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One World with Zain Asher

Xi Hails New Era of Relations During Meeting with Trump; Israel- Lebanon Talks Get Underway in Washington, DC; CNN Reports from Inside Wartime Iran as Talks Stall; OpenAI: Elon Musk Wanted to Gain Control of the Company; Closing Arguments Begin Soon in AI Showdown. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired May 14, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

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CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: Live from London. I'm Christina Macfarlane. Both Zain and Bianna are off today. This is "One World". So

great to have you with us. Chinese Leader Xi Jinping describes the U.S. China relationship as the world's most consequential one, warning both

sides to never mess it up.

Xi says both countries gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation after the first day of a high-stake summit with the U.S. President. The two

leaders praised each other at the State Banquet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: But it's an honor to be with you. It's an honor to be your friend, and the relationship

between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before.

XI JINPING, CHINESE PRESIDENT: Our two countries have more common interests than differences. Success in one is an opportunity for the other, and a

stable bilateral relationship is good for the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: But Xi issued a warning about Taiwan, saying mishandling the issue could spark conflict. Talks also centered on trade technology, the

Iran war and the need to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. CNN's Mike Valeria joining us now from Beijing with all the latest.

And Mike good to see. I mean that warning on Taiwan came amidst a lot of pageantry and niceties that were exchanged between the two leaders today.

But in terms of substance, walk us through the key moments and what was accomplished in talks today.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think certainly the key moment was after the first round of talks was adjourned inside the Great Hall of the

People. Of course, the edifice designed by Mao constructed in 1959 to, of course, project to the world that the Communist Party is here to stay and

sort of, of course, next to Tiananmen Square, show its power to the entire global community.

So, this is where the first round of meetings were held. And certainly, I think the spirit was agreed to, but the particulars were a little more

elusive. The spirit in terms of both sides agreeing that their relationship going forward would be one of constructive, strategic, stable relationship.

But if you don't know what that means, we don't exactly know what that means either, except for potentially not throwing tariffs on a whim,

capricious tariffs left and right, perhaps having a more stable relationship, so that both sides in the next several years can perhaps

overcome their shortcomings that were revealed during the depths in the year of the trade war. Certainly, China's reliance on advanced chips from

the United States, and the United States' reliance on rare earth minerals from China, very much controlling that spigot.

But the warning, though very much changed the tone, and that also came out right after the first round of talks were adjourned at the Great Hall of

the People, with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping saying that if the Taiwan question was mishandled by the United States that could perhaps send the

entire relationship between the United States and China into a very dangerous situation. So quite the contrast, right there.

But you know, Christina, when the meetings were all said and done, we had the chance to speak to a couple people who were outside of our studios,

milling around the second ring road in 30-degree temperatures here in Beijing, and the spirit of optimism very much carried over into those

conversations.

We're going to hear from them in a second where we talk about optimism for a new page potentially being turned. How normal people in this town in

Beijing feel about chips, the advanced AI chips from the United States being cut off feelings about Taiwan and perhaps feelings of love for Mr.

Trump himself. Let's listen to those sound bites. We'll talk about them on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MRS. SUN, BEIJING RESIDENT: We welcome President Trump. We also hope that during this meeting with Leader Xi it can reach some consensus, and that

the relation between the two countries can make certain progress and develop in a positive direction.

MR. PAN, BEIJING IT EMPLOYEE: As the Chinese saying goes, everything has two sides. I think check points motivating our own research and development

is one of good sides.

MR. SHEN, BEIJING CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY EMPLOYEE: Taiwan is an incredible part of China; it has been Chinese territory since ancient times. No other

country has the right to make irresponsible remarks about this matter, as it is an internal affair of China.

PAN: I just like President Trump's personality. I think the way he speaks has a lot of character.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:05:00]

VALERIO: And the news breaking within the past couple hours, we heard from Secretary of State Marco Rubio telling her colleagues at NBC News that even

after that Taiwan warning, the United States position on potential future Taiwanese Independence has not changed whatsoever, but we're looking to

tomorrow for more specifics on Taiwan, Iran and also trade deals. So, watch this space. It's going to be gone in just about 12 hours from now.

