Gideon Rachman speaks to James Crabtree, former head of the Asia programme at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and author of The Perimeter, about Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing, his first in a decade. What do Washington and Beijing hope to gain, and what does the trip reveal about the evolving balance of power between the world’s two leading superpowers?

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Donald Trump’s plan to discuss Taiwan arms sales with Xi Jinping rattles Asian allies

Trump is up against China’s great wall of confidence

Trump’s war has given China an economic opening

Trump, Xi and the bid for a ‘grand bargain’ between superpowers

Trump prepares to press Xi on Iran war

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Nisha Patel. Sound design is by Breen

Turner

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Gideon talks to Lloyd Austin, who served as US defence secretary under the Biden administration, about the need to adapt to new forms of warfare, accusations that he presided over a ‘woke military’ and how he headed off a nuclear threat from Russia in the early days of the Ukraine conflict. Clip: AP

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US pauses ‘Project Freedom’ as Trump seeks way out of Hormuz impasse

US warns Europe of delays to arms shipments as Iran war drains stockpiles

Pentagon to pull 5,000 soldiers out of Germany in dispute over Iran war

Donald Trump’s Iran war has cost $25bn, Pentagon says

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Subscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.

Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.

Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Gideon talks to Dmytro Kuleba, former Ukrainian foreign minister, about the current state of Russia’s war against Ukraine. What would it take to break the stalemate and how has the conflict been impacted by the US-Israeli attack on Iran? Clips: DW; Reuters

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Vladimir Putin pares back Victory Day parade over fear of Ukrainian strikes

US ambassador to Ukraine to leave over differences with Donald Trump

Ukraine’s drone pilots hit Russian targets from 500km away

Toxic rain falls on Russian city after refinery blaze

Subscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.

Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.

Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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