Newshour

President Xi Jinping described US-Chinese relations as "the most important" in the world and stressed to President Trump that the US and China should be partners and not rivals. Also, in the programme; the dental tools used by Neanderthals and we hear from an exiled Venezuelan politician on how his country is five months after Maduro's capture.

(Photo: President Trump and Xi walking in the Great Hall of the People. Credit: Reuters)

President Trump has been given a lavish welcome to Beijing where he and American business leaders will hold talks with their Chinese counterparts on Thursday. Also on the programme, is the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, about to be forced out of office? And, we hear from Alex Batty, the British boy who sparked a high-profile international missing person investigation. He tells us what happened.
(Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump walks with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng during an arrival ceremony at Beijing Capital International Airport, in Beijing, China, May 13, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci)

President Trump arrives in China, the first US president to go there in nearly a decade. We'll look at how the balance of power has shifted since then and how Chinese perceptions of America have also changed.
Also in the programme: on the day of the King’s Speech to Parliament setting out the next legislative programme, speculation mounts that a senior minister will challenge Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the leadership; and the stricken love letters of the English romantic poet John Keats, now up for auction.
(IMAGE: U.S. President Donald Trump participates in an arrival ceremony at Beijing Capital International Airport during his visit to the country, in Beijing, China, May 13, 2026 / CREDIT: Reuters/Evan Vucci)

Keir Starmer's position as Britain's Prime Minister is looking increasingly uncertain. He's said it's business as usual, but a succession of his junior ministers have now resigned.
Also on the programme: A suggestion of a huge breakthrough in the treatment of H.I.V; and the crime writer Patricia Cornwell on why she felt compelled to write a memoir.
(Photo: Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets construction apprentices in London. Credit: Reuters/Toby Melville/Pool)

The UK's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is still fighting for his political life amid open revolt in his own party; do the rebels have the numbers to oust him - or can he hang on?
Also in the programme: a special report from Khartoum three years into Sudan's civil war, where land mines are hampering aid efforts; how enjoying cultural activities can help slow down biological ageing; and - a propos - we have an appreciation of Shostakovich's first symphony, 100 years after its premiere in Leningrad.
(IMAGE: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer walks through the Member's Lobby of the Houses of Parliament in London to the House of Lords to hear the King's Speech during the State Opening of Parliament, Wednesday May 13, 2026 / CREDIT: Toby Melville/PA Wire)