MACFARLANE: Yeah. Very much looking ahead to those, one-on-one talks between Trump and Xi Jinping. For bit more detail, we think. Mike

appreciate it for now. Thank you. President Trump arrived in China with a caravan of more than a dozen business leaders, underscoring the high stakes

for American companies as Beijing and Washington negotiate over trade and technology. The leaders were enthusiastic about their meeting with

President Xi.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Cook, how was the meeting?

TIM COOK, APPLE, CEO: It was marvelous. Thank you so much. It's so great to be back with China.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, thank you.

JENSEN HUANG, NVIDIA, CEO: It was incredible. President Xi was so gracious, so welcoming, and welcome all of us to be part of China. It was an

excellent meeting. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, the CEOs of Apple, Blackrock and Boeing are among the business elite now in Beijing. Nvidia's CEO, and Elon Musk, the owner of

Tesla and SpaceX, traveled with the U.S. President on Air Force One.

Now we are tracking the growing calls for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign, including from members of his own party. Wes Streeting

is stepping down as Britain's Health Secretary. He's the first Cabinet Minister to quit since the mutiny began. Streeting says he has, quote, lost

confidence in Starmer's leadership.

The prime minister had been facing a revolt inside his Labour Party. This comes after last week's losses in local elections in England and in

parliamentary elections in Scotland and Wales. Let's discuss with Clare Sebastian, who is live from Downing Street today.

And Clare, it's been a day of, I guess, jostling behind the scenes at Westminster, where you are with many waiting for Wes Streeting to make his

move. Now that he has what does this resignation signify? And has there been any word yet from the prime minister?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRSPONDENT: Yeah. Look, I think the decision by the Health Secretary Wes Streeting is a major blow to the prime minister in

what has already been a bruising week, this is the first cabinet minister to step down as the highest profile figure yet to question the leadership

and express a loss of confidence in the prime minister.

And he did so while offering a pretty stinging rebuke of Keir Starmer in his resignation letter, I want to read you a portion of that. He said,

where of that, he said, where we need vision, we have a vacuum, where we need direction, we have drift. Goes on to say it is now clear that you will

not lead the Labour Party into the next general election.

Now on the flip side for Keir Starmer, what Wes Streeting did not do was announced he was firing the starting gun, essentially on his own official

bid for the leadership of the Labour Party and therefore the Office of the Prime Minister. He said, what comes next needs to be a battle of ideas with

the best possible field of candidates.

And perhaps the subtext here, that, of course, we don't know at this point, is that Wes Streeting may not yet have the backing of the required 81 MPs,

or 20 percent of the total Labour MPs in Parliament to officially launch a leadership bid.

Now, as for Keir Starmer himself, well, we haven't officially heard from him today, but his spokesperson saying that he is sticking to the line that

we got from him on Wednesday. He is not going anywhere. He is ready to fight any leadership challenge. His education secretary has been out this

afternoon saying that he has the support of the cabinet.

And Starmer and his allies are making the point that any attempt to remove him now would plunge the country into chaos at an unstable time for the

world. But I can tell you, for those of us watching events unfold here in Downing Street today and over the course of the past few days, it certainly

feels like the chaos is already here.

MACFARLANE: It certainly does. It's very much still a case of watch this space to see if that leadership challenge materializes. Clare Sebastian,

for now, thank you. Now the third round of U.S. mediated talks between Israeli and Lebanese officials in Washington is underway. It comes three

weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire extension in Lebanon that is set to expire on Sunday.

Despite that, ceasefire, Israel and Hezbollah have continued to exchange strikes. The IDF says it launched attacks across Southern Lebanon today

after crossing the Litani River, a key boundary earlier this week. And Lebanon's Health Ministry says 22 people were killed in Israeli attacks on

Wednesday.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, says it attacked Israeli military posts. Well CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins me now live in Jerusalem. So, Jeremy, as we said, that

this will be the third time these leaders have met this year, amid these ongoing breaches of the ceasefire. The talks have been underway in

Washington. Do we know anything more yet?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: No information coming out of that meeting, but we do understand that indeed, those negotiations are

under way.

