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Connect the World

"Tough" Operation to Pull Out American could Start Saturday; Middle East Presence in New Delhi; Hurricane Lee Rapidly Intensified over Warm Atlantic Waters; Microsoft: Chinese Operatives Mimic U.S. Voters Online; Coco Gauff Reaches her First U.S. Open Final; Britain Marks One Year Since Queen Elizabeth's Death. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired September 08, 2023 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Our top stories this hour for you we are now hearing for the first time from the American man who is

trapped inside one of Turkey's deepest caves. Turkish officials say the operation to lift Mark Dickey out could begin on Saturday.

U.S. President Joe Biden has just arrived in India for the G-20 summit noticeably absent from the meeting this year, Vladimir Putin and Xi

Jinping. Spanish national prosecutor filed a complaint against Luis Rubiales for "the crimes of sexual assault and coercion against Jennifer

Hermoso.

Plus one of the world's biggest cities brought to a standstill by flash flooding. Hong Kong hit with its heaviest rainfall on record. 1000 meters,

of narrow winding passages that's what rescuers will face when they start to bring out the American explorer Mark Dickey to the surface of one of

Turkey's deepest caves.

They are installing ropes and other fixtures with the hope that process could start as early as Saturday. And Mark Dickey was on a research mission

when he got sick and became traps. Getting out will be tough rescuers say taking around four days. CNN's Nada Bashir looks at how this has all

unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): In the dark and cavernous depths of Turkey's Morca Sinkhole, a welcome update.

MARK DICKEY, CAVE EXPLORER: Mark Dickey from nearly 1000 meters.

BASHIR (voice-over): American cable Mark Dickey now set to be in a stable condition. After falling ill some three and a half 1000 feet below ground

almost a week ago.

DICKEY: You can see up on alert I'm talking. I'm not yield on the inside yet, so I need a lot of help to get out of here.

BASHIR (voice-over): Rescuers say Dickey suffered gastrointestinal bleeding during his research expedition required urgent medical attention at base

camp. According to officials, six units of blood had to be delivered to him. It's an operation which has drawn about 150 rescuers from across the

globe to Turkey's third deepest cave.

The Turkish Caving Federation says it typically takes a full 15 hours for an experienced caver to reach the surface in ideal conditions. But Dickey's

health is still in a delicate state. And the narrow winding passages of the cave, as well as frigid temperatures could pose a major challenge to

rescuers.

GRETCHEN BAKER, NATIONAL CAVE RESCUE COMMISSION: The team on the ground is very happy that Mark's condition seems to be improving. So that it looks

like that he will not have to be in a litter the entire way out. But there may be portions of the cave that he has to be in that litter.

So the more he can help, the faster the rescue can go. But even with him helping, we're anticipating that it will take days to get him out of the

cave.

BASHIR (voice-over): For now Turkish disaster and emergency authority says the operation is running smoothly. And though this is a huge logistical

undertaking, there is cautious optimism for Dickey safe return.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: What was CNN's Nada Bashir reporting and when you count the rescue is inside the cave that is more than 180. Well, Dr. Denes Nagy is

with the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service. Hungarian being one of the countries taking part in the rescue he has worked with Mark Dickey.

And he joins us now by Skype from Budapest it's good to have you Sir. Mark and you as I understand work very closely with these kinds of operations.

Just how concerned are you? Just explain what it is that these rescuers are facing at this point?

DR. DENES NAGY, HUNGARIAN CAVE RESCUE SERVICE: Hi, it's great to have you. So it is a really difficult rescue it has been only done like once or twice

to remove somebody from this depth. It's a kilometer underground and even for experienced cavers, it takes about 12 hours to get down there and even

more to get out.

[11:05:00]

So it's a really, really difficult approach. And so even in the beginning of the rescue, when they were just bringing out information on Mark's

condition, we, it took them about half a day to get out to us and to notify us that there is a problem. After this, like just getting there, it took us

a day.

And thankfully, the Hungarian team was able to react quickly and we got a doctor there to start to care. Now, they, the technical team managed to get

the communication all the way down to Mark's location, but this was not the case for the first three days. So at that time, we didn't really get any

information on Mark's condition and how things are progressing.

