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Trump Arrives in China for Critical Talks with Xi Jinping; Higher Gas Prices Sent Wholesale Inflation Soaring Last Month; Trump Arrives in China for Key Talks on Trade, Tech, Taiwan; Hantavirus Outbreak Comes Amid Key Vacancies at HHS. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired May 13, 2026 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[08:30:00]

ZACH COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: We're told by multiple current and former officials that it really varies from instance to instance. And in this case, it does appear that the Mexican government is denying any knowledge of such a covert operation.

And I want to make clear, too, prior to publishing, CNN shared details of this reporting because the situation in Mexico is so sensitive with the CIA, and at the time, the CIA declined to comment. Only after we published, CIA spokesperson Liz Lyons then issued a statement saying, quote, "This is false and salacious reporting that serves as nothing more than a PR campaign for the cartels and puts American lives at risk."

Lyons did not elaborate on what exactly in our extensive reporting was false. But clearly, and after the fact denial from the CIA. But one that we stand by, of course, as far as our reporting goes.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Zach Cohen, thank you so much for bringing that reporting to us. I appreciate it -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, President Trump just touched down in Beijing moments ago for a high stakes visit with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping. We'll have much more on the translation of what people were chanting when he arrived.

And about 35 seconds ago, a brand new release of key economic data. Not this. That's the market futures. That's out in an hour. We just had a new report on producer inflation.

But because I'm out here, I don't know what it says. When we come back, we'll all find out what it says together.

[08:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, just moments ago, President Trump arrived in Beijing for this two day summit with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, meeting scheduled for when they wake up tomorrow. It's nighttime in Beijing right now. With the president getting off the plane with his son and daughter in law, also business leaders, Elon Musk and Jensen Huang of NVIDIA. They were aboard Air Force One for that meeting.

So as the president is there trying to forge trade deals, maybe trying to get help finding peace with Iran. How do Americans feel about the president's work vis-a-vis China?

With us now, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten. You know, China was a big part of the president's initial campaign.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Oh, yes.

BERMAN: Being tough on China, a big part of the first administration. Kind of different now. But how have Americans views of the president on China shifted?

ENTEN: You know, in term number one, China was a strength, a strength for Donald Trump. Americans really liked what he was doing vis-a-vis China. And no longer is that the case.

Because just take a look at Trump's net approval rating on China. In term number one, he was at plus nine points. Hey, that's pretty gosh darn good, right, on the positive side of the ledger. They like the way Trump was dealing with China. But down he goes into the Red Sea now at minus 15 points.

That's a drop of nearly 25 points from where he was in term number one to now. Americans like the way that Trump was dealing with China in term number one. That is no longer the case.

BERMAN: Which groups might be fueling this?

ENTEN: What groups might be fueling this? OK, two groups might be fueling this.

How about independents? In term number one, Trump was at plus nine points on China in terms of his net approval rating. Look at where he is now.

This is the story of Trump's second term. Things that were strong for him, like the economy in term number one, have become major weaknesses, especially among independents. Now we're talking about minus 42 points among independents. That is a switcheroo of over 50 points in the wrong direction. Again, into the deep Red Sea.

How about non-college whites? In Trump term number one, it was plus 34 points. Again, now we're talking about a negative number with a group that is so important to him. So what we've seen here again is China is such an important country in this world, right?

It's a big superpower. Dealing with them is so important to how Americans view their presidents. And in term number one, Trump was much better liked than he is in term number two. Down into the Red Sea. We'll see if Americans like the way he's dealing with them right now overseas when we get the latest polls.

BERMAN: We're talking about the polls on Trump about China, but how's China doing in the polls? ENTEN: Yes, OK. So you see that Trump is struggling here with China in the United States. How about worldwide?

And you just see it right here. I mean, just take a look. Net worldwide approval rating of China has actually improved from where Biden was in term number one, in term number one for him versus where Trump is in term number two at this point.

The latest numbers we have in 2025. Look at that. Minus 11 to minus one.

China's image is improving. The United States image going down. Look at this.

It was plus 11 points in 2021 for Biden, year number one. The latest numbers we have for Trump, or at least for the United States under Trump. Look at that. Minus 15. That's a switcheroo of over 25 points.

