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Trump Cements His Hold On The Republican Party At CPAC; Myanmar's Deadliest; 18 People Killed In Clashes; New Zealand's One Case That Shut Down A City; J&J Starts Shipping America's Third Vaccine; Court Hearing to Start for 47 Hong Kong Activists; Aung San Suu Kyi Appears in Court by Video; Australia's Wine Makers Suffer Over Harsh China Tariffs; China and Australia, Where to? Report on Khashoggi could impact business in Saudi Arabia; Awards Season Kicks Off. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired March 01, 2021 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
MICHAEL HOLMES, ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes. We appreciate your company.
Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM.
Trump's return to the world stage. Our fact checkers say he made more false claims in one speech then Joe Biden has in his first five weeks in office.
Risking their lives for justice. Protesters in Myanmar are taking to the streets despite the deadliest day so far. We'll have a live report.
And Auckland is on lockdown this hour sparked by a single positive test. Why this case is ringing alarm bells for officials.
Former U.S. president, Donald Trump, returned to the political stage on Sunday prepared to tighten his grip on the Republican Party.
He repeated his lies about election fraud and he called out Republican lawmakers who supported his second impeachment, a sign of his plans for political vengeance.
He emphasized he will not launch a new political party but hinted another run for the presidency in 2024.
Now Trump's speech was a classic mix of lies and attacks without any clear vision for the party's future. He sounded his familiar election loss theme.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have a very sick and corrupt electoral process that must be fixed immediately. This election was rigged. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now that of course is 100 percent untrue. Joe Biden's resounding victory was upheld in more than 60 legal challenges by the Trump Campaign.
Trump was quick to bash his successor's administration painting an apocalyptic view of Biden's border policy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: In just one short month we have gone from "America First" to America Last."
Joe Biden's decision to cancel border security has singlehandedly launched a youth migrant crisis that is enriching child smugglers, vicious criminal cartels and some of the most evil people on the planet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, here's the truth. Now Biden has introduced a plan to overhaul immigration policy including an APA (ph) path to citizenship for undocumented Americans.
A long-time skeptic on climate change, Trump then blamed Democrats for recent natural disasters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If the Democrats have their way, we are heading from energy dominance to energy disaster. That's what's happening. You have to see what's going on, everything's been closed up. It's a disaster.
The blackouts we saw in California last summer and all the time. The windmill calamity that we're witnessing in Texas -- great state of Texas, we love Texas -- but it's so sad when you look at it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, in actuality, it's estimated 80 percent of the energy in Texas is actually generated by fossil fuels, windmills provide a mere fraction of it.
Now one positive note Trump sounded, a vow to return Republicans to power in Congress and the hint he might be running again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We will take back the house, we will win the senate and then a Republican president will make a triumphant return to the White House.
And I wonder who that will be. I wonder who that will be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Joining me now from Allentown, Pennsylvania is former congressman and CNN political correspondent, Charlie Dent.
Congressman, a lot to get through. This was a former president clearly wanting to run the party as his own.
But I found it interesting, that straw poll of CPAC attendees; 55 percent want him to be the next president. Which, correct me if I'm wrong, that's pretty pathetic from a crowd of fervent loyalists.
And it makes you wonder what the number might be like six or 12 months from now.
CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. Well, Michael, first let me just say something about the CPAC straw polls. They're typically fairly meaningless.
For years, Ron and Rand Paul would often do extremely well in those straw polls and, of course, they never really won the nomination or even came close.
[01:05:00]
But nevertheless, the straw poll -- look, that whole CPAC conference or TrumpFest was really dominated by the most sycