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U.S.-China Summit; U.K. Cabinet Minister Resigns, Could Mount Leadership Challenge; U.S.-China AI Race; UAE Tourism; FIFA World Cup 2026 to Have First-Ever Halftime Show. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired May 14, 2026 - 10:00 ET
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[10:00:00]
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Welcome to our second hour of the show. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi, where the time is 6:00 in the
evening.
"A new era of stable, constructive ties," that is how China's leader is painting U.S.-Chinese relations after what is the first day of his summit
with U.S. president Donald Trump.
Xi Jinping, seen here, and Mr. Trump heaped praise on each other at a state banquet on the president's first trip to Beijing since 2017.
Mr. Trump not referencing the war with Iran or other world conflicts in his toast to Xi, focusing -- choosing to focus on what he says are the
country's historical bonds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to thank President Xi, my friend, for this magnificent welcome.
The relationship between the American and Chinese people goes all the way back to America's founding; 2.5 centuries later, that first connection has
grown into one of the most consequential relationships in world history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Kristen Holmes is in Beijing. A bit earlier, she explained that after all of Thursday's pomp and circumstance, the most
pressing issues facing the leaders will likely be discussed when they meet again on Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What we're really trying to get to is the nitty-gritty here, the sticky issues of Taiwan and Iran and
how they were dealt with behind the scenes.
Now it is likely that tomorrow when they're going to be having this tighter knit group, President Trump and Xi, it's going to be much smaller. That
might be where they really hammer out these issues.
That's how President Trump generally tends to operate in these situations. He feels as though he can really command a negotiation when it's just a
smaller group.
But right now, what we're hearing is really not much. We knew that there were going to be some economic deals out of this but both sides, other than
President Xi talking about or what we're hearing at least from state media and President Xi talking about Taiwan, it's been very vague as to whether
or not anything has actually been agreed upon.
Now that is really par for the course, particularly if they are having these conversations even preliminarily about Taiwan or Iran. Neither one of
these sides would want to rock the boat and talk about this publicly.
It's also been quite stunning to see President Trump kind of be completely deferential to President Xi.
I mean, President Trump is somebody who loves taking questions. He loves hearing from reporters. He loves engaging reporters. He stood there
stoically next to President Xi, only briefly saying how great the trip was but not answering any questions about what the two had talked about.
Now one of the things we heard in this White House readout from an official on the talks was this idea that President Xi had said that the Strait of
Hormuz needs to be open. There shouldn't be military action there, that he also said that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon.
One thing to make clear is these are already public stances that President Xi has taken on Iran. He had already publicly called for the strait to be
open. He has already said that he agrees with Iran's decision not to continue their nuclear program or not to obtain a nuclear weapon. So this
is not new when it comes to Iran.
What is new is what you mentioned, again, this kind of veiled threat or maybe not so veiled threat about Taiwan.
And this idea that if it's not handled properly, the entire relationship could crater, which really goes to show you where President Xi's head is
going into any negotiation in which he is trying to get leverage or at least both sides are trying to get leverage.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, you heard Kristen mentioned in her report there that very stark warning from Mr. Xi about Taiwan. He's calling it the most important
issue facing U.S.-Chinese relations, saying it could create a highly dangerous situation if mishandled.
His comments coming as Taiwan is awaiting a $14 billion weapons package from the United States, currently stalled at the State Department. Mike
Valerio, back with us from Beijing.
What are we hearing from Beijing today and how much will Taiwan do you believe feature in these meetings?
MIKE VALERIO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think that Taiwan is almost everything to Chinese leader Xi Jinping. He says that it's part of his
legacy and certainly he's projecting that it's part of his legacy to have Taiwan as part of a reunified Mainland China by the centenary of the
Chinese Communist Party, which is coming up in 2049.
[10:05:00]
So I think it certainly is a huge part of the discussions for the Chinese side of the delegation. But in terms of what's breaking right now, within
the past couple of minutes, we have comments given by the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, to NBC News, saying that, even after that tense
statement, nothing has changed.
Becky, with the American position, he went on to tell our colleagues at NBC News that this usually happens whenever the two sides get together, that
this issue of Taiwan and what's going to happen with it is raised by the Chinese delegation. The Americans listen to it and then move on.
Paraphrasing his statements to NBC ever so slightly for the sake of our conversation but getting into what Xi said, as reported by newsflash from
Xinhua news, ever so slightly, getting further into the details.
He said, quote, "If it isn't handled properly, the two countries may clash or even come into conflict, pushing the entire China-U.S. relationship into
a very dangerous situation."
