Trump’s China trip delivers a 200-jet Boeing order; U.S. sanctions 11 Cuban officials.
Washington spends the day banking the China trip’s haul — a fresh Boeing order, a trade deficit it says is down a third. The same morning, the New York Fed publishes the ledger underneath it: the country owes the world $27.5 trillion more than it owns, and the income that covered the gap is fading.
Day 6 · Trump–Xi summit Day 81 · Iran war Year 5 · Ukraine war
This week
Trump’s Beijing visit sealed a trade deal; bomb-grade uranium left Venezuela.
Trump made the first U.S. presidential visit to China since 2017 and returned with a trade deal. It carried a 200-jet Boeing order, eased rare-earth export limits, $17 billion a year in U.S. farm purchases, and what American negotiators called a one-third cut in the trade deficit. Away from the summit, the week’s other work was completed: the U.S. removed bomb-grade uranium from Venezuela two years early, brokered an Israel–Lebanon recognition framework, jailed an Iran-backed commander who had plotted attacks in New York, and sanctioned eleven Cuban officials.
This week's events
- Trump–Xi summit
- Venezuela uranium
- Israel–Lebanon framework
- Kata’ib Hizballah commander
- Strait of Hormuz coalition
Voices
“I’m looking at outcomes and one year in our trade deficit with China has dropped by 33%. That’s incredible. It went down by $130 billion last year.”
U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer · May 181
“The Trump Administration continues to take decisive action to protect U.S. national security and deprive Cuba’s communist regime and military of access to illicit assets.”
Sec. of State Marco Rubio · May 183
“Alex Saab allegedly used American banks to launder hundreds of millions of dollars stolen from a Venezuelan food program meant for the poor.”
AAG A. Tysen Duva, DOJ Criminal Division · May 184
Show 3 more voices
“The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done.”
Acting AG Todd Blanche, DOJ · May 185
“By working to contain the outbreak before it reaches American shores, the United States is protecting the health of Americans at home and abroad.”
State Department media note · May 187
“Foreign holdings of U.S. financial assets are immense, with official estimates putting their current market value at $69 trillion.”
Liberty Street Economics, New York Fed · May 189
Events
- Trump–Xi deal. Trump’s Beijing visit produced a 200-jet Boeing order and two new bilateral institutions — a U.S.–China Board of Trade and Board of Investment — with USTR’s Greer citing a 33% fall in the trade deficit.1May 18 · USTR
- Summit consensus. The White House said Trump and Xi agreed Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and called to reopen the Strait of Hormuz; they backed North Korea’s denuclearization, and Xi will visit Washington this fall.2May 18 · WH
- Cuba sanctions. The State Department blacklisted 11 Cuban regime elites and three government organizations under Executive Order 14404, citing officials of Cuba’s security apparatus it holds responsible for repressing the Cuban people.3May 18 · State
- Alex Saab. A Homeland Security Task Force arrested Alex Saab, a former Venezuelan minister and Maduro ally, on a money-laundering indictment unsealed in Miami; prosecutors say he looted a food program for Venezuela’s poor.4May 18 · DOJ
- Anti-Weaponization Fund. The Justice Department created a $1.776 billion fund to redress “weaponization and lawfare,” part of a settlement of Trump’s suit over the leak of his tax returns; the plaintiffs get an apology and no damages.5May 18 · DOJ
- Grid emergency. The Energy Department issued an emergency order letting PJM, the Mid-Atlantic grid operator, deploy backup generation — including at data centers — to head off blackouts during a heatwave, after PJM requested it May 17.6May 18 · DOE
- Ebola response. The State Department stood up an interagency response to the Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda — $13 million in initial aid and a new CDC order barring recent travelers from the affected countries.7May 18 · State
- Faurecia plant. USTR invoked the USMCA trade pact’s rapid-response labor mechanism over alleged suppression of union rights at a Faurecia auto-parts plant in Silao, Mexico, and froze customs processing on its exports.8May 18 · USTR
- America’s ledger. A New York Fed study put foreign holdings of U.S. assets at $69 trillion against $41 trillion held abroad — a net $27.5 trillion debtor position — and said the income surplus that offset it is fading.9May 18 · NY Fed
Allied Governments
- Japan–Brazil. Japan’s Foreign Minister Motegi held the first Japan–Brazil Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue with counterpart Mauro Vieira, signing a memorandum on assisting each country’s nationals abroad.aMay 18 · Japan MoFA
- NPT review. Japan’s deputy foreign minister Eri Arfiya addressed the 11th Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York, speaking for the Japanese government.bMay 18 · Japan MoFA
- Red Arrows tour. Britain’s Royal Air Force Red Arrows will tour the United States this summer — 13 displays across seven states — with Royal Navy ships joining America’s 250th-anniversary events.cMay 18 · UK MoD
Sources
- Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, “President Trump's State Visit to China Delivers Historic Deals and Greater Market Access for American Farmers, Ranchers, Workers, and Businesses,” May 18, 2026. ustr.gov/…/state-visit-china-historic-deals
- White House, “Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Secures Historic Deals With China, Delivering for American Workers, Farmers, and Industry,” May 2026. whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/…/historic-deals-with-china
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Further U.S. Sanctions on Cuban Regime Elites,” May 18, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/further-sanctions-cuban-regime-elites
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, “Homeland Security Task Force Arrests Maduro Regime Ally Alex Saab on Money Laundering Charges Involving Venezuelan Food Contracts and Oil,” May 18, 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/alex-saab-arrested
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, “Justice Department Announces Anti-Weaponization Fund,” May 18, 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/anti-weaponization-fund
- U.S. Dept. of Energy, “Energy Secretary Issues Emergency Order to Deploy Backup Generation in the Mid-Atlantic Amid Heatwave,” May 18, 2026. energy.gov/articles/…/emergency-order-backup-generation-mid-atlantic
- U.S. Dept. of State, “United States Responds to Ebola Outbreak in Africa,” May 18, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/united-states-responds-to-ebola-outbreak
- Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, “United States Seeks Mexico's Review of Alleged Denial of Workers' Rights at Faurecia Facility,” May 18, 2026. ustr.gov/…/mexico-review-workers-rights-faurecia
- New York Fed — Liberty Street Economics, “Honey, Who Shrunk the U.S. Income Surplus?,” May 18, 2026. libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/…/honey-who-shrunk-the-us-income-surplus