Transcript of Trump Meets With China's Xi, Asia's View Of Summit, Trump Targets Law Firms

China's president used a summit with President Trump to repeat a warning about Taiwan.

President Trump called his visit the biggest summit ever, but aides negotiated until the last moment over what to announce, if anything.

I'm Michelle Martin in Washington, D.C. Steve Inskeep is in Beijing. And this is Up First from NPR News. What does China mean when it talks about constructive strategic stability? NPR China correspondent Jennifer Pak explains. And back in this country, an appeals court considers the president's effort to punish law firms he doesn't like. The president targeted lawyers for representing his political opponents. Lower courts sided with attorneys, but the president has not given up. Stay with us. We'll give you news you need to start your day.

Two presidents have been talking here in China's capital.

President Trump met with China's President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People. Each side has released an account of their conversation, and each account suggests the leaders repeated familiar themes rather than breaking new ground. The U.S. version of the talks says they discussed getting American products into China. China says Xi repeated a familiar warning to the U.S. over Taiwan. The American version never mentions Taiwan. According to the Chinese, Trump said things in private that were very much like he's saying in public: "And there are those that say this is maybe the biggest summit ever, They can never remember anything like it.

It's—

I can say in the United States, it's— people aren't talking about anything else.

NPR senior political correspondent Tamara Keith has been traveling with the president. She's with us here in Beijing. Hi, Tam. It's great to see you. So give me the big picture. What does Trump want out of this summit?

True to his brand, wherever Trump goes, he is looking to make deals. And it's not just the president himself. More than a dozen top corporate leaders from the U.S. are part of the delegation here. Tesla's Elon Musk and Jensen Huang of of NVIDIA, which makes chips that are powering the AI boom. Both flew with Trump on Air Force One. I saw Tim Cook of Apple earlier today as well. And Trump highlighted their presence in his remarks at the start of his first meeting with Xi.

And they're here today to pay respects to you and to China. And they look forward to trade and doing business. And it's going to be totally reciprocal on our behalf.

Of course, the reality of doing business in China is vastly more complicated than Trump makes it sound. But this This is basically a year after Trump launched a trade war and then China struck back. And both countries are now looking to put the trade relationship on at least a little bit more of a stable footing.

OK, this summit began with a ceremony this morning, Beijing time, at the Great Hall of the People. And you got to be there. What was it like?

There were red carpets for miles. There was a military demonstration with soldiers marching in perfect synchrony. A military band played the U.S. national anthem as cannons were fired from Tiananmen Square.

Wow.

Well, I want people to hear what what that sounded like so they can almost be standing next to you. So let's just linger in the sound that you recorded at that moment.

Dozens of children welcoming President Trump, chanting a welcome while holding artificial flowers and American and Chinese flags. They're jumping up and down, waving the flags. President Trump is clearly charmed by all of these Children. So these kids were perfectly well-behaved, perfectly lined up. And then once the leaders were out of view, they became real kids and they were super wiggly and relieved, I think, to be able to stop performing. But Trump later remarked on the kids as well.

That was an honor like few have ever seen before. And I think I was particularly impressed by those children. They were happy. They were beautiful.

Earlier this year, Trump said that he told Xi that they should put on the biggest display in the history of China. But I have to say that although this was impressive, this welcome ceremony really didn't seem all that different from how Trump was received in 2017 when he first visited as president.

Is there real substance in this meeting?

Yes.

Okay. And, uh, go on.

You know, it's also a show, but at this moment in history, Trump and Xi are the decision makers. They are the negotiators. And so the state of the relationship between these two nations competing feating for global dominance comes down to the relationship between two men.

Yeah, I got an impression from that communiqué that the Chinese put out that they were continuing to negotiate right up to the last moment to try to find something to announce, but indeed they were. NPR's Tamara Keith, it's a pleasure to see you. Thank you so much.

You're welcome.

Okay, we have a bit of news about what was said and also how it was communicated. Each government released what's called a readout, a summary of that private meeting of the presidents. China says China says that its president issued a warning on Taiwan. The U.S. says that its president talked about trade and Iran. NPR's China correspondent Jennifer Pak is here in Beijing. Hey there, Jennifer.

Hey, Steve.

Okay, first, what is the Chinese version, the Chinese account of this meeting say?

Well, it doesn't give a lot of specifics on what was agreed upon, just what Xi wanted or said. And he said that he wants to work with President Trump to steer the two countries towards a landmark year, making 2026 a landmark year, that they should work towards constructive strategic stability and that this is a turbulent world, that if the two countries join hands, they can do great things. As you mentioned, he also stated that Taiwan is a very important issue. It cannot be mishandled because it will disrupt US-China relations if it is not handled properly.

