Council on Foreign Relations

“This is a book about intelligence,” writes @scmallaby in The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence, out now. In his new book, Mallaby, an international economics expert at CFR, profiles Demis Hassabis—the tech visionary behind Google DeepMind. “On the one hand, it’s a portrait of a remarkable human, a chess prodigy, a Nobel laureate, a polymathic thinker. On the other hand, it tells the story of his quest to build remarkable machines: systems that are intuitive, creative, and even original.”cfr.org/books/the-infi…

President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping both praised their Beijing summit for improving bilateral ties, though the visit produced few specific public commitments. Read and subscribe to the Daily News Brief: on.cfr.org/3PsubCP

As President Trump meets President Xi in Beijing, several U.S. allies have made similar trips, signaling that an unstable geopolitical environment is driving them to keep an open door with China. Experts caution these moves are neither sustainable nor realistic. on.cfr.org/4tCU9la

📆 Tuesday, 5/26 | 7:00 pm ET Join @CFR_Education for a conversation on the intersection of gender and democracy with Linda Robinson (@RobinsonL100), CFR senior fellow for women and foreign policy. Register: education.cfr.org/events/where-e…

“If you see a bunch of fancy jets within a half hour all suddenly taking off to go to safer, quieter places, it might be a good signal that something really bad is about to happen,” says Rebecca Patterson, describing a web-based tool that uses FAA data to track private jets as a potential indicator of imminent catastrophe. Watch or listen to the latest episode of The Spillover: on.cfr.org/4ntnXyU

An estimated investment gap of $100 to $200 billion is inhibiting clean energy deployment, writes expert @ProfDavidHart in a new report. This 'missing middle' funding gap slows the movement of technologies from the pilot or testing stage to the market, keeping promising innovations in the lab when they could be making the energy industry more secure, affordable, reliable, and sustainable. Hart and other experts explain how markets for the technologies of the future could be built. cfr.org/reports/financ…

Washington’s desire to extract mineral wealth has led it to fully back the Democratic Republic of Congo’s current president, Felix Tshisekedi, even as he angles for a third term, argues expert Michelle Gavin. on.cfr.org/4ww96rO

The recent hantavirus outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius is testing global health law. "The MV Hondius incident demonstrates the need for a multilateral system that defines the obligations and terms for sharing samples, sequences, and benefits," writes Alexandra L. Phelan for Think Global Health. bit.ly/4dIDnfs

“The Chinese are pretty impressed by U.S. military capability, not just in Iran, but also in Venezuela . . . . However, at the same time, even though tactically we’ve been quite impressive, they see us strategically as making a massive mistake,” argues Rush Doshi, Asia studies expert and CFR’s director of the China Strategy Initiative, in reference to the talks between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Watch or listen to the latest episode of The President’s Inbox: on.cfr.org/4wpRNsx

“The Chinese have been signaling for some period that Taiwan will be a big focus . . . . Now what does China want on Taiwan? That’s a different question,” says CFR expert Rush Doshi, in reference to talks between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Watch or listen to the latest episode of The President's Inbox: on.cfr.org/4wpRNsx

President Trump is in Beijing for a summit with President Xi. What's at stake? A complete decoupling of the world’s 2 biggest economies is unlikely, experts say—but high tariffs, rare earth restrictions, and tech export controls remain on the table. on.cfr.org/42Aa34A

In his second term, President Trump has "flipped the script on trade policy, slapping tariffs on allies and adversaries alike to punish perceived unfairness and to extract an array of concessions," write Allison Smith and CFR expert @inumanak for @ForeignAffairs. "Trading partners want a return to true reciprocity, not an extractive relationship." foreignaffairs.com/united-states/…