So we have that on the one hand but also optimism being projected, even though we had a very similar state visit in 2017 and then president Trump
began his first trade war with China about two months later.
So let's listen to Chinese leader Xi Jinping. And just a note, this is a U.S. translator talking after he finished his sentence. So let's listen to
the translator and we'll talk about it on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
XI JINPING, CHINESE PRESIDENT (through translator): We both believe that the China-U.S. relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in
the world. We must make it work and never mess it up. Both China and the United States stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALERIO: So stability and harmony, very much the name of the game and the main tableau that was on display in terms of the statecraft is
stagecrafting of the visit. The Temple of Heaven, for instance, that's where the emperors of ancient China used to pray for harmony between heaven
and Earth.
A tableau of stability that was used in ancient times and very much as a platform about a five-minute walk from where the two gentlemen were
standing.
That is supposed to mark the spiritual center of China, a recentering of relations was on full display, according to very much the Chinese side and
Chinese commentators, as those two men strolled through the Temple of Heaven.
So as Kristen mentioned, Taiwan and Iran, perhaps we'll get to the nitty gritty of those details tomorrow.
With Iran, though, as we're wrapping up here, it is interesting to note how the U.S. president has been weakened coming into these negotiations,
because not only does he have weaker tariff power from the February U.S. Supreme Court decision that said, hey, you can't use these tariffs in
myriad situations, especially as it applied to China.
But president Xi's Trump card, as it relates to rare earth minerals, has remained unchanged. And in fact, even stronger because as the United States
has depleted all of these missiles and munitions.
What do we think powers the missiles and munitions?
What's the brain power?
Chips with rare earth minerals. So the United States, long story short, needs these rare earth spigots from China open now more so than ever.
Also, administration officials are going to have to walk a very tight rope here when they're trying to get help from China to reopen the Strait of
Hormuz.
If China agrees to this for something in return, there is the chance that the avenue opens up, that China's diplomatic prestige increases in the
region where you are. They're seeing as having another win in their column after the rapprochement in 2023 between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Can you imagine, if China is able to come to the diplomatic conversation and say, we did this, we are the ones who have solved this conflict. So
stay tuned for more developments on that tomorrow. Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes, really important stuff. Thank you.
China certainly deepening relations around the region where I am, not least in this country of the UAE. We saw an enormous delegation led by the crown
prince of Abu Dhabi in China just a couple of weeks ago during the conflict and ahead of this trip by Donald Trump.
Politics dominating the agenda in the United Kingdom, where the health minister, Wes Streeting, has just resigned his position in the embattled
prime minister's cabinet. Streeting, however, has stopped short of officially mounting a leadership challenge to Keir Starmer.
But pressure is growing on the defiant PM after his Labour Party, of course, suffered huge losses in local elections last week. Let's get you
Wes Ball, who was an adviser to Gordon Brown when he was Britain's prime minister back in the day.
He's also the former director of the Parliamentary Labour Party; joins us now.
So you have been around and imbued in Labour politics for years.
[10:10:00]
Sir, it's good to have you.
Will Keir Starmer survive this politically?
WES BALL, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, EDELMAN GLOBAL ADVISORY: Good afternoon. I think it's a very difficult time for him. You know, they -- Labour
suffered a terrible election defeat at our equivalent of the midterms last Thursday. Lost Wales, lost in Scotland, lost across the whole of England.
And he's now had about a quarter of his MPs say that they want him to resign. So I think it's very difficult to see how Keir Starmer can actually
continue as prime minister for the long term. He has a legislative program that has lots of difficult things he wants to do to reform the country.
But how he can get his MPs to do those difficult things, I don't know.
ANDERSON: Keir Starmer being blamed for Labour just not working for Britain. That was certainly the very clear message in these last local
elections. You can read what you will into these local elections. You and I have been around for long enough to know they are important at times, less
important at other at others.
But you know, this year this may -- very specifically, they were certainly a message from voters.
If Starmer does step down, what does that mean for the future of the governing Labour Party?
And a wider story, what does it mean for Britain?
BALL: Well, I think you're right. I think the question is what does it mean for the country. You know, at the general election two years ago,
people gave the Conservative Party a, you know, the biggest defeat that party has faced in 200 years as a political party. It was epic. It was a
complete wipeout.
People really wanted change. They really wanted to do something different. They voted for something different. And it's pretty clear that what people
think this government is doing is not delivering change at the pace or the speed that they wanted. So the country is demanding more.