Okay, so that's the Chinese version of what the president said. The US has this statement that emphasizes other issues like trade and the Strait of Hormuz, saying the two sides agreed the Strait of Hormuz must, quote, "remain open," although it seems currently to be closed. So what do you make of that?

I mean, these are the issues that President Trump has been hammering on and on. He said that, you know, China needs to expand its markets for American businesses. This is an issue that goes back to Trump 1.0. He said they want Chinese investment into their industries. China would say, "We have tried, but you're blocking us." President Trump also talked about the fentanyl issue. Remember, at the start of his second term, he imposed tariffs on Chinese exports for that reason, saying that the Chinese government didn't do enough to stop fentanyl precursors from flowing into the US. And also you have purchases for agricultural goods. That, of course, is very important. And also American oil. This is something new that apparently China had agreed to buy more American oil, so it's less dependent on oil in the Middle East.

Okay, so that's the Chinese statement. The U.S. statement. Jennifer, you've read them both. Is there anything else that stands out to you about either of them?

Well, the Chinese media have really put a lot of emphasis on stability. This encapsulates a lot. Stability could mean stability in trade. You know, the tariffs going up and down, it's been a roller coaster ride for manufacturers, also American importers. Stability could also refer to the Iran war. And so it could also refer to the Taiwan issue because that's That's what Beijing sees as a red line.

I guess it might also refer to the idea that China wants to see itself as the world stabilizer, as the U.S. seems less stable.

Yes. Well, it's easy when China is saying that we didn't start a war.

NPR's Jennifer Pak, thanks so much.

Thank you.

President Trump's campaign to punish big law firms will get a hearing before an appeals court today.

The White House has tried to yank security clearances and ban attorneys from federal buildings because the firms hired people or represented clients the president does not like.

NPR's Carrie Johnson has been following this legal drama, and she's here now to tell us more about it. Good morning, Carrie.

Good morning, Michelle.

First, would you describe these White House orders and then explain what the president was trying to do?

Yeah, President Trump's orders targeted several major law firms. He went about that several ways, using security clearances and access to government buildings, and he tried to prevent the firms from from winning federal contracts with the government, too. These law firms had once employed people who investigated Donald Trump, like attorneys in the Russia probe, or they had represented causes or clients like the Democratic National Committee. Here's what the president had to say when he signed one of those orders last year: This is an absolute honor to sign.

What they've done is in— it's just terrible. It's a weaponization you could say weaponization against a political opponent, and it should never be allowed to happen again.

Now, four of those law firms fought back in court: WilmerHale, Jenner Block, Perkins Coie, and Sussman Godfrey. And they all won before judges who were appointed by Democratic and Republican presidents. But this administration says courts cannot tell the president how to handle national security clearances, and they cannot interfere with directives about building access or government contracts. Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is going to hear the case.

How are the law firms preparing to make their case?

The firms are looking to Supreme Court precedent that says our justice system depends on an informed and independent bar. They're going to argue these orders violate the First Amendment and pose a severe threat to the legal profession and the rule of law. And they say in court papers, the adversarial system depends on courts hearing views from both sides. Lawyers need to be able to represent unpopular causes. They also say it's not just these law firms, their Clients have a right to a lawyer of their choice under the Sixth Amendment. Now, many nonprofit legal groups have filed friend-of-the-court briefs to support the law firms, but people who tried to organize opposition to the Trump order say there's really been a lack of courage by other law firms and partners.

Philip Lacovara served as a prosecutor in the Watergate scandal: We encountered very widespread and very frustrating reluctance on the part of partners in major law firms to sign on to anything because they were concerned, or their firm management was concerned, about anything that involved getting crosswise with the president.

Lacovara told me firms and partners were hiding in the weeds last year when Trump signed those orders, and it's still true since he couldn't get some big-name lawyers and firms to sign briefs this year either.

What do you expect will happen in court today?

It's really odd that we are here. Only a couple of months ago, the Justice Department filed papers to withdraw this appeal and just take the loss, but DOJ quickly reversed course in a sign that President Trump wants to have this fight. Arguing for the Justice Department will be Abhishek Cambly. He's argued some of the administration's toughest cases over the past year. This will be one of his final moves in the government because he's leaving the DOJ soon. And arguing for the law firms will be former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement. He's a conservative who's been taking on tough assignments against the administration in Donald Trump's second term.

That is NPR's Carrie Johnson. Carrie, thank you.

Thanks for having me.

And that's Up First for this Thursday, May 14th. I'm Steve Inskeep.

And I'm Michele Martin. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Miguel Macías, Tina Krya, Anna Yukhaninov, Mohamed Elbardisi, and Jon Stollness. It was produced by Ziyad Butch and Mia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Misha Hines. Our technical director is Carly Strange, and our deputy executive producer is Kelly Dickens. We hope you'll join us again tomorrow.