Day 1 of the Trump-Xi summit is over. Here are my key takeaways from the readouts, interviews, and the banquet. (1) New Chinese Formulation: Most interesting takeaway for me is that China is out with a new frame for the relationship: “I have agreed with President Trump on a new vision of building a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability. This will provide strategic guidance for China-U.S. relations over the next three years and beyond.” Beijing appears to me to wish to lock in a "truce" favorable to them, and they want to do so beyond Trump, with this post-trade war detente setting the baseline. Presumably, any U.S. actions to reckon with excess capacity or deter conflict could be framed by Beijing as a violation of this new frame. Beijing acknowledges the relationship as competitive - as they did with us in 2023 - but talks about keeping it within acceptable limits. (2) Rare Earths, Export Controls: Surprisingly absent from both readouts despite their centrality to the current detente. (3) Taiwan: China emphasizes mishandling it could cause "clashes and even conflicts," elevated public language, while the U.S. doesn't mention it. (4): Artificial Intelligence: Nothing in readouts, but Bessent said to CNBC after (1) there will be talks and (2) that U.S. leadership in AI is the reason why China is willing to talk at all: "The two AI superpowers are gonna start talking. We’re gonna set up a protocol in terms of how do we go forward with best practices for AI to make sure non-state actors don’t get a hold of these models....The reason we are able to have wholesome discussions with the Chinese on AI is because we are in the lead. I do not think we would be having the same discussions if they were this far ahead of us." (5) Iran and Characterizing Xi: Normally we don't say, "Xi Jinping said X" in a readout, because that's for them to say. But the White House readout does so over Iran: "President Xi also made clear China's opposition to the militarization of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use, and he expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China's dependence on the Strait in the future. Both countries agreed Iran can never have a nuclear weapon." (6) Chinese Investment in the US. This is mentioned in the White House readout. Bessent then said on television, "we’re going to talk about a board of investment that will be responsible for investment in nonsensitive areas." (7) Fentanyl. The US readout emphasizes "the need to build on progress in ending the flow of fentanyl precursors into the United States. No mention in the Chinese readout. (8) Mil-Mil Channels: Notably, the Chinese readout calls to "make better use of communication channels in the political and diplomatic and military-to-military fields." No mention in the U.S. readout, and historically something the US - not China - keeps in the foreground. (9) Xi Visit: At the banquet, Trump invited Xi to visit in September. Seems like it may align with the UN General Assembly, which Xi hasn't addressed in some time.

President Trump and President Xi Jinping hailed the potential for a positive turn in relations during talks in Beijing today—though each side emphasized different points afterward. Trump declined to answer a reporter’s question about whether they discussed Taiwan. Read more and subscribe to the Daily News Brief: on.cfr.org/4uaMhZ0

"It's not going to mean they replace the dollar anytime soon, but it just keeps slowly reducing that dependency," says Rebecca Patterson, discussing China's new cross-border payment system with Indonesia amid a wider trend of countries hedging against trade dependency on the U.S. Watch or listen to the latest episode of The Spillover: on.cfr.org/4ntnXyU

“He wants wins. And the cute alliteration I've seen on this one is Boeings, beef, and beans,” says Rebecca Patterson on what Trump is hoping to achieve during a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Watch or listen to the latest episode of The Spillover: on.cfr.org/3PFlXY1

“The reality is the U.S. did fight a trade war with China just last year, and I think depending on how you look at it, lost not just once but twice… so if the pressure campaign didn’t really work there, the question is will it work now over Iran?” says CFR expert Rush Doshi, questioning whether President Trump has the leverage to pressure China on the Iran war. Watch or listen to the latest episode of The President’s Inbox wherever you get your podcasts.

“The Trump administration has pushed two countries to use their break-glass tools, right? China with rare earths, and Iran with the Strait of Hormuz,” says Rush Doshi, Asia studies expert and CFR’s Director of the China Strategy Initiative, in reference to the upcoming talks between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Watch or listen to the latest episode of The President’s Inbox wherever you get your podcasts.

Read more: cfr.org/articles/even-…

Facing its gravest economic crisis in years, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) convened last week for its annual leaders' summit. "The failure to agree on a joint energy plan was the summit’s most consequential failure," expert Josh Kurlantzick writes.

"The asymmetry of President Trump’s short political time horizon versus President Xi’s longer strategic patience will shape the bargaining dynamics" of the upcoming summit between the two world leaders, expert Zongyuan Zoe Liu writes.