We only got some reports, once or twice a day, and even those reports were like seven hours old. And because it took that much time for the runner to

get from Mark's location to the telephone, which at the time, it was only hurried to about 500 meters depth, so that would have the distance from the

surface.

So now that we have communications with them, it's easier to know and to plan for resources to be brought in and to care for Mark. But originally,

it was a huge challenge to know and anticipate what that might require.

ANDERSON: Yes, we've seen some video of Mark, and we've heard from him. And as we understand it now, his health situation is improving somewhat, but

that doesn't mean that this is going to be an easy task. And as we understand it, this could take some days. So just take us through what it

is that Mark and these rescuers will now go through?

NAGY: Yes, so once Mark is stabilized, and even though he's speaking on the video, he might relapse and the bleeding might continue. But we really hope

that he keeps the stable state. And if he does, then the next thing is for the technical rescue to begin. And that would mean carrying him up either

in a stretcher or in a full body harness to countless drops.

And these drops you can imagine as towers, like if you look up at big towers, those are the distances they need to travel with the stretcher. So

we are rig new lines, rope lines and attach the stretcher to it and pull mark up on these baits and then they need to blast out the narrow passages.

So the stretcher can pass through because sometimes the corridors are just so narrow that it would be impossible otherwise. So it's a long and

strenuous work to get him out there.

ANDERSON: Well, we will keep an eye on what is going on. And obviously we wish both Mark and those rescuers the very, very best it with CNN as we

continue to monitor developments on this story. So it's good to have you thank you very much indeed.

Well leaders of the world's largest economies representing about 80 percent of the world's GDP are now gathering in New Delhi for this weekend G

summit, G-20 summit. U.S. President Joe Biden touchdown a short time ago in India has been meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for one on one

talk ahead of that summit.

Notably absent from this year's event is China's Xi Jinping who has never before miss the G-20 since taking power, and also absent Russian President

Vladimir Putin who faces arrest if he travels abroad due to a warrant accusing him of war crimes. Beijing has of no official explanation for Xi

Jinping's absence.

But it is raising major questions from all. Let's bringing in CNN's Jeremy Diamond and Ivan Watson on the sidelines of the summit, Ivan, let's start

with the absence of Mr. Xi, of course Putin also not there. What do you make of this non-attendance by the Chinese leader?

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, it was a last minute announcement that the Chinese government made that Xi would not be

attending this G-20. As you pointed out the first time since he's assumed the role of Head of state of China that he's not attending this annual

gathering. And there has never been really an explanation aside from Beijing announcing that it would send the Premier Li Qiang to in his stead.

[11:10:00]

So that leaves it open to speculation why would the Chinese leader choose not to attend? And there are a number of theories out there. Of course

there are ongoing tensions between Beijing and Washington. Could that be one reason? Or another there are also tensions between Beijing and New

Delhi.

There was a deadly border skirmish in 2020 along disputed frontier between these two countries. And there are serious differences between the two

governments. Or perhaps could there be some issues at home in China that are forcing the Chinese leader to stay home. He's, as far as we know, only

left China twice this year.

And it's such a dramatic difference from a year ago at the previous G-20 in Bali that was Xi Jinping emerging from several years of self-imposed

isolation during the COVID pandemic. But we have not seen a flurry of travel from him around the world. And so in his place, we have the Indian

host of Narendra Modi, who's making the most of being a host of the G-20.

His photo, his portrait is plastered everywhere in the Indian Capital, you can't miss it. It is not only on every block, but arguably every 20 meters

or 30 meters along the major roads here you will see his portraits and he has been a promoting India as a voice of the Global South somewhat in

competition with China. Take a listen to a top Indian official to the G-20 discussing us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMITABH KANT, INDIA'S G20 SUMMIT SHERPA: The New Delhi leader's declarations which many of you will see post the summit. You will see it as

a voice of the Global South and the developing countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Big question though, will there actually be a joint to like declarations at the end of this meeting throughout the year that India has

been hosting the G-20 at smaller gatherings? There has not been joint communique that all parties have agreed to, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yes, that's really interesting, isn't it? Jeremy, let's bring you in. The perception is certainly that China is not happy about what sort of

burgeoning relationship is as it were, or a growing relationship between Washington and Delhi. And as we understand it, Joe Biden will be looking to

expand on this. What are we expecting to see and hear from the U.S. President?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no doubt about it. I mean a big part of this trip by President Biden both here at the G-20 as

well as the next stop that he makes in Vietnam is very much about China. And it is also about the developing world. Look, China has sought to

position itself as kind of a leader and an outstretched hand too much of the developing world.

