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Trump-Xi Summit Wraps Up After Leaders Discuss Trade, A.I., Iran War; Nor'easter Impacting 40 Million+ People From North Carolina to New England; Iranian President Denies Iran is Trying to Kill President Trump; Pope Leo Warns About Risks of A.I.; Xi Says China & U.S. Have Responsibility to Manage A.I. For Good. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired September 25, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": We've got your forecast as we follow these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to "CNN News Central."

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": It was cordial, but did it accomplish anything? President Donald Trump and Chinese leader, Xi Jinping officially wrapping up their three-day state visit in Washington not long ago. The two leaders appearing quite chummy as they had tea this morning with their spouses. You see them here at the White House in the Red Room.

But formalities aside, there were much bigger issues on their plates. The war with Iran, the extended trade truce between the world's two largest economies, and the potential cooperation when it comes to A.I., all on the table during this summit. CNN's Alayna Treene is live for us at the White House.

And Alayna, have we gotten any details about potential agreements that may come out of this summit?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: No, I'd argue, Brianna, that this was really a lot of pomp and circumstance, a lot of flattery that we saw both of them kind of praise each other, heap on each other throughout the past three days of this visit. But not a lot of substance, at least in the deliverables.

We have not heard of any agreement, neither from my sources here throughout the Trump administration or publicly from the White House, touting any firm agreement between these two countries. Really, the only agreement that we did hear about was something that took place prior to Xi actually touching down here in Washington, when the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said that in some of his earlier conversations with the Chinese in the lead-up to this visit, they had agreed to expand what is known as the Busan Agreement, essentially a trade truce of sorts that would have them reducing some of the harshest tariffs that the U.S. and China have imposed on each other, and also this agreement to have China purchase more soybeans.

But apart from that, we haven't heard of any specifics. We did hear the president say that he discussed artificial intelligence, or something he is now dubbing superintelligence, what he argues is a less threatening term for A.I. He said that they had discussed that. He also told reporters today, Brianna, that they had talked about Iran and also some sort of agreement that could be good for farmers. But again, we really didn't get much more beyond, at least publicly, a lot of that imagery of them really trying to show that the ties between these two world powers are in a good place at this point.

And I will say that's kind of what was echoed in a post that the president shared just moments ago, where he said that President Xi and Madam Peng had just left for D.C. He called it a meeting -- he said the meeting was one of friendship, strength, and success. He also hinted that he will be going to China in November. I know he did have a visit to Beijing back in May, but he said he'd be going to China again in November, suggesting he's going to be attending the APEC Summit there, and that also he would see Xi again in December for the G20.

One thing I do want to bring up though, Brianna, which I think is notable, is that I think there was not a question that both President Trump and the Chinese President, Xi, wanted this summit to really get a lot of media attention. And that was something that was undercut by that media ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico. You didn't have cameras for much of the week in the room at a lot of these meetings.

That did change today. CNN was actually the pooler who was able to go to the National Archives for the last part of Xi's visit. But that is something we've been hearing that some, not only U.S. officials, but some Chinese officials were concerned about, about whether this would be getting the type of media coverage and attention that both these countries wanted.

So something to just keep in mind as we talk about a lot of this, you know, pomp and circumstance and pageantry, really, around this state visit. Meanwhile, again, not a lot of real deliverables that we've heard of, at least not yet. Brianna?

KEILAR: All right. Alayna, thank you so much. Alayna Treene for us at the White House.

And still to come, a closer look at what President Trump and Chinese leader, Xi, have decided about guardrails for A.I. and the future of the powerful technology.

And up next, powerful waves pounding the beaches of the Mid-Atlantic in New England. We have a live report on the sprawling nor'easter threatening tens of millions with days of raw, wet, and windy weather, coastal flooding, and power outages. We have that and much more coming up on "CNN News Central."

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[14:08:51]

SANCHEZ: The northeast is bracing right now. A powerful storm is intensifying as it moves up the coast. More than 40 million are expected to feel the impacts of this rare September nor'easter set to bring strong winds, heavy rain and coastal flooding. Forecasters are warning that some areas are going to get a month's worth of rain in just a day. A stretch from New Jersey to Massachusetts is forecast to be hit the hardest.