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And this time, there are a few additional participants to these talks beyond you know, the Lebanese and Israeli Ambassadors to Washington. Both

of those officials are also joined by additional folks, including on the Lebanese side, Simon Karam, a Former Lebanese Ambassador to Washington who

had been previously tapped to lead negotiations with Israel.

And on the Israeli side, the Deputy National Security Adviser. This is an indication that perhaps these negotiations are moving, are advancing. We

know that the Lebanese Government had previously described these talks as preparatory in nature, and that Simon Karam, the Former Ambassador,

Lebanese Ambassador, was set to only join once they actually entered the more substantive phase of negotiation.

So, a positive indication that he is involved in today's discussions. But of course, there are a number of difficulties, notwithstanding the fact

that we have seen a continuation of cross border attacks between Israel and Hezbollah as recently as this week. We have continued to see daily Israeli

air strikes that have killed more than 500 people in Lebanon since the ceasefire went into effect some four weeks ago.

Hezbollah has killed a number of Israeli soldiers since that ceasefire went into effect, as it is, using increasingly these fiber optic drones target

Israeli positions in Southern Lebanon, and we've also seen Hezbollah attacks against communities in Northern Israel.

So, the difficulties certainly remain there. But another step towards more diplomacy towards potential agreement as these two sides sit down with

United States mediating once again for the third time.

MACFARLANE: And Jeremy, I mean, away from Washington, overnight, we had some, I think, surprising news, really, from the Israeli Prime Minister,

who revealed he had secretly visited the UAE and met with the President during the war with Iran.

The UAE Foreign Ministry have actually come out and rebutted that, claiming, saying it was entirely -- saying it was entirely unfounded. What

more are you learning about what happened here?

DIAMOND: Yeah, it's very interesting, especially given the fact that when the Prime Minister's Office made this announcement, they touted the fact

that Netanyahu had visited the UAE amid war time, during the active phase of the war with Iran and that -- and they framed it as marking kind of a

new level of a deepening of Israeli Emirates ties.

And then on the back of that, a few hours later, you have the Emirates point blank denying that this meeting even took place, that Netanyahu

visited the Emirates at all. Now, no photo has been released of this meeting by the Israelis, so we can't independently verify which version of

events is accurate.

But certainly, you know, the Emirates have gotten some bad press in the Arab World in the past for their deepening ties with Israel. And so, it

stands to say that the Emirates would not want that information out there, if indeed it were true.

What is already out there, though, is the fact that Israel and the Emirates have been deepening their ties, and that the war with Iran has brought

these two sides closer together. As we've seen the Israelis deploy a full- on Iron Dome battery to help the UAE defend itself against Iranian missiles and drones, which have come into the UAE by the thousands since this war

began.

The Israelis also sent military personnel to actually man that Iron Dome battery inside of the UAE. So, whether or not the Prime Minister and the

Emirate President actually met in person. We do know that there is a deepening of ties between those two countries.

MACFARLANE: Jeremy Diamond there with the latest from Jerusalem. Thanks, Jeremy. Well, the talks in Washington are taking place against the backdrop

of a fragile ceasefire in Iran with Donald Trump under increasing pressure to wind down the war.

But during the U.S. President's Summit in Beijing with Xi Jinping China, didn't appear to offer any firm commitments on whether it would help

resolve the standoff, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Trump didn't ask for any assistance.

A White House readout meanwhile says the two leaders agreed the Strait of Hormuz must remain open. It comes as Iranian media reports around 30

vessels, some of them Chinese, passed through the Strait since Wednesday night.

Well, CNN's Matthew Chance is inside Iran with photo journalist Alex Platt looking at how the war is impacting average Iranians. And we'd like to note

CNN only operates there with the permission of the Iranian government, but maintains full editorial control over what it reports.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're on a long drive towards the Iranian Capital, but we've had to stop because we've

come to a bridge that was struck by a U.S. or an Israeli air strike during the recent bombing campaign. You can see a whole section of it has fallen

into the river.