So China's image improving. The United States image going down under Trump, just like his own numbers on China, going down here in the United States.

BERMAN: We'll see if that changes over the next few days during this summit, Harry Enten, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you, Yohannes.

BOLDUAN: All right. We do have some breaking news just in new key data coming in on the on inflation. And the numbers are blowing past expectations, not in a good way.

Matt Egan is here with it. What's what do you have?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: OK, look, another day, another very hot inflation report yesterday was consumer prices. Today's producer prices. This is wholesale inflation that's in the pipeline before it comes to all of us as consumers.

And it was a lot worse than expected. So producer prices between March and April surging by 1.4 percent. Some context that is twice as much as expected.

It is a massive acceleration from the month before. And this lifts the annual rate to six percent. That's up from just four percent in March.

This is the highest annual rate for producer prices since the end of 2022. And again, a lot worse than expected. This is the trend for wholesale inflation for producer prices going back to the fall of 2022.

And you can see there was this significant decline back then. Things were sort of under control. But look at this now.

[08:40:00]

Producer price inflation is going almost straight up. And so why do we pay attention to this? Well, that's because there is a very close relationship between these producer prices and what all of us pay at the store, right?

When you go back in time, you can see that there's that these two indexes are really linked very closely together. Right. And what you have is this is actually goes back to COVID.

So you can see there was this historic spike in inflation and both the red line that's producer prices and the blue line consumer prices went up together. They went down together and now they are unfortunately going in the wrong direction. So why did this happen?

Well, obviously, a lot of this has to do with energy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that about 40 percent of the increase came from gasoline alone.

But it's not just gas. Right. There's also a significant increase for jet fuel, for diesel as well, industrial chemicals and something that's going to potentially impact grocery store prices. Significant increase for vegetables as well.

So you put it all together. And this is another sign that the cost of living is moving in the wrong direction. President Trump in 2024, I mean, he won that election in part by really seizing on frustration about the cost of living, just how expensive life has become. But what we've seen is that inflation for consumers is moving in the wrong direction.

Look at this. This is the inflation rate in the U.S. back during the 2024 election. It was at 2.7 percent when the president took office, 3 percent. Now it's almost 4 percent. And Kate, economists are expecting that these numbers on inflation are going to get worse before they get better.

BOLDUAN: Well, and a very real question of how much worse, but also then how quickly they could be turned around, which is a huge question when you're looking -- no matter what. Take the political calendar out of consideration. It matters that question how quickly it can be brought down.

But then you add in the political calendar. This is quite a time.

EGAN: It is. And look, even if the Strait of Hormuz reopen today.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

EGAN: Gas prices, they're not going back to those pre-war levels.

BOLDUAN: I mean, the timeline for how long it's going to get to be back to normal that you hear from everyone is going from -- we're going from months now inching towards a year.

EGAN: Yes. Yes. This could be something that doesn't go back to normal until 2027 at this point.

BOLDUAN: All right. Thank you so much, Matt. EGAN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Much more on this breaking news to come -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thank you so much.

One of the biggest reasons, of course, for the cost of living hikes that we're seeing is the war in Iran. And now President Trump is in China where he's trying to find a way to a deal with Iran. That is on the agenda.

Joining me now is CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen and CNN Global Affairs Analyst Karim Sadjadpour. Thank you, gentlemen, both for being here.

Peter, to you first stepping back. You know, what's the ultimate objective of this trip now, considering what you're seeing going on in the United States and the frustration over not being able to come through with a deal to at least open the Strait of Hormuz?

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I mean, China -- thank you, Sara -- does have considerable leverage over Iran in the sense that almost all of Iran's oil exports go to China. That said, I don't think Xi is in any hurry to kind of get Trump out of this spot. And I think Chinese military analysts are looking at the United States inability to open up the Strait of Hormuz with some interest, because although they're not exactly analogous, there is 20 miles where the Strait is the narrowest and there's 100 miles between China and Taiwan.

But the fact that the United States Navy has not been able to open up the Strait or won't take the risks involved to open up the Strait, is surely playing into the calculus of Xi whose long term goal is to blockade or invade the island. And that's something that he said he has told his army to be ready for by 2027, which is obviously pretty soon.

SIDNER: Karim, let me go to you now, as you just heard Peter there, and you well know that Iran depends on China economically. Are there some obvious pressure points that Trump could ask China to push to try to force a deal to open the Strait?