And that's what they -- I think that's a pretty clear message from the local elections last week. The MPs want more.
But I think the question really for Keir Starmer is how can he -- how can he deliver that change?
You know, he had a -- he gave a speech earlier this week saying he wanted to reset. And he realized that the time for incremental change was passed.
The measures he brought forward in that speech were really quite trivial, quite small things that had been on the table for a long time. So I think
that's where MPs started to go.
Actually, he can't change. He doesn't have the solutions that we need for this country. He's not ready to deliver the change we want.
But the question, I think, for the country then becomes -- the question about the country is, what, how do you deliver that change?
The country is watching. The Labour Party is demanding that the government gets on with it. And at the moment the Labour Party is consumed with its
own private grief. And that's a big problem for the Labour Party.
ANDERSON: And how do you deliver growth for a country that left the European Union 10 years ago and promised that it could go it alone?
Well, certainly the promise was made by those who wanted to see the Brexit, that this was a -- this was an opportunity to go it alone and see a
successful growth-led economy.
I mean, you were special adviser to Gordon Brown. You were around during the very successful, mostly successful '97 through 2010 Labour government
at that stage.
How would you compare what you see today in this governing Labour Party with the Labour government back in the day when you were advisor?
And what do you think or where do you think this party needs to go next?
And who are the obvious leaders?
BALL: Yes, I think you're right about the importance, the centrality of growth to the U.K. economy. We've had stagnant growth pretty much since the
financial crisis. And that is a lot that -- that is a cause of a lot of the problems.
The real wages have really failed to rise over many, many years. That decline in living standards is a big problem. It's also seen tax revenues
flatline and not deliver, not be able to deliver investment in public services or in the public realm.
And those are some of the problems that people say is -- they want better health care, they want better schools, they want better roads. They want
better places to live in. These are the things that the government invests in and they haven't been able to invest in it because they don't have the
money, because we haven't got growth.
And people are feeling poorer because real wages are not really rising. So those are the problems that Britain faces. Brexit has been a huge hit to
our economy. You know, some estimates of between 4 percent and 8 percent hit to GDP, which is huge. And, debt continues to rise. So I think Rachel
Reeves has been a relatively successful chancellor.
[10:15:00]
In that she has managed to see growth begin to tick up and she has taken some big supply-side measures around planning and around kind of reform and
investment in infrastructure.
Those will take time to feed through and -- but in the meantime, the government should be investing in things that people can feel in their
immediate vicinity, in their communities.
(CROSSTALK)
BALL: And that's where they begin to think that change is happening for them.
ANDERSON: Yes. Rachel Reeves' growth targets weren't particularly ambitious. So I mean, we can, you know, you can suggest that she's
relatively successful in sort of, you know, getting some stability there.
But I mean, you know, it's not-- you know, these aren't impressive numbers at a time when the U.K. is being hit by high energy prices; you know, food
price inflation, given what's going on with the global economy, the Strait of Hormuz, close tensions rising between the U.S. and Iran.
This is a hugely volatile international moment and it is having an impact, you know, on the U.K. as these energy price and supply shocks are having an
impact, you know, on countries around the world.
Keir Starmer has been pretty steadfast on the international stage, both with Ukraine and on his position with regard whether or not he will, you
know, he would support a U.S.-Israel war on Iran, what he would do with U.S. forces and how he might support the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
How do you assess how he's done outside of his sort of, you know, domestic policy files?
BALL: Well, I think that's the one thing that Labour MPs look at and think he's done all right on. You know, they think he's represented the U.K.
reasonably well abroad. And they think that he's navigated a difficult situation in that we are outside the European Union.
Our biggest market and our closest political allies and the president, president Trump, has a different view about the U.K.'s place in the world
to that of previous U.S. administrations. So I think Labour MPs look at him and think, yes, that's OK. And they think that there is some stability
there.
But when it comes down to it, all politics is local. All these MPs are looking at their own personal positions and thinking we've had a
historically bad result. That means that I might well lose my seat at the next election.
And by the way, I don't know what this prime minister is standing on, what his vision is and what his reform is. And that's what Wes Streeting said in
his resignation letter earlier today. Where there should be vision, there is a vacuum. And I think that you would find most Labour MPs nodding along
with that, even if they didn't say it out loud.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you. Thanks for your insight. Really useful.
BALL: Thanks. A pleasure.
ANDERSON: Still to come, president Trump's high-profile trip to Beijing putting the spotlight on the growing AI rivalry between the two -- the
world's two biggest economies. Our next guest says China could already be pulling ahead in one key area. That is just ahead
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ANDERSON: China's premier is urging American CEOs to help maintain healthy relations between the two countries. He met earlier with a delegation of
more than a dozen U.S. business leaders who have joined president Donald Trump's state visit to Beijing.
The White House said discussions with the Chinese leader are expected to cover trade and investment. They are also highlighting the heated AI race
between the U.S. and China. Some of the executives traveling with Trump called today's talks productive and positive
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Look, how was the meeting?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was marvelous. Thank you so much. It's so great to be back in China.
QUESTION: OK. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The meeting was incredible. President Xi was so gracious, so welcoming and welcomed all of us to be part of China. It was
an excellent meeting. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, you heard there from the Tim Cook of Apple and the Nvidia CEO. My next guest is a China technology analyst who says Beijing could
dominate what she calls the physical AI future.
In a recent piece for "Time" magazine, she wrote, and I quote here, "While American frontier labs are battling each other across large language model
leaderboards, China's AI capabilities are showing up in physical ways, leaving screens and entering our daily lives."
And Selina Xu joining us live now from New York.
And I really liked your piece. I thought it was excellent analysis. Donald Trump says the U.S. is leading China in AI. Scott Bessent said the same
thing earlier today. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: The U.S. is the undisputed leader in the world here. We have the greatest AI companies. We're actually going
to be discussing the AI guardrails with the Chinese.
It will, because the Chinese are substantially behind us but they have a very advanced AI industry here. So the two AI superpowers are going to
start talking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: OK. So what do you make of what he said?
I mean, when you look at the numbers, from chip production to patents to deployment, the picture doesn't seem as basic or black and white as Donald
Trump or Bessent are making it out.
So where do things actually stand in this race?
SELINA XU, CHINA TECHNOLOGY ANALYST: Yes. Thanks for having me.
I think it's -- the picture is very complicated. The U.S. obviously leads in advanced AI chips and capital and model capabilities. We estimate it to
be about 6-8 months ahead of Chinese AI models, based on publicly released models and their benchmark performance.
But it's a -- China is having a very different approach. It is doing a lot more focus, being a lot more focused on embedding AI into various industry
sectors. They call it AI plus and using AI essentially to upgrade its very vast manufacturing base.
And this has helped by their open source approach, which essentially means that any user around the world can freely download, modify, use open source
model. So I think these two approaches are showing that the U.S. and China are running very different AI races.
And one of the emerging frontiers of AI is physical AI. So we can think of robots, drones, humanoids. And I think China has a great advantage there
because of their economies of scale accumulated in the past industry cycles, from mobile phones to electric vehicles. And now they're trying to
bring that into that supply chain, into robotics.
ANDERSON: So let's just have a look at who is there with Donald Trump. The Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on the trip; he did appear somewhat of a last-
minute addition, actually.
What does his presence tell you about the stakes of this trip?
XU: Yes. Him joining at the 11th hour, I think it's very much about how tech is hovering at the background of the minds of the two presidents. So
H200 sales is probably a key thing to watch out for. They've been stalling for months.
So Nvidia I think being there with Jensen there is trying to push for these sales to be accelerated in the Chinese market, though I've heard in the
past that the past few months it stalled because of some department of commerce security reviews.
So hopefully if we see that accelerate, this would be quite a key thing that would tilt the balance in the favor of some Chinese companies.
[10:25:00]
I think Jensen being there is also kind of an attempt to try to get Nvidia, Nvidia's market share in China's AI chip market to not continue to fall.
So a few years ago, before export controls, they had 95 percent of the chip market, advanced AI chip market in China. Now their market share is under
40 percent. So a lot of Chinese companies are gravitating toward domestic alternatives.
Deep sea's (ph) newest model before specifically optimized for Huawei's Ascend architecture. So he's there try to stop this, you know, sea change
from, you know, becoming irreversible.
ANDERSON: What about Elon Musk, whose businesses are very much about how we can all use AI embedded in the stuff that we do, including his talk of
humanoid robots, you know, electric vehicles and the like?
What will Elon Musk's sort of, kind of key -- what do you believe is -- his agenda will be?
XU: I think his agenda is very much trying to push for his existing commercial interests. So he has a Shanghai gigafactory for Tesla. A lot of
his Optimus robots rely heavily on Chinese supply chains.
I think trying to maintain that (INAUDIBLE) market and trying to continue to expand is probably one of his key interests.
And I think the other one also is how do you continue to leverage Chinese supply chains to bring down and drive down the hardware costs in the U.S.,
including in energy, including in, you know, the various supply components that go into manufacturing EVs and robots, from actuators to joints.
And that I think will be very key to the ultimate rollout and adoption, right.
So would you buy a humanoid if it's like $10,000?
Maybe. But if it's $6,000, $6,000, the way a unitary (ph) robot is, you might want to bring it. And whoever can deploy robots faster will actually
set the data flywheel. They can collect more data, their robots become smarter. And I think that is a very key advantage in the upcoming physical
AI race.
ANDERSON: That's what we've been doing.
The United States has invested billions into AI infrastructure, not least here in the Gulf, including a major data center in the UAE and others in
other countries around this region.
Some of that infrastructure, of course, has come under somewhat of a threat during the conflict with Iran. I just wonder what the story is when it
comes to the powering of the AI stack. We've talked about chips. What you get here is energy, space and opportunity. That's the story in the Gulf.
How does that fit into what you're seeing in China?
XU: Yes. So China is very focused on abundant energy supply. And a lot of it is, I think one in four gigawatts consumed last year were green and
renewable sources.
So China is, I think, very much trying to make sure that their energy supply can be constant and it can be cheap and it can be green so that this
will continue to drive, you know, the very explosive energy demands of future AI development.
They're watching what has happened in the Middle East. And I think they have seen that it is more -- better for national security, better for
stability to have energy self-sufficiency. So I expect them to continue with their renewables push. There is obviously growing demand for that.
And I think all this ties into China's overall AI playbook, right, which is less of cutting-edge frontier AI models that are super expensive and more
of cheap, slightly less good but very efficient AI that can be abundantly deployed all across the population and what we call ubiquitous edge
intelligence.
So I think this is what China is doing. And energy is a very key factor in their whole playbook. And this can't happen if you don't have stable, cheap
energy.
ANDERSON: Yes. Ubiquitous edge intelligence. Amazing. It's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed for joining us. And well worth reading that
article, by the way.
Still ahead, a trip to a temple, progress on trade and a warning on Taiwan. We're going to get another view from a former U.S. diplomat on whether or
not this will or is a successful trip to China and what that will really look like for president Donald Trump.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. These are your headlines this hour.
China's leader Xi Jinping has called his country's relationship with the U.S. the most consequential in the world. He made the comments at a state
dinner held in Donald Trump's honor. They discussed the war in Iran and made some progress on trade deals. We're told Xi made it clear Taiwan was
the most important issue.
The UAE foreign ministry denying a report that the Israeli prime minister secretly visited the country. Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Wednesday
that the prime minister had made a covert trip to meet the president of the United Arab Emirates. The UAE insists its relations with Israel are not
conducted in secret.
The Princess of Wales wrapping up her two-day visit to Italy. She's been welcomed by cheering crowds. Princess Catherine has been visiting the
historic city of Reggio Emilia in northern Italy, famous for its approach to preschool education. This is the British royal's first overseas
engagement since her cancer diagnosis.
ANDERSON: Well, from fractures to fraternal, the leaders of China and the U.S. then celebrating partnership, not rivalry, at a state banquet in
Beijing. This is what China's leader had to say. His words, spoken through a translator.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
XI (through translator): Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand. Both China and
the United States stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. Our two countries should be partners rather than rivals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Some thorny issues threatening to derail the summit at any point. Chief amongst them, Iran and Taiwan; both sides agreeing that the
Strait of Hormuz must remain open, while Beijing sending a stark warning that if the U.S. mishandles the sensitive topic of Taiwan, their
relationship may enter a highly dangerous situation.
Well, amid the geopolitics, the hope of some agreements on trade, too. So let's bring in Wendy Cutler. She's a former acting deputy U.S. trade
representative, now senior vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
Good to have you, Wendy. Thank you. Let's first start with what is the latest news out of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran claims 30 ships have crossed
the strait, including Chinese vessels. This just as the two world leaders were frankly just exchanging words.
What do you make of that?
WENDY CUTLER, SVP, ASIA SOCIETY POLICY INSTITUTE: Well, look, I think it's interesting that China has been pretty quiet about Iran and the discussion
on Iran developments with the president today.
But our president has tweeted out that both sides agree on the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open. So we'll have to see after this
meeting whether that means that China will put any muscle into its into efforts.
[10:35:08]
To try and bring more stability and peace to the mideast region.
ANDERSON: OK.
So, Wendy, do you expect them to place more muscle in an effort to bring a solution to this crisis?
CUTLER: I'm skeptical. However, I do note that, with time, China is going to feel the economic hit from conflict in the Middle East. For the time
being, between having strong oil reserves, having a lot of green technologies, depending on coal, China's been kind of insulated from some
of the economic fallout.
But if the conflict continues and China cannot continue to export to the world at the speed it's doing now, that will have serious implications for
Chinese domestic economy, which relies on exports, not domestic demand, to keep those GDP numbers up.
ANDERSON: So the two leaders then seem to have agreed -- and perhaps it was their Sherpa teams who've, you know, laid out this line ahead of this
trip. But they're both speaking about the U.S.-China relationship being one of the most consequential relationships in the world -- and in world
history, according to Donald Trump.
How significant a moment do you believe this is for president Xi?
CUTLER: Look, I think for both leaders, this engagement is very critical for them to pursue their own their own agendas, right?
Stability in the relationship is of interest to both leaders. And that's why when, you know, when president Xi started talking about Taiwan and
somehow conditioning stability on how the U.S. approaches Taiwan, I think that's a bit disingenuous. I think both sides have their own reasons for
wanting stability.
Now, I'm encouraged that they'll probably be meeting an additional two to three times this year. And I think that does allow for important leader-to-
leader engagement. And frankly, I'm encouraged by the personal chemistry that both leaders seem to be experiencing over the past 24 hours.
ANDERSON: And Donald Trump is good at that.
You are a former acting deputy U.S. trade representative.
So leaning in to your experience, what do you believe with regard to trade will come out of this trip?
CUTLER: Well -- and that's a great question because, so far, we've seen a lot of talk and not a lot of what we call deliverables or outcomes from
this meeting. But I'm hoping tomorrow we'll know more.
And that could include a board of trade to manage trade between the two countries and non-sensitive areas. It can include a board of investment to
explore whether there are investment opportunities for China and U.S. companies.
And also I'm expecting that China will announce some megabillion multi-year purchases of U.S. agriculture, going beyond soybeans to include possibly
corn and beef but also aircraft and energy. So, concrete deliverables are very important. In my view, you know, talk is good but talk only gets you
so far.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.
Well, a new world of entertainment on my literal doorstep. As I sit here in YASMIN: , on Yas Island in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, I'm going to speak to
the man behind Sphere Abu Dhabi, the first of its kind outside the U.S., and what that means for the UAE's tourism ambitions.
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[10:40:00]
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ANDERSON: Well, last year Abu Dhabi welcomed nearly 6 million visitors, a big number that illustrates this Emirate's status as a global tourism hub.
And tourism just one leg of a multi-industry, multi-year strategy to future-proof the economy here.
And that strategy not about to be derailed by conflict; like the entire world, this country will feel an impact.
But officials here believe the plans they have in place are bigger and longer term than the obstacles facing them. An example of that, the first
Sphere venue outside the United States will be built right here in Abu Dhabi. Yas Island, just down the road from CNN's bureau, is the chosen
site.
I spoke to the man behind the project, Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, about the Sphere experience and how this project represents the big picture
strategy.
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(MUSIC PLAYING)
MOHAMED KHALIFA AL MUBARAK, CHAIRMAN, DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE AND TOURISM ABU DHABI (voice-over): It is really a out of body experience, especially
if you love music. It's a platform that brings the musicians, it brings the visual art and it brings some of the highest quality sound that you've ever
heard.
You marry them together and you allow the artist to basically let their creative fluid expand to levels that they've never seen. You get these
experiences that it's even hard to describe, whether it was the Phish concert, Backstreet Boys, U2 and the list goes on.
ANDERSON: Have you been?
MUBARAK: Yes.
ANDERSON: What have you seen?
MUBARAK: I mean, I went to U2 and I went to Phish and I was wowed. After I went to U2, I thought that, you know what?
You can't really one up this. Then I went to Phish and I was like, oh, my God, you can do this. So it makes me even more excited about what can be
accomplished here in Abu Dhabi, because, yes, in one hand, the Sphere is being built here.
But how we can connect the overall ecosystem around it is what's very exciting. What we can do with AI technology, where we can connect the
visitor with the exosphere instantly. What we can use the exosphere for creatives, not just here in the UAE but around the world, to give them a
canvas to highlight and showcase their art.
What we can do for youth, can you imagine if we do a citywide or a countrywide, you know, art competition with younger kids?