We find CNN Meteorologist, Derek Van Dam on the Massachusetts shore right now in Scituate. Derek, what are conditions like there right now?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, Scituate, Massachusetts no stranger to powerful nor'easters or coastal storms of this magnitude. I mean, look at the house behind me. It's built on stilts because it needs to be able to absorb the wave action that comes in here. And speaking of that, we've got a tumultuous Atlantic Ocean directly behind me, and that's been kicked up in part by these powerful northeasterly winds, kind of the defining parameter of a nor'easter, right? The direction of the wind.

Well, that is northeast, and that wind is coming from that direction and pushing the Atlantic here right into the coastline. And this area is very vulnerable.

[14:10:00]

And I want to show you that we've got a brand-new seawall here that's protecting some of these beautiful homes that line the horizon here. And earlier today, when we had high tide, the waves were crashing, splashing up and over and impacting those properties. Low tide now actually occurring here in the next coming hours.

But they had to replace this seawall because you can see the old seawall there basically crumbling apart. I mean, a sign of the times, right? We need to put in the infrastructure for these stronger storms. Now this nor'easter is packing quite a punch. It's really gathering its strength right now. And just look on the satellite and radar, and it's clearly very, very defined on the satellite and radar. That counterclockwise rotation, we've got a very perfect, kind of like almost an eye-like feature.

So, you know, we could relate this to a tropical storm, but without the name. But the impacts will be very, very similar. Coastal erosion, coastal flooding, we have the potential for inland flooding with over a month's worth of rain in and around the Greater Boston area where we are located. And of course, the potential for power outages, especially near the coastline because that's where we're going to be buffeted by these powerful winds that could be over 50 to 60 miles per hour.

Right now, they're gusting anywhere from 30 to 45 miles per hour, what we've experienced. But the bulk of the storm hasn't quite reached us yet. The other concern here is that this is going to be a long- duration event. I mean, as it's gathering strength, feeding off the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, which is quite interesting, and we saw that on satellite a few minutes ago, this is going to stall out in a very precarious area.

And that is going to allow for these long-duration winds from the northeast that is going to bring in a long fetch from the Atlantic Ocean, push up the waters through multiple high tide cycles. We also have a full moon this weekend, so when we have full moon, it's called an astronomical tide. We just get a greater influence on tidal swings.

So it's going to exaggerate the high tide, coinciding with the most powerful part of the storm, and that is why coastal erosion and coastal flooding is going to be a concern for some of these vulnerable communities, not only here in Massachusetts and the Cape, but anywhere from the Long Island Sound through to the coastal areas of New Jersey, because exactly where this storm sets up, that pocket right in the Long Island Sound area there, that is just going to sit and spin through the course of the weekend and, yeah, bring this powerful impacts for several days. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Yeah, we can already hear that wind behind you. Derek Van Dam, thanks so much for the update.

Still to come, a look at concerns about more extreme weather and how the rapid growth of data centers could add to the problems of climate change.

And ahead, Pope Leo warning that A.I. could create a, quote, "paradise of machines," but at humanity's expense. What he says must happen now.

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[14:17:33]

SANCHEZ: Turning back now to our top story, China's leader, Xi Jinping wrapping up his state visit to the United States. A lot of pomp and circumstance and ceremony. Unclear, though, what was actually achieved.

Let's discuss with Nicholas Kristof. He's a former Beijing Bureau Chief for The New York Times, currently an Opinion Columnist for the paper. Nicholas, thank you so much for being with us.

What did you make of this visit by Xi? Not a lot to tout in terms of accomplishments here, rather the promise of future upcoming talks.

NICHOLAS KRISTOF, FORMER BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Yeah, I mean, it was really more pageantry than substance, but I think, frankly, that's OK. You know, a lot of China watchers were nervous that if there was any news out of this summit, then it would be probably something bad. It would be some concession by President Trump about Taiwan or on human rights or some other area.

And you know, look, I've been covering China-U.S. summits since the 1980s, and I think this was the first year in which the Chinese leader at that summit was really in the driver's seat and the American president was more of a supplicant, asking the Chinese leader to buy more agricultural products, to make concessions on rare earth exports, and you know, went to the airport to greet the Chinese leader, held a state dinner for them, things that really had not been reciprocated before.

So in that rather unequal situation, you know, I was concerned that there -- that we might -- that President Trump might make concessions that would be really damaging, and I'm just glad that the, as you know, the critical minerals deadline was deferred for two months, from November till January, and so kind of no news, no big news, I think is good news.

SANCHEZ: Interesting. So, four sources tell CNN that it was intelligence from Chinese groups that helped Iran carry out a strike in Jordan that wound up claiming the lives of three American service members. There are indications, some reporting in Axios, that President Trump brought it up to President Xi.

CNN is working to get more details on what was discussed in the context of that in the meeting, but I wonder if you think President Trump, given the supplicant role that you described that he's playing, whether he has the power to get Beijing to stop aiding Tehran that way?

[14:20:00]

KRISTOF: You know, I expect that President Trump probably did bring it up, but it's notable that publicly, what he did was kind of make excuses for China in providing the weaponry that, as you say, killed those American troops in Jordan. And I mean, that to me was astonishing, to have an American president downplay that CNN report about China providing the wherewithal to kill American troops.

And I think that that precisely reflects the degree to which President Trump doesn't want to offend Xi Jinping, partly because, I mean, at the end of the day, China right now has leverage over the U.S., in part because of those rare earth minerals. As you remember, a year ago, President Trump started a trade war with China, and instead of surrendering, China responded by elevating the stakes and limiting those rare earth exports to the U.S. in ways that could be very damaging to our economy and, you know, in many areas, from aerospace to vehicles.

And I think that while those have been resumed temporarily as part of this truce, it's very clear now that, you know, that China has this card that it can play at any time. And for that reason, President Trump is reluctant to raise the issue of those weapons to Iran, raising the issue of arms sales to Taiwan by the U.S., raising human rights issues in a serious way. And you know, I find that sad to see us without the leverage to raise these important issues.

SANCHEZ: When it comes to Iran, the Iranian president spoke to reporters in New York yesterday. He's visiting this week because of the United Nations, the gathering there where he spoke at the General Assembly. He actually denied accusations that Iran was trying to kill President Trump, saying it was, quote, never -- "had never been the position of the Iranian government overtly or covertly to seek to assassinate Trump or his family members." What do you make of that claim?

KRISTOF: You know, I think the -- you know, there were various claims going on. You know, President Trump famously made his warning about annihilating Iran. President Pezeshkian then responded in the General Assembly. And I do think that both sides right now are indeed, you know, would like to have some kind of an agreement.

The Iranian economy is a complete mess. President Trump would like gas and diesel prices to go down. But the -- it's hard for me to see any kind of deal actually being done right now because, you know, Iran has this new one-week proposal that it has made to open the Strait of Hormuz in a week. But on terms that it's, I think, almost impossible for President Trump politically to accept right now.

So I think, you know, the best case is that we drift along in a fairly similar way to where we are right now. And the worst case is that Iran gets impatient and raises the stakes and strikes more oil and gas facilities in the region, or has its friends, the Houthis, in Yemen do so.

SANCHEZ: Nicholas Kristof, always appreciate you joining us and sharing your analysis. Thanks.

KRISTOF: Good to be with you.

SANCHEZ: Of course. Brianna?

KEILAR: As the U.N. winds down its three-day General Assembly that tackled the growing global concern about artificial intelligence, the Pope is issuing his own warning about the race for A.I. dominance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO XIV, HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): If we are to avoid losing our humanity amid a paradise of machines invading and conditioning our daily lives, there is an urgent need for education in ethical discernment and the capacity to acknowledge the moral good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: NVIDIA Co-Founder, President and CEO, Jensen Huang is the leading chipmaker fueling the technology. He's been speaking out about the string of alarmist A.I. threats. He sees them as alarmist anyways. He was among several top tech and A.I. leaders who attended President Trump's state dinner for Chinese President, Xi Jinping.

We have Connor Leahy with us. He is an A.I. Researcher and the U.S. Director at ControlAI. Great to have you. Thank you so much for joining us.