KARIM SADJADPOUR, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, as Peter put it well, Sara, China has more leverage over Iran than any country in the world. Ninety percent of Iran's oil exports go to China. And China actually has even stronger commercial relations with Iran's regional adversaries, like Saudi Arabia, like the United Arab Emirates, than it does Iran.

So, you know, all of those countries have also been weighing on China to try to intervene and end this blockade. But as Peter put it really well, China is ambivalent because on one hand, they do want to see the free flow of oil. They do want to see a reduction in oil prices.

But at the same time, they are in no rush to give President Trump a hand to get out of this quagmire. SIDNER: Peter, what kind of price do you think President Xi could try to extract from the president in order to try to step in here?

BERGEN: Well, two things that Xi would like from this meeting.

[08:45:00]

One is to not we've had $11 billion of U.S. military help to Taiwan, which has gone through -- this 14 billion dollars that Trump has yet to sign off on. And so, you know, Taiwan wants to turn itself into what's called a porcupine, meaning a very, very tough thing for the Chinese to invade. And obviously, defensive spending provided by the United States is something that Xi would like to take off the table.

He also would like perhaps a change of posture by Trump on the question of would he come to the aid of Taiwan if it was invaded or blockaded? President Biden was very clear that the United States would come to the aid of Taiwan, giving up so-called strategic ambiguity, which used to be the kind of a U.S. approach, which was a kind of a fancy way of saying we're not really going to tell you what we might do to keep you guessing.

But so, I mean, I think it's basically arms sales, Sara. And I think it's also some kind of change in U.S. posture on the question of what we would do if the United States -- if China was to invade or blockade Taiwan.

SIDNER: Karim, Trump said that publicly that he doesn't need China's help, but he brought along the secretary of defense on Air Force One, which is unusual on a trip like this. What do you make of his messaging here?

SADJADPOUR: Well, I think the president is embarrassed, on one hand, that he would need to ask China's help to defeat Iran, which is really as a military power, a third rate power. And obviously, there are no free lunches. So he knows that if he asks Xi for help in resolving this war, there's going to be a quid pro quo.

And as Peter alluded to, that's probably going to be on Taiwan. And so I think the president is trying to project the idea that, you know, he's strong, firmly in charge. And he's not in a hurry to end this war.

And a naval blockade of Iran is going to run its course. And eventually, Iran is going to have to come to the table. But as we've seen over the last three months, that hasn't been the case.

SIDNER: You can also see who he brought along with him from the business community in tech and with Taiwan having 90 percent of those advanced logic chips that they make. There are a lot of questions to be answered here and a lot of deals that may have to be made if there's going to be some cooperation. We'll see what happens.

Peter Bergen and Karim Sadjadpour, thank you both so much. Appreciate it -- John. BERMAN: All right. It's so slippery. A right of passage today at the U.S. Naval Academy. You should see when they do this to the CNN Washington, D.C. Bureau.

And then Netflix being sued and accused of spying on children.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: An American doctor who was caught on that cruise ship hit by the hantavirus is now speaking out, speaking out from a biocontainment unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center after a positive test for the rare virus. Listen to this.

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DR. STEPHEN KORNFELD, STAYING IN BIOCONTAINMENT UNIT AT UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER: So a lot happened very quickly on the boat, but it was decided that a number of staff members and myself would get nasal swabs done and put away in the freezer.

Those were tested in the Netherlands for hantavirus. They did it in two different labs. One lab was negative and one lab was faintly positive. So I was told the test was intermediate, but I think since it wasn't a negative, it's sort of being looked at as a potential positive. And the Dutch authority communicated these results to the CDC, and here I am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Dr. Kornfeld says that he is now awaiting the results of more testing coming this week. The WHO believes there will be more cases to expect beyond the current 11 they are tracking, but the outbreak -- but the outbreak, they say, there seems to be a lower level of fear about how far and wide it will spread. The outbreak, though, does come at a precarious time for public health in the United States.

The CDC has been without a permanent confirmed director for several months now. Add to that, President Trump is now on his third pick to be surgeon general, who still needs to be confirmed. And the FDA commissioner, Marty Makary, just resigned Tuesday from his post.

Joining us right now is former Health and Human Services Secretary under President Obama, Kathleen Sebelius. Secretary, it's good to see you. All of those agency heads I just listed are under, of course, the HHS secretary.

RFK Jr., the current HHS secretary, says he is not worried about this hantavirus outbreak and how troubling or threatening it can be in terms of how far and wide it will spread. What are you seeing? What are you hearing? Are you concerned?

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, FORMER HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Well, Kate, it's nice to be with you. I think the secretary seems to be accurate in the statement about hantavirus, that this outbreak should not cause wide alarm, that people have moved quickly. I think the containment of folks who were in close contact with exposed passengers is appropriate because this has a long incubation period.

And the last thing that people would want is folks who are carrying an infection but don't know anything about it to begin to spread that infection to others. You need close contact for long periods of time. So that cruise ship environment, unfortunately, created the right environment to spread person to person.

[08:55:00]

But that shouldn't be concerning to those of us throughout the country or other countries. Having said that, the condition of CDC could be alarming to everyone. The Trump administration has slashed CDC budgets, CDC epidemiologists, investigation unit, others. We don't have a head, as you said.

And that is totally alarming to public health, whether it's the hantavirus or something else. We are not prepared. We do not have the resources.

The departure of the FDA administrator is also alarming. He's been on the job a relatively short period of time. It's very unclear what made the Trump administration seek to fire him. It seems to be that he might have been following science on a couple of different issues and that that ran afoul of the political views of the White House.

I guess, you know, I had the opportunity to work with a president who believed that we followed the science. That was the mantra, he kept to that during crises and during good times. And that made it much easier for our health leaders to do their jobs and to protect the American public.

BOLDUAN: You're talking about the FDA commissioner. So you've got Makary, who's now resigning. They also means, and I believe this is a complete list, I believe is you now have FDA, CDC, NIH, Surgeon General, all missing actual confirmed leaders at the very same time.

From your perspective and what you know from running the agency above them all, what does that do, not having confirmed missing -- confirmed leaders at the helm?

SEBELIUS: Well, it certainly could cause chaos throughout those agencies which are critical. NIH, the gold standard for research, at least it was until huge cuts were made during the DOGE period where researchers were slashed, institutes were canceled. So you have a leadership agency that has been hollowed out.

FDA is in the same situation. 20 cents of every dollar spent by Americans on consumer products is regulated by the FDA. They have huge jurisdiction over food, over cosmetics, over pharmaceutical drugs, medications.

It is incredibly important that that agency operates speedily to get new drugs to market, to help cure Americans. And they have been not only hollowed out in terms of staff who is there, but now they have no leader. And the CDC is just in turmoil. They lost about 40 percent of their

budget from the outset. They have canceled programs all over the world, including incredibly important programs like HIV and AIDS prevention worldwide, which was started by President George W. Bush.

So I think this is an agency in chaos, and it's led by someone who does not believe in science, who continues to contradict what known scientists say and feel. And he has said a few times, don't trust me when I give you health advice. And I think that's the wisest thing Bobby Kennedy has ever said.

BOLDUAN: Kathleen Sebelius, thank you so much for coming in, Secretary -- Sara.

BERGEN: All right, on our radar for you this morning, a fiery rescue caught on camera. Officers responding to a house fire in Colorado, they actually ended up helping rescue a little dog trapped inside. The owner and two pups managed to escape, but a third dog was left behind, scared and trapped. Officers went into the burning home, saved her, and luckily nobody was hurt.

All right, Netflix is now facing a lawsuit from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. He's accusing the company of spying on children and other consumers by collecting and selling their data without their consent. Paxton also claims the company is using dark patterns to keep people watching.

A Netflix spokesperson says the lawsuit lacks merit and is based on inaccurate and distorted information. The company plans to address the allegations in court.

All right, an out of this world photo opportunity. NASA's Perseverance rover shared this selfie exploring the western frontier on Mars. OK, that is so cool. The picture was assembled from 61 individual images taken by a camera mounted on the rover's robotic arm.

This is back in March. It is the sixth selfie Perseverance has shared since landing on Mars in 2021. That is really, really cool.

All right, a new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

BERMAN: So breaking just moments ago, big economic news. A key gauge of inflation shooting way up. Much more than expected.

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