[11:15:00]

And if you look around over here, all the cars and trucks have had to go around on this detour. When you consider all the other roads and bridges

that have been hit, it's added hours to the journey time.

Well before we arrived in Iran, some Iranians told us, don't go in. It's too dangerous. The war could resume at any time, especially amid growing

tensions over the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the failure of the U.S. and Iran to reach a compromise over nuclear activities.

But with President Trump on that state visit to China, both the U.S. and Iran seem to be looking to Beijing as a possible way out of their deadlock.

Iran is China, or China is Iran's major trading partner. China buys most of Iranian oil. Has a shared interest with Washington in getting the energy

supplies unblocked.

Meanwhile, here in Iran, we're glimpsing how the country is being shaped by the conflicts and the pressure it's under from crowds of Iranians at the

border. We've just been to hauling cooking oil across from Turkey, where it's much cheaper, an acute cost of living crisis, remember, sparked

nationwide protests late last year that ended in horrific violence.

To the words of one Iranian father who told me that what he called Trump's war had silenced people and made the Iranian government stronger in his

words, at least for now. Matthew Chance, CNN on the long road to Tehran.

MACFARLANE: Devastating images from Kyiv after Russia unleashed a deadly wave of strikes overnight. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says

Russia has fired more than 1500 drones at Ukraine in just the past 24 hours. On your screen is what's left of a nine-storey residential building

in Kyiv, rescue operations are continuing this hour for people who may still be trapped under the debris.

Kyiv's Foreign Minister says the timing of this attack shows Moscow is not interested in peace. Nick Paton Walsh is on the ground in Kharkiv.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: A particularly huge Russian assault on Ukraine in the last 24 hours. The

sirens just going off again here in Kharkiv, and the street cleaners here to wash the blood off the streets. Injuries here in Kharkiv, but the larger

toll in the Capital of Kyiv.

1500 just short of drones fired in the last 24 hours, over 50 missiles and the whole side of a residential building torn down in Kyiv. Dozens rescued

from that site, already children, already among the injured. And as President Trump visits China, Ukrainian officials pointing to an onslaught

like this as a reminder that Russia's offer of a limited ceasefire in the last week isn't a reflection of them actually wanting peace.

Ukraine's interceptor drones able to take some of the damage out of these assaults, but ultimately, still the threat of constant Russian bombardment,

particularly in the horrific images that we're now seeing emerging from here.

That rubble being combed through as the toll of injured and dead rises a sign of how much Ukraine continues to endure, despite now having

technological advantages, enjoying warfare that much of the world is covered. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kharkiv, Ukraine.

MACFARLANE: Now closing arguments are set to begin in the billionaire tech battle playing out in court. After the break, we'll look at the key

questions the jurors will be wrestling with. Plus, FIFA announces a star studded half time show for the World Cup who's expected to take to the

stage just ahead.

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[11:20:00]

MACFARLANE: Closing arguments begin soon at a closely watched trial that have ramifications for the future of artificial intelligence. Elon Musk is

suing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and his partner Greg Brockman. He accuses them of stealing a charity by shifting from a nonprofit model to a for profit

structure.

OpenAI says Musk, who helped found the company before leaving in 2018 just wanted to gain control. CNN's AI Correspondent Hadas Gold is joining us now

with more. So, Hadas just these arguments, closing arguments expected in the next 15 minutes, I think. Walk us through what we're expecting and the

significance of this moment for the future of AI.

HADAS GOLD, CNN AI CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, closing arguments will take place just about 15 minutes from now, in the courthouse in Oakland. We know Elon

Musk won't be there because he's in China with President Trump, of course, although there is a very good possibility that Sam Altman and OpenAI

President Greg Brockman will be in court.

I'm sure that will be pointed out by the lawyers to the jury saying, you know, look who's sitting here in court? How much this matters to them or

not? And this is, of course, really the opportunity for the attorneys to once again make their case to the jury and to the judge, lay out all the

evidence that they've presented over the last three weeks, and try to make their argument about whether or not OpenAI did steal a charity, as Musk has

alleged in this case.

OpenAI's defense is that Musk always wanted OpenAI to have some sort of for-profit structure, even at one point discussing folding it into being

part of Tesla. And that when he wasn't able to gain full control of OpenAI, he left the company and then eventually started a competitor in X AI, and

that this is all about Elon Musk just trying to bring down a competitor.

Because if Elon Musk gets what he is asking for in this trial, it will have huge ramifications for not just OpenAI, but for the AI industry writ large.

Because keep in mind, Elon Musk wants the judge to direct OpenAI to revert back to being a full non-profit. For OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman and OpenAI

President Greg Brockman, to lose their positions and for OpenAI to pay 100 and at least $130 billion back into the OpenAI non-profit.

But reverting back to a non-profit that would totally scramble OpenAI's current structure. They are planning to have a massive IPO later this year.

They're one of the most valuable companies in the world, and if they have to revert back to a total non-profit, obviously, that would change

everything.

And that would also hamper their progress, and it would completely change the AI landscape. It would be a boost for their competitors, like X AI,

which is now part of SpaceX, and like Anthropic and that's why this trial is so much more than just a battle of these tech titans, about all the

billionaires, these big egos, because it could have major ramifications for the industry.

But there was a moment of levity, sort of yesterday in court OpenAI's attorneys wanted to introduce into evidence an actual trophy of a golden

jack ass. Let me explain what's happening here. So, there's a picture of the trophy they wanted to submit as evidence.

What happened was back in 2018 when Elon Musk left OpenAI, he had a big meeting with all of OpenAI staff. One of the staffers, Joshua Achiam, whose

name is on that trophy, kind of challenged Elon Musk in this meeting about why he was leaving? Whether he was just leaving to try and develop AI at

such a rapid pace and not thinking about safety?

And Elon Musk turned around and called him a jackass. A few weeks later, OpenAI employees presented Joshua Achiam, who is still at OpenAI, as its

Chief Futurist, with this golden jackass saying, never stop being a jackass for safety.

And there is a serious undertone to why OpenAI tried to introduce this because Elon Musk has alleged that OpenAI has ditched its mission, its non-

profit mission about building safe AI for the benefit of humanity, in favor of profits. OpenAI was trying to show that it was Elon Musk who was trying

to develop AI as fast as possible.

Was not thinking about safety, didn't care about safety, calling somebody a jackass for caring about safety, trying to show paint, OpenAI as a company

that deeply cares about these issues. All of this, of course, will be laid out to the jury today. They will then begin their deliberations.

We don't know how long it will take them to decide on a verdict, but that verdict will be just advisory to the judge in this case, who will then

decide whether Elon is right? And she will be the one, importantly, to decide on those remedies and whether it will change the future of the AI

industry as we know it, Christina.

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MACFARLANE: Yeah, you're right. I'm really not short to make of that trophy, but we'll keep a close eye on closing arguments and any other

moments of levity. Hadas Gold, thank you.

Now a voice for a send-off in the Iranian Capital at a departure ceremony for the national football team as it heads to the World Cup. Iran is set to

play matches in the U.S. host cities of Seattle and Los Angeles, but amid the U.S. conflict with Iran there are still lingering questions about their

entry into the U.S.

The American and Iranian teams could end up facing off in Dallas on July 3rd, if they finish second in their respective groups. Now for the first

time ever, the World Cup Final is getting a half time show. You heard that, right? Madonna Shakira and K-Pop Superstars BTS are set to co-headline the

extravaganza.

The final will take place July 19th, at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey. And a quick look on the StubHub shows the cheapest resale tickets right now are

going for more than $8,000. But don't worry, if you can't afford the hefty price tag, you can, of course, all watch it on TV, which is where I will

be.

Now, stay with the CNN. I'll be back with more "One World" in about 30 minutes from now. But up next, stay tuned for "CNN Creators".

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