And here we have President Biden showing up to this summit at the G-20. In contrast to Xi Jinping not showing up which U.S. officials hope will give

sends a clear message that the United States is here and is committed to the developing world, in part through his words.

But also through his actions as he proposes a series of reforms to the World Bank looks to increase the World Bank's lending capacity by tens of

billions of dollars, and effectively China position himself as a United States as a reliable partner for the developing world for decades to come

and a partner where through these multilateral banks.

Unlike China's Belt and Road Initiative, there are no strings attached, so that is very much part of the message. And as he heads to Vietnam as well,

the President is expected to upgrade the status of the U.S.-Vietnam relationship, which again, is also squarely aimed at China and at the

concerns that some of the countries, like Vietnam, like India, have about China's increasingly aggressive posture in the region.

And so really, this G-20, where President Biden will have a packed schedule tomorrow is an opportunity for him to showcase that his presence here in

contrast to China's absence, but really what we know is that there will still be many fractures in this G-20.

And that will show itself in the form of questions about whether or not a joint communique can indeed be established by the end of this summit. As of

now those negotiations are still ongoing, but look to last year's G-20, where they were not able to do so instead of releasing that leader

statement because of those divisions over Ukraine and Russia's role in that invasion.

ANDERSON: Jeremy, it's like we're seeing the shifting tectonic plates of geopolitics in real time, isn't it, and this G-20 meeting, really sort of

at the heart of that to both of you, thank you very much indeed. The G-20 only has one Arab member and that, of course, is Saudi Arabia, but it's not

the only Arab country that will be present at this year's summit in New Delhi.

[11:15:00]

India has invited nine countries to attend as guests, three of which are from this region of the Middle East where we are broadcasting to you from

this of course is our Middle East programming hub. Well, that's Oman, the United Arab Emirates where I am and Egypt.

Now it's not uncommon for a G-20 host nation to invite non-members. But the inclusion of several Arab countries this year is a short sign of their

expanding role on the global economic stage especially G summit's agenda puts a spotlight on issues significant to the so called Global South.

The G-20 as a whole compromises the world's largest economies making up around 85 percent of global GDP and over 75 percent of global trade, but

the group has been frequently criticized in the past for not addressing issues that disproportionately affect developing and emerging economies

such as debt and climate change.

For example issues that has been front and center for countries in this region, particularly the oil rich Gulf, who have been investing billions in

projects that will diversify their economies, as well as mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis. Well Egypt hosted last year's annual U.N.

Climate Change Conference COP 27.

And the UAE will host COP 28 in Dubai later this year, for the first time ever. Two Arab countries hosting the largest global Climate Conference back

to back says something about what this region's priorities are. And it shows in the numbers to the IMF forecasts that the Middle East as well as

developing countries in Asia and Sub Saharan Africa will deliver between 3.2 percent and 5 percent in economic growth next year.

And that is a stark contrast to the 1 percent growth. It projected for the U.S. and 3 percent globally. Veteran Middle East Expert and Analysts Firas

Maksad told CNN, "The inclusion of several leading Arab countries at the G- 20 reflects their growing political and economic relevance, particularly as the West attempts to block Russian and Chinese inroads amongst the Global

South.

And as Arab Gulf countries become a Mecca for global corporations looking to raise capital given more restrictive lending environments at home." And

that narrative is particularly poignant at this year's summit because India as host nation wants to present itself as a strong voice for the developing

world.

The self-declared sort of leader of the Global South as it were, but more importantly, as a bridge between the West and the Rest when it comes to

Russia, and China, particularly, the Arab states in attendance at the G-20 have walked a tightrope between Washington and Moscow since the start of

the Ukraine war opting to remain neutral as it sees the world order moving towards multi polarity.

Let's we forget, the upcoming summit comes just weeks after four Middle Eastern countries Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Iran were invited to join

the BRICS group of developing nations and its first potential expansion in over a decade, underscoring the region's desire to expand beyond existing

economic partnerships.