I wonder, as you have been watching this meeting, and I think there were low expectations and not a whole lot happened on A.I. between the U.S. and China, but this relationship is really critical. Last night, Xi highlighted China and the U.S.' leading roles in A.I. He said the countries have the capability and responsibility to, quote, "ensure that the development of A.I. is always under human control."

[14:25:00]

Is that realistic? CONNOR LEAHY, A.I. RESEARCHER, U.S. DIRECTOR, CONTROLAI: Well, I sure hope it is, because that's the future I think all of us want ultimately. We are in a competition with China, absolutely. We have many disagreements as nations, but one thing I think we can agree on is that we do not want A.I. to go out of control.

This is the kind of threat that we're talking about, that people such as Mr. Huang try to downplay very severely, not just the military applications of A.I. or the misuse of A.I., but as we've been seeing over the summer, the idea of A.I. agents and swarms themselves becoming their own adversaries to humanity, and these risks are only becoming more acute.

KEILAR: So, Jensen Huang, he spoke yesterday to Anderson Cooper and this is part of what he said. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENSEN HUANG, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, NVIDIA: The government should have a say in regulate. You just got to focus on what you want to regulate. And so, I'm not against regulation. Does the current situation require regulation for it to be done right? The answer is no.

What the current situation needs is technology. It needs containment systems. It needs monitoring systems. All the regulation in the world won't change the fact that you need the technology. And so, I would advocate, number one, to accelerate the development of that technology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: People worry technology is the threat. He's saying it's the solution. He also told Anderson, if A.I. leaders are worried about the models, they should just stop. If the product is not safe, just don't release it. Do you see that happening?

LEAHY: Fundamentally, this is a tale as old as time. The reason that our waterways are not polluted, full of dangerous chemicals by chemical companies, it's not because the CEOs are nice people. It's because we made it illegal, and we throw them into prison if they don't do it, if they harm innocent civilians. And this is the case for every industry.

Imagine if a company was flying airplanes that crashed 10 percent of the time and killed everyone involved. We wouldn't allow them to fly those airplanes anymore now, would we? Whether they want to or not, whether they willingly stop using them or not, we simply do not allow this.

There's a very similar case here, where a very dangerous new technology is being invented with great, incredible upsides as well. But like every other powerful technology before it, we have to regulate it responsibly. We have to responsibly have oversight of this technology, and it cannot be set by the people building the technology themselves. KEILAR: Connor, a testament to just how influential Huang is on the president. He actually sat at the same table as the president and leader Xi last night. Very close to them. And he is quite influential. He really has the president's ear. What does that portend for U.S. policy and for the direction that you see Trump going?

LEAHY: There's, of course, no secret that the industry has tried extremely hard to influence the administration and the general government around these issues. And again, this is a tale as old as time. This is an issue that we in America have faced many, many times throughout the decades and centuries even of our country, where industrialists and people with private interests that are harming the good of the nation are trying to ingratiate themselves or influence the policy that is meant to keep things under control.

This is a very old story and one that we will do well from learning from the past. We need democratic oversight. The people need to be able to decide what level of risk do we expose the general public to? These are not technologies that only affect some small people who might be consenting to it. These are things that threaten the lives of you, me, our children, everyone else.

KEILAR: And while the president is sort of -- he doesn't sound that worried. Americans really are. The polls are so clear about that. And we're coming up on an election. Congress is not going to be all together back until after the election, so it's not like they're tackling this problem any time soon. But it's reported that the president and the speaker, they're going to be meeting with A.I. leaders next week.

And I wonder what you think they need to accomplish or what you hope they accomplish next week.

LEAHY: One thing I have definitely been hearing, talking to members of Congress and the administration, et cetera, is that they are hearing the American people. When the American people, when these polls speak, they hear. They -- a lot of policy is being, you know, rethought as we speak.

This is sometimes controversial to say these days, but we do live in a democracy, and our government does care about its voters. Not always perfectly, but it does. So these messages are starting to be heard by the administration, by members of Congress and so on.

So what I hope to see is that this continues, is that the general public continues this pressure on their governments, on their elected leaders, asking for the kind of safety regulation and oversight that we deserve and that we desperately need.

KEILAR: Connor, great to have you. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

And still to come, gas prices are climbing. Consumer confidence, though, is not. Ahead, how economic anxiety could reshape the battle for Congress.

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