Then eventually you see their art on the Sphere. We're going to be creating our own performances and that is going to create new business
opportunities. Designers, artists, sound insulators (ph) and the list goes on. So it does have a significant ripple effect.
ANDERSON: So why announce now, even though we are in this current period?
And what message does this send about investor confidence and business continuity here in Abu Dhabi?
MUBARAK: When we announced the Sphere Abu Dhabi, this partnership around a 1.5 years ago, it wasn't announced for the sake of basically saying, here,
this is a nice glitzy picture.
It was announced because it was a part of a very robust strategy, a strategy that sees Abu Dhabi and the UAE as a major tourism hub.
And that comes from a major component of the infrastructure that we have spent money on, built, enhanced and continuously focused on, whether it's
the aviation infrastructure, our airports, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other Emirates, our national carriers, Emirates, Etihad.
[10:45:04]
And, of course, what we are doing throughout the city today, announcing the Sphere is not just moving forward. But we are doubling down on our tourism
ecosystem as a whole.
You know, we are announcing today that construction has commenced. It's a $1.7 billion contract. This is going to send positive ripple effects to the
entire industry. So steel manufacturers, LED screens, sound, seats, aluminum, MEP, the list goes on.
ANDERSON: So in spite of what we have been through, you sound as if you're very bullish at this point, correct?
MUBARAK: Yes, because the data and the numbers speaks for itself. Let me give you some highlights, if you allow me. Becky. Let's take the tourism
sector. During the month of March, the occupancy rate in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi was 56 percent.
Let's take aviation, another major sector in the tourism ecosystem. Etihad, currently Etihad is running at 82 percent occupancy. Yes, down from 100
percent last year same time but still it's 82 percent.
ANDERSON: When do you expect that international traveler back?
MUBARAK: It's starting to happen. If you look at the last several weekends here in Abu Dhabi and in Dubai, we have seen a significant spike in our
occupancies, you know, going even over 70 percent.
You know, we hosted an amazing concert just 10 days ago with Austin Martin (ph), 24,000 people. These people came not only from the UAE, they came
from a lot of our neighboring countries -- Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia.
So regional tourism is really picking up right now. And I think that is a major source market. So yes, the region is a source market. In the last
several weeks, you've heard of new routes that we're entering in Africa.
Central Africa is going to be another major source market for us, 32 new destinations, not just in Africa but even in Southeast Asia. We've doubled
down in China, doubled down in India. So not only have we enhanced on our current source market, we've expanded into new source markets and more to
come in the future.
ANDERSON: When we spoke at the end of last year, we talked about the Sphere but much of the focus was on the, you know, the major additions to
the Saadiyat cultural district, which is about 20 minutes drive from here.
We're in Yas at the moment. I'm talking about the Guggenheim -- Abu Dhabi, of course.
Given the regional instability since we last spoke, has anything changed in terms of Abu Dhabi's cultural expansion plans, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi --
and you've told me plus-plus going forward.
(LAUGHTER)
MUBARAK: I would say, yes, plus-plus-plus. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is a major piece of the puzzle when it comes to our cultural strategy. It is our
contemporary art museum.
Construction has not stopped. The collection has not stopped. We continuously collect from artists from all over the world. Hiring has not
stopped and we are still on a path to open the end of this year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Mohamed Al Mubarak.
Up next on CONNECT THE WORLD, a look at this year's World Cup music lineup. That after this.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON: From K-pop to Latin pop, New Jersey's MetLife Stadium will be home to the first-ever World Cup final halftime show in July.
[10:50:06]
And the headliners are Madonna, Shakira and BTS. The show will be curated by Coldplay's frontman Chris Martin and proceeds are going to go to FIFA's
Global Citizen Education Fund, which is an initiative to raise $100 million to expand access to education and to football for kids around the world.
Well, Marcus Speller is the producer and presenter of The Football Ramble podcast. He joins me now from London to discuss the lineup and everything
World Cup.
I've got to start, Marcus, by just asking you whether you actually like the idea of a halftime entertainment lineup. I mean, for most football, not
soccer but football purists, this is a kind of no-no.
So what are your thoughts?
MARCUS SPELLER, PRODUCER/PRESENTER, THE FOOTBALL RAMBLE: Yes you're right. I think a lot of people will be quite cynical of that. To be honest with
you, I don't mind. I would rather listen to the pundits talking about what went on in the first half than watching some music.
Call me old-fashioned, that's my view. But look, every country brings their own flavor to a World Cup finals. And we know in the good old U.S. of A,
they love a halftime show, so if that's what they want to do, fine. There are far bigger issues facing this tournament.
