US president offers no news of any breakthrough on Iran. Plus, how renters’ rights could be key issue in midterms

Good morning.

On his visit to China, Donald Trump has seemed to revel in Chinese hospitality and flattery. Walking in the Zhongnanhai garden, in Beijing, the US president was overheard saying that his counterpart, Xi Jinping, was giving him roses for the White House rose garden, according to a pool report.

What has China said on Iran? On Friday, China’s foreign ministry again called for a ceasefire in Iran and said the strait of Hormuz should be opened “as soon as possible”. Before the summit, there was speculation the US might appeal to China, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, to use its leverage to encourage the country to reopen the strait. But that was walked back on Thursday by the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who said: “We don’t need their help.”

What about talks over Taiwan? They weren’t mentioned much. Xi took a firm tone, declaring that “Taiwan independence” and peace in the Taiwan strait were “incompatible”. Trump sidestepped questions on Taiwan, and a White House readout of the meeting published later omitted any mention of the country.

What do Russia’s renewed heavy attacks tell us? Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, said on Thursday that Russia’s heavy bombardment of Kyiv showed Moscow was “banking on escalation rather than negotiation. Kyiv and its partners are ready for negotiations aimed at a just peace,” Merz said. “Russia, for its part, is continuing the war.”

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