President Donald Trump arrived in China for a high-stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, while new producer price data showed US wholesale inflation accelerated sharply in April.
At the same time, Walmart and LinkedIn announced fresh workforce restructuring efforts tied to technology and AI priorities, and Kevin Warsh was confirmed as the next chair of the Federal Reserve amid mounting political pressure for lower interest rates.
Trump arrives in China for pivotal summit with Xi
President Donald Trump landed in Beijing on Wednesday for the first state visit to China by a US president in nine years, as both countries attempt to stabilize relations against the backdrop of the Iran conflict and ongoing trade tensions.
Air Force One arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport shortly before 8 p.m., where Chinese Vice President Han Zheng welcomed Trump with a formal red-carpet ceremony.
Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People on Thursday.
The summit agenda includes trade, tariffs, artificial intelligence, Taiwan, and the Iran conflict.
Ahead of the visit, Trump indicated he would push Xi to open China further to US businesses and reduce trade barriers.
Reports also suggested both countries are exploring a framework to ease tariffs on roughly $30 billion worth of goods without compromising national security interests.
The US president arrived with a business delegation that included executives from Tesla, Apple, Boeing, and Nvidia.
AI and technology discussions gained additional attention after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang joined the trip at the last minute.
US producer prices post biggest rise since 2022
US wholesale inflation accelerated sharply in April, reinforcing concerns that price pressures remain entrenched across the economy.
The Producer Price Index for final demand rose 1.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis, marking the largest monthly increase since March 2022 and far exceeding economists’ expectations for a 0.5% increase.
On an annual basis, producer prices climbed 6.0%, the strongest increase since December 2022.
Much of the rise was driven by higher energy costs linked to disruptions in global shipping routes amid the ongoing US-Israeli conflict with Iran.
Underlying inflation pressures remained firm as the index excluding foods, energy and trade services rose 0.6% in April and 4.4% from a year earlier.
The data follows a separate report earlier this week showing consumer inflation also accelerated in April, complicating the Federal Reserve’s path toward future interest-rate cuts.
Walmart and LinkedIn announce workforce restructuring
Fresh layoffs and restructuring efforts continued across the technology and corporate sectors as companies reorganized operations around AI and efficiency initiatives.
Walmart is cutting or relocating around 1,000 corporate employees as part of a broader effort to consolidate technology and AI operations.
According to reports, the retailer reviewed overlapping teams and plans to centralize more employees in Bentonville, Arkansas, and Northern California.
The restructuring follows Walmart’s increasing investments in artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure under CEO John Furner.
Meanwhile, LinkedIn plans to cut roughly 5% of its workforce, according to Reuters. The Microsoft-owned professional networking platform is restructuring teams to focus on faster-growing business areas.
Despite the layoffs, LinkedIn reported revenue growth of 12% in the latest quarter.
Technology layoffs have accelerated sharply this year, with Layoffs.fyi estimating that more than 103,000 tech workers have lost their jobs globally in 2026 so far.
Kevin Warsh confirmed as next Federal Reserve chair
The Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair in a 54-45 vote, replacing Jerome Powell after his term expires Friday.
Warsh, a former Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, takes over during a period of persistent inflation pressures and increasing political scrutiny over interest-rate policy.
President Trump has repeatedly pushed for lower borrowing costs and criticized Powell for maintaining restrictive monetary policy.
Markets, however, have recently reduced expectations for rate cuts after inflation data showed price pressures remain elevated above the Fed’s 2% target.
Warsh previously criticized the Fed’s quantitative easing programs and last year called for “regime change” at the central bank during a CNBC interview.
His first Federal Open Market Committee meeting as chair is scheduled for June 16-17, where investors will closely monitor signals about the direction of monetary policy.
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