Joe Kahn, our executive editor, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on China. I asked Joe to tell us what he saw in the image: A day of stagecraft and ceremony. Xi receives Trump with his feet firmly planted on the red carpet, arm raised high in preparation for a handshake. Trump approaches with his arm held low and his palm open. Both of these leaders choreograph meetings obsessively. So this is a moment. The American leader appearing deferential as China’s leader welcomes him from a position of strength. The substance of the summit is where we’ll put the most emphasis. These ceremonial images matter as well. Read more about their body language. And see more photos from the summit. China speaksAway from the summit, everyday people in China see Trump in different lights. Ana Swanson, who covers international trade, spent a week reporting from four Chinese cities to learn what people have to say about him. She found a mixture of anger and amusement, and a sense that the United States is to blame for their slowing economy and rising fuel prices. Some highlights: In Beijing: “Trump is the kind of person who says one thing today and another tomorrow when he gets back to the United States,” an investor told her. “His words can actually stir up things globally.” In Fuzhou: “He’s not friendly to China,” a nail salon worker said. Tariffs and the U.S.-China trade war had dampened earnings for her customers. “I think at his age, he doesn’t need to be president anymore.” In Jinan: One cabdriver thought it was significant that Trump would visit to bend Xi’s ear. “It means that this trade war isn’t just unsuccessful for China, it means that the U.S. is also struggling,” he said.
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Can you give some tips for distinguishing between real and fake content (A.I., conspiracy theories, misquotes, etc.)? This used to be relatively simple but seems to get harder by the day. How can we stay informed and accurate? | Sophie O’Driscoll | Copenhagen, Denmark Steven Lee Myers, who covers the spread of information, replies: You’re right. It’s getting harder. The social media giants have largely abandoned the fight against fake content, even as technology has made it easier to create and spread it. Some companies offer tools to detect videos made with A.I., but they’re not always definitive — and they’re not convenient to use as you scroll through your feed. Organizations like FactCheck.org and PolitiFact do a great job calling out politicians’ lies or conspiracy theories. In Europe, the European Union maintains a database of Russian disinformation. Unfortunately, there’s no silver bullet. The best advice still is to consider the source. Chances are “some random guy on the internet” is less reliable than a government agency or a news organization. Have a question for The Morning? Ask us here.
Trump’s war in Iran punishes the working class with gas prices they can’t absorb, Jeff D. Colgan writes. Here’s a column by Tressie McMillan Cottom on why A.I. and female empowerment don’t mix. The Times Sale ends soon: Expand your knowledge with our experts. Take advantage of our best offer and gain understanding and insight in every area of life. Just $1 a week for your first year of unlimited access to news, culture, cooking and more.
Weekend warriors: Where do battle tanks and military trucks go when their service has ended? Sometimes, to someone’s backyard. Drunk deer season: Officials in France are warning drivers to look out for animals intoxicated on fermented fruits. Your pick: The most clicked link in The Morning yesterday was a list of people who might run for president in 2028.
Comic Crusader: Frank Stack, an art professor and painter, hid his identity to create “The Adventures of Jesus,” a chronicle of Christ’s encounters with sanctimonious hypocrites that is widely considered the first underground comic. He died at 88.
20— That is how many years it has been since Cristo Fernández, 35, played in the youth league of a professional soccer team in Mexico. In 2020, he began starring in the Apple TV series “Ted Lasso,” where he played Dani Rojas, a passionate fútbol evangelist. This week, Fernández signed a contract to play actual professional soccer, for El Paso Locomotive FC. ⚽
N.F.L.: The 2026 schedule kicks off with a Super Bowl rematch between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday of Week 1. Schedule release day videos are now a big deal, but they weren’t always. Here’s how they became a social media event. Soccer: Lowe’s will soon start selling 10-foot Lionel Messi lighted yard inflatables in the 11 U.S. World Cup host cities.
Here’s a one-pot dinner for two, with three main ingredients: chicken, rice and scallions. Double for four people. Either way: five stars!
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