But to be honest with you, who doesn't like to see the likes of Madonna and Shakira singing away?
So, yes, I'll go with it.
ANDERSON: Yes. All right. OK. I mean, I kind of get it. I'm just thinking about last year's -- last -- the last World Cup final. And like you, I
absolutely wanted to hear from the pundits about what was such a cracking final. I do not want to be put off by the likes of Madonna doing her thing.
But you know, I'm sure there are people who will be totally up for it. There are no major Mexican names in this lineup or Canadian headliners, in
fact, joining the show. And let's remind ourselves, this is a World Cup, which is U.S.-China -- that's right, U.S.-China -- U.S. Canada and Mexico.
What are your thoughts?
(LAUGHTER)
SPELLER: Yes, I think a U.S.-China World Cup --
ANDERSON: You see where my head is, can't you?
(LAUGHTER)
SPELLER: Yes, exactly. Yes. You've got a lot on your plate.
ANDERSON: Wouldn't that be interesting?
(LAUGHTER)
SPELLER: Well, it would take quite something. Maybe we'll shove a country halfway between them in there.
Anyway, moving on swiftly.
ANDERSON: Yes.
SPELLER: Musical artists, I mean again, I think FIFA aren't too bothered by local artists generally. We've seen, as I say, the likes of Pitbull and
Shakira open World Cups and do ceremonies and so on. I think whoever they can get, massive artists and so on.
We do have some local artists doing the opening ceremonies, though, and I'll tell you something, with Michael Buble in Canada --
ANDERSON: Right.
SPELLER: -- hey, it may not be Christmas but it'll be lovely to see the big man for the big game tonight.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: You're absolutely right. Look, we are in the final stages of the buildup and I don't feel like we have had as big a buildup. Maybe I'm just
getting old. But I mean, I've been watching World Cup since '78.
I want to say it was probably just too young to watch the '74 but I remember the '78 World Cup. Well, I don't know.
How do you feel about the buildup to this year's World Cup?
The entire thing is different, of course.
SPELLER: Yes. I -- well, I think there's still a lot of football to be played in the European football calendar. And we've got a huge title race
going on in the Premier League.
You've got the little matter of the Champions League and the Europa League final and the Europa Conference League, If I'm going to be generous.
So there's still a lot of that to get out the way, if you see what I mean. And I do look at it as getting it out of the way because I love
international football. I'm in a minority of people over here who are Premier League-centric.
Yes, I think the buildup has been somewhat overshadowed by ticketing nonsense and fiascos and prices and the FIFA World Cup draw ceremony and
peace prizes given out and all that malarkey.
So I think people, once they get their head around that and they remember that it is a World Cup -- and we love the World Cup, as you say. I mean,
I've been watching it since 1990 and I've enjoyed every single one. I mean, it's the greatest show on Earth, quite frankly.
We will get behind it. And when the football starts, that's when everybody shuts up and goes, right, here we go. This is what it's all about. Until
then, there'll be plenty of opinions being given, as I say, about ticket prices in particular and some other political ramblings.
ANDERSON: Yes.
Before I let you go then, Marcus, who do you fancy?
SPELLER: Oh, now you're talking. Other than Shakira, let's go for England. Come on. This is it. It's been 60 years of her. This is the time, surely,
for us. Even though it's going to be ridiculously hot. An Englishman melts above 35 Celsius.
[10:55:00]
So goodness knows how the boys are going to manage -- England or Carlo Ancelotti's Brazil.
ANDERSON: Wow. I'm going to hold you to that. I'll have you back.
(LAUGHTER)
SPELLER: Please do, please do.
ANDERSON: Good stuff. Thank you, sir.
(LAUGHTER)
SPELLER: Thank you.
ANDERSON: All right. Let me, before we go, U.S. shares have been trading for over an hour. Let's get a check, quickly, on where they are. Strong
earnings from the tech giant Cisco. Certainly boosting the Dow.
The Dow up by about 0.6 percent. The Nasdaq up 0.8 percent. And the S&P also higher. And let me tell you, these are record highs or around record
highs. Let's just be quite clear about that.
Taking a quick check on oil. Both Brent and WTI barely moving this session. And we will keep a good eye on these markets as we continue to report on
Donald Trump's historic trip to Beijing.
That's it for CONNECT THE WORLD. From the team working with me here in Abu Dhabi, it's a very good evening. Stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" is up next.
END