Several Gulf countries especially have been signaling for quite some time that they ought not to be taken for granted by Washington. And for now,

that approach does seem to be bearing some fruit. And of course, all things Middle East related whether it's deep dive analysis about shifting trends

in geopolitics or new and different stories that you may not have heard before.

All of that can be found in Syrians one and only Middle East newsletter. Meanwhile, in the Middle East, you can get it straight to your inbox three

days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Today's edition is about growing violence in Israel's largely Palestinian and Arab communities where people

feel like second class citizens.

And claim Israeli authorities don't treat their cases as seriously as those of Jewish Israelis. A fascinating perspective you may not have heard

before. Do head to cnn.com/mideastnewsletter to check that out. We can use a QR code on the bottom of your screen there.

Well, a warning for people in Hong Kong stays inside. Still ahead the record rainfall hitting the city, plus how long it is expected to last?

[11:20:00]

And the new steps that could add of Spain's suspended football chief facing criminal charges over that unwanted kiss at the Women's World Cup.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Well Hong Kong is dealing with a "black" rainstorm, its highest level warning, you see their heaviest rainfall in more than a century is

turned streets into fast moving rivers. Now the weather bureau advises people must stay inside and find shelter. And this is why it is dangerous.

This man had to be helped from his totally flooded car. There is nowhere to go anyway, the city is at a complete standstill, schools and businesses are

closed. How long will it last? Well for that, Jennifer Gray joining us now, Jennifer?

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Becky, we are still going to get some rainfall across the area. This was impressive. We had 500 millimeters

of rainfall across this region in just a 24 hour time. So this system basically just sat right on top of Hong Kong, you can see that torrential

rain fell, and that flash flooding can happen just in a moment.

And that's what happened here. We had 450 millimeters of rain or so some reports of 350. So just incredible rainfall totals and when this happens,

it basically turns the roads into rivers, as you see here, knock people off their feet, it can sweep cars away, this can cause some major devastation

and as you said, bringing the city to a standstill very, very quickly.

And so we will start to see things, relax a little bit we won't see as heavy of the rainfall but we'll still get rain across the region. This is

all the way through the weekend. So we are going to see light rain continue around Hong Kong and we could pick up an additional 50 to maybe 75

millimeters of rain.

Some areas to the south could pick up as much as 100. But again, we are going to pick up more rainfall. And so the potential for additional

flooding will remain for a couple of days, Becky.

ANDERSON: Before I let you go, just fill us in on Hurricane Lee. This is a storm, of course in the Atlantic which has intensified at a rapid clip.

GRAY: Yes, this storm has been remarkable. This was a category 5. This is now a category 4 storm with the latest advisory it's got winds of 250

kilometers per hour gusts of 305. And it's just to the east of the Leeward Islands and this is continuing a track to the west northwest.

It should remain, a category 4 storm, it should stay well north of Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and its headed straight to the northwest. Now this storm

is expected to take a pretty sharp turn to the north by the time we get to the middle part of next week. And that will answer the million dollar

question which is what impacts could this storm have on the U.S.?

[11:25:00]

Right now, we'll see some minor impacts, you'll see high surf across up portions of the Caribbean but as far as the storm staying away from those

islands it should. So here is the forecast satellite radar you can see maybe just some scattered showers across the Caribbean.

But most of the heavier rainfall will be centered, right on the center of that storm. And then what this storm will do once it gets into midweek,

next week is time will tell. But we're going to be watching this one closely, because it is a huge monster storm, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. Thank you. All you suspended President of Spain's Football Federation is now facing a federal case for alleged sexual

assault and coercion. Spain's national prosecutor has filed a complaint against Luis Rubiales over that unwanted kiss after Spain won the Women's

World Cup final.

My colleague, World Sport's Amanda Davies is live in London. Look, Amanda that some people may have felt this has been a very slow process. But it is

a process at this point Rubiales has refused to resign. Now, some weeks after the actual event, he could eventually face criminal charges as I

understand it, can you just explain?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, absolutely, Becky, as you rightly say, this is another incremental update from the Spanish prosecutors, the top

criminal justice level really in Spain, but it's potentially a very significant one, because what we have had identified by the Spanish

prosecutors is a potential crime.

That they have now identified that, as you rightly said, has been described as crimes of sexual assault, and coercion. And by filing this complaint

that really means that the way is been paved for the Spanish prosecutors to gather evidence and then potentially charge Luis Rubiales with a crime.

And this follows the statement that was given by footballer Jenni Hermoso with her lawyer present on Tuesday this week, where she did decide to make

a statement, an official complaint against Rubiales. And since then, the prosecutors have been detailing that, processing that.

And this is where we now are, as you rightly said, so a lot of people will feel this is perhaps too long in coming but they are following the legal

system. He has been suspended from all football related activity as we know, by World football's governing body FIFA, but up until this point, he

has been defiant.

He's refused to resign from his post, or on his own terms, this may give the sporting governing bodies in Spain an opportunity to perhaps revisit

their case, they felt they hadn't got the bar to be able to remove them up to this point. But if this is another level reached in the criminal case

that may change.

And interestingly one of the lines that has come out of the statement, Becky, from Jenni Hermoso suggests that perhaps it's wider, what we're

looking at than just the kiss in the celebrations that post the final it says Jenni Hermoso also referred in her statement, both she and people

close to her suffered constant and repeated pressure from Luis Rubiales and his professional environment.

So perhaps, indicating to that wider picture in terms of the bigger context around this Spanish national team and the Federation.

ANDERSON: Amanda, good to have you. You've kept his bang up to date as we've moved through as you describe it, you know, quite a lot of sort of

incremental moves on this story. But as you rightly point out, this is perhaps one of if not the most significant at this point. Thank you.

Well, with U.S. elections right around the corner political ads are popping up everywhere, trust what you see and hear. New alarm bells are sound new

and how artificial intelligence is being used to sway U.S. voters. That is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:30:00]

ANDERSON: Welcome back you're watching "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson. Time here is just after half past seven in the UAE, your

headlines, not a new Cold War but competition whatever you call it. The U.S. China relationship is tense and it is impacting the way that the world

works right now. Here are three examples.

Microsoft is accusing China of using artificial intelligence to influence American voters. Tech hardware battles fears that China will crack down on

Apple as the U.S. investigates Huawei's chip breakthrough and outside of tech in the real world growing concerns in the U.S. over China buying up

its farmland.

Let's dig deeper into all three of these. First, Microsoft says suspected Chinese operatives are using images made by artificial intelligence to

spread disinformation ahead of next year's U.S. elections. This is one of those images, the company says the operatives are affiliated with the

Chinese Communist Party and they are focused they say on "Denigrating U.S. political figures and symbols.

CNN Cybersecurity Reporter Sean Lyngaas joins us now live from Washington DC. It's really good to have you, Sean, what's the extent of this? And what

evidence is there that these accounts are indeed associated with the Chinese Communist Party or the CCP?

SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN CYBERSECUTIRY REPORTER: Right Becky. Well, there's no smoking gun pointing to anyone from the CCP, with their fingers on the

keyboards if you will. But there's a lot of overlap from past campaigns that we've seen from Chinese actors that the U.S. Justice Department in

indictments has accused Chinese government workers of being involved in.

And as part of a broader pattern that we're seeing where China is apparently more and more willing to, to sow discord fanned the flames here

in the U.S. perhaps elsewhere too. But it's something that we've typically associated here in the U.S. with Russian actors where they try to fan the

flames on racial discord and other societal issues that we have.

Things that we kind of do to ourselves in terms of our societal problems, but that influence operations online can easily amplify. And with AI that

we're seeing here, you know, we talk a lot about AI, the phrase gets tossed around a lot. But this is a clear cut example of, of the sort of insidious

effect that it can have where a catchy image that you can sort of teach a computer program to make more and more appealing and the more and more you

work with it, to grab the eye.

[11:35:00]

It's something that we're going to keep seeing as elections go forward. We have elections in Taiwan and in the U.S. next year, and this is something

that's a bit unsettling to U.S. officials, I talked to here in Washington, Becky.

ANDERSON: And Sean, let's just stick to the U.S. and its elections coming up just for the time being. So I know that really is your area of expertise

here. What are authorities or let's be quite frank, you know, tech companies themselves, you know, where these where these images and this

disinformation can be published? What are they doing to avoid its dissemination?

LYNGAAS: It's a little tricky, because you want to call attention to it without amplifying it and propagating it. So, and we also have a media

literacy problem here where the domestic environment is ripe for that kind of exploitation. So there are a lot of political sensitivities here with,

you know, Republicans often accuse the federal government of "Censorship" when they're trying to, you know, call attention to disinformation

campaigns.

So federal officials are walking a fine line where they're trying to warn about a foreign power, that is meddling, but they're not trying to take

anything offline because they're not able to do that. And tech companies that, you know, have control their own platforms, have a little more leeway

to take proactive action.

But as we've seen with X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, where we've had some scaling back of the personnel in charge of spotting these

types of influence campaigns and with other platforms, the trend isn't particularly positive in terms of their ability to monitor this threat

activity, Becky.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you, sir. It is a worrying trend. And one, we will certainly keep an eye on, thank you for your reporting. This week,

Apple lost $200 billion dollars of its market value in two days amid reports of an iPhone ban for Chinese government officials and state backed

companies. Anna Stewart's on that live for us from London. Anna.

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: So Apple shares are making a slight recovery today, it's just been checking in on them about one and a half percent

higher right now. But my goodness, it has been a week that Apple would probably like to forget, shares were down 4 percent Wednesday, 3 percent

yesterday, as you said, that's $200 billion just wiped off the valuation.

And this all on reports of bans on iPhones is being used in China. Initially on Wednesday, this was from the Wall Street Journal, a suggestion

that government officials would no longer be allowed to use iPhones. Then Thursday, Bloomberg and some other outlets started to report that this

could be extended.

Not all state employees have Chinese backed companies, which would mean tens of millions of employees if true. Now we have of course been reaching

out all week to China's government to try and get some of these lines confirmed. We do have a line from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It

doesn't talk directly to this story or to Apple.

But they do say that all foreign companies are welcome in China if they obey the Chinese rules, regulations and laws and so on. But there's this

added line that I want to show you. China's approach is fundamentally different from some individual countries who abuse the so-called security

concepts to suppress and contain Chinese enterprises.

Again, not directly mentioned, but not hard to connect that to the U.S. ban of course on Huawei communication products that's been in place since 2019.

And the timing of all of this news on the week that Huawei releases a brand new phone to meet 60 Pro we were talking about it yesterday. It's got a

very smart chip, high tech chip in it made by a chip maker in China.

Supposedly that's caused some alarm in the U.S. and the other interesting elements of the timing next week, we're expecting of course to get Apple's

latest iPhone launch on Tuesday, Becky.

ANDERSON: Now, absolutely. I don't want to sound glib. And I am certainly not being dismissive about the hit on Apple stocks and its price. But this

is a company of course worth 3 trillion, so a $200 billion hit really these days for that company a bit of a drop in the ocean, isn't it but it's a

really good story.

And it's a really important one and we should we should absolutely keep across it. It's always good to have you, thank you very much indeed. Well,

deep in the American heartland, Beijing is buying up American farms raising fears about how the Chinese Communist party is expanding its influence in

one of the United States' most critical industries. Have a look at this story from CNN's David Culver.

[11:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just a couple of hours into our drive from Seattle, we start to see the markings of American pride,

Stars and Stripes lining the highways of rural Washington State. This is part of the agricultural backbone that keeps us fed. But as we look closer

here, we find what might be for America is, in some cases, non-American.

REP. DAN NEWHOUSE (R-WA): This is something we've kind of woken up to and thought we should do something.

CULVER (voice-over): Dan Newhouse splits his time between Sunnyside Washington working as a hops farmer and the other Washington, where he

serves on Congress's recently created Select Committee on the CCP.

CULVER: I think a lot of folks Congressman would look at where we are, and say, how does that relate to the committee that focuses on the Chinese

Communist Party?

NEWHOUSE: I think there's a huge connection. We've seen a tremendous increase in the number of acres for instance, being purchased by Chinese

businesses; the increase in the investments has grown by a factor of 10 over the last decade.

CULVER (voice-over): A sharp rise he worries will continue.

NEWHOUSE: But the one thing that people need to understand is China's not an ally. They're an adversary.

CULVER (voice-over): Lawmakers on both sides fear that with control of U.S. farmland, China could manipulate U.S. food supply, surveil sensitive

military sites, or even steal valuable intellectual property. China's foreign ministry says the U.S. is playing off of unwarranted national

security fears to discriminate. We drive about an hour from Sunnyside to see how close the business ties to China are.

CULVER: You're about to see the sign. It's called Syngenta. This is a seed and pesticides manufacturer. It's one of the largest in the world. Let me

show you something else. As you look from the outside here, nothing about this suggests that it's foreign owned. In fact, you can even see, look

right there. It's an American flag that's flying.

CULVER (voice-over): Syngenta is headquartered in Switzerland, but owned by ChemChina, which is 100 percent Chinese state controlled and designated

last year by the Defense Department as a military company. It's CEO, a former government official and member of the Chinese Communist Party.

Syngenta is operating here legally, and neither it nor its parent company has been accused of wrongdoing. In a statement to CNN, they stressed that

Syngenta has approximately 4400 U.S. employees in 43 states and all its activities are conducted on fields and farms in the U.S. to benefit

American farmers.

New house is sponsoring a house bill that would heavily vet and restrict future investment from Chinese entities. A similar effort passed the Senate

in July, and more than two dozen states have either passed or proposed their own restrictions on foreign ownership of land.

KEVIN KNIGHT, OWNER, KNIGHT ORCHARDS: They were all family owned. Now there's no family left.

CULVER (voice-over): The restrictions on certain foreign investment could mean fewer options for family farms facing increased financial pressures

and needing to sell.

CULVER: Would you be hesitant in selling to any sort of foreign group that's coming in, even if it was a Chinese own company?

KNIGHT: I wouldn't like it. But money is money. If they're the only check that he got what he going do.

CULVER (voice-over): The legislation could also have wider consequences.

CULVER: One of the biggest counter arguments is oh, that's going to lead to xenophobia, right, that's going to create a prejudice. To that you say?

NEWHOUSE: I think we can make that distinction between the Chinese people and the Chinese Communist Party. And we're not looking at trying to create

an anti-Chinese sentiment in our country. We're just trying to be smart about how we respond to the Communist Chinese.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CULVER (on camera): Amidst that increasingly polarized U.S. population efforts seen as tough on China, particularly leading into the 2024

elections are among the very few areas in which both Democrats and Republicans find agreement. Common ground shared of what they consider to

be a common adversary. David Culver, CNN, New York.

ANDERSON: Well, a 19-year-old tennis phenomenon is on her way to the U.S. Open final. But there was some controversy in what was Thursday semifinal

match, that story next on "Connect the World".

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:45:00]

ANDERSON: American tennis sensation Coco Gauff is set it to her first U.S. Open final with her win on Thursday night. The 19-year-old becomes the

youngest American finalist at the U.S. Open since Serena Williams in 1999. But the match did have an unusual delay when climate protesters interrupted

the second set.

The play was stopped for more than 45 minutes. Let's cross live to New York where Sports Correspondent Carolyn Manno joins us for more. And we'll get

to those protests in just a moment. Do though walk us through what has been this incredible run for Coco Gauff?

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know she has been earmarked for stardom since she was really 15-years-old. And I think now

you're starting to see her come to her full potential here. I mean, a lot of people hyped her up when she was that young and she's starting to meet

that hype.

She spent the entire summer retooling her game, changing her coaching staff, really laying a new foundation for the player that she wants to be.

And she has proven at this tournament that she's in position to win this thing. I mean, against the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, it's really going to

come down to Coco Gauff's surf is the forehand there that we have seen dazzle at this tournament.

And whether or not she can handle the magnitude of this moment, the crowd is so in her favor. This is a home slam for her; they've been rooting for

her to usher in this next generation of women and tennis for so many years. So it is going to be overwhelming.

I think if she can keep her nerves in check and stay within herself and execute her game. She's quite ready to have this first Grand Slam under her

belt. There's no question about it.

ANDERSON: I caught up with her in Dubai at the beginning of the year just after she lost in straight sets to in the Australian Open. And she really

felt like she just couldn't get her game together. It's so good to see her performing like this. I mean, she's at the top of her game at present. How

did she deal with the match being interrupted, explain?

MANNO: Yes, this was very disruptive. I mean, she came out on fire. She looks so strong in the first set. And in the beginning of the second set to

have this fan glue his bare feet to the cement at Arthur Ashe stadium and delay this match for close to an hour. I mean, just under 15 minutes, that

could really throw any player who would have to go into the locker room and reset.

And momentum swings are such a real thing in tennis, it could have gone either way. But you saw her look relaxed after that had happened. And I

want to play for you a little bit of what she said after the incident. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COCO GAUFF, RANKED #6 IN THE WORLD: You know I always speak about preaching, you know, preaching about what you feel and what you believe in.

And it was done in a peaceful way, so I can't get too mad of it. Obviously, I don't want it to happen when I'm up or winning up 6410; I wanted the

momentum to keep going.

But hey, if that's what they felt that they needed to do to get their voices heard, I can't really get upset at it. I'm trying to enjoy the

moment but also knowing that I still have more work to do. So yes, the final is incredible achievement, but it's something that I'm not satisfied

with yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: So Becky, Coco taking the moment in stride. And actually she was quoted as saying that she thought something like that could happen on

Thursday before her match, because we've seen similar protests in the past.

[11:50:00]

She is also used her voice for issues that she cares about. She has been something of an activist. So acknowledging the fact that those people were

expressing themselves, but also very much focused on what she still needs to do to earn this most important Grand Slam.

ANDERSON: Amazing, thank you. Well, tributes today for the late Queen Elizabeth the Second, still ahead. A look at the Queen's legacy and the

challenges that King Charles has faced, that is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Gun salutes in the UK today marking one year since King Charles is accessioned. Britain's also remembering Queen Elizabeth the Second on

the anniversary of her death. CNN's Royal Correspondent Max Foster takes a look back at the events of that day and the year since.

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, it was a year ago that Queen Elizabeth the second died and time has really flown for lots of people. It just

doesn't feel that long ago. But one of the abiding memories for me at that time where the queues outside of the Palace of Westminster as people lined

up overnight.

They went on for miles and miles just for a moment at the Queen's coffin as you lay in state to pay their respects. And speaking to a lot of people

there, they weren't all fans, they weren't all royalists, there were just often people who had lost someone, who had been in their lives the whole of

their lives, and perhaps reminded them of people in their own lives and other people had passed away in their own lives.

King Charles well, Prince Charles as he was then became king, as soon as the Queen died. And it's been a very busy year for him; the first thing he

had to focus on was the coronation. This is the moment of the lying in state. The coronation, it was a moment for Charles to show what his

monarchy was going to be about.

How it differed from the Queen's and there's very remarkably little different really from the Queen's reign. But that was deliberate. One of

the roles of monarchy is to represent continuity. And a lot of royal experts will say he's handled that brilliantly.

And he's actually had a very strong first year, particularly when you consider some of the key challenges he face, most notably, Prince Harry's

book, spare, which revealed all sorts of secrets was incredibly uncomfortable for the royal family. They chose not to respond.

A lot of people saying they came out stronger as a result of that not responding and getting into an argument with Harry publicly. Harry actually

is in London right now. He was an event last night. He gave quite a touching tribute to the Queen himself. But we don't expect him to meet up

with King Charles or indeed, Prince William, because the tensions there are so deep.

They're all in the country at the same time, but they're not going to meet up. Charles is currently a Balmoral which is where the Queen died; of

course, he released this photo he's leading the tributes. It released this photo of the Queen, it's from the 1960s. It's his favorite photo of the

Queen.

So that was quite a touching tributes from him. And he also released a statement for the nation and he gave an audio version of that as well.

[11:55:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES III, KING OF BRITAIN (voice-over): In marking the first anniversary of her late Madison's death, and my accession, we recall with great

affection, a long life, devoted service. And all she meant to so many of us. I'm deeply grateful to for the love and support that has been shown to

my wife and myself during this year, as we do our utmost to be of service to all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Max Foster reporting for you. I'm Becky Anderson. From the team working with me here and those working with us around the world, it is a

very good evening. If you're celebrating the weekend coming up or if it is your weekend, and I hope you have a good one. "One World" with Zain Asher

is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END