Xi and Trump face off over Iran war?

In this DW News segment, reporter and Middle East analyst Gordon Robison examines the high-stakes summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. With the war in Iran looming as a major point of tension, the interview highlights how this conflict threatens to overshadow other critical agenda items, such as trade, technology, and Taiwan. The discussion delves into how China's status as a primary customer for Iranian oil provides it with unique leverage that the US currently lacks, positioning China as a vital yet unreliable intermediary in the regional crisis. Robison further observes that traditional geopolitical alignments in the Gulf have shifted, with many regional nations reevaluating their reliance on the US in favor of stronger ties with Beijing. Ultimately, the analyst concludes that while both powers are interested in a solution, their different timelines and goals for the conflict—coupled with the challenges of high-level diplomatic coordination—make the outcome of this summit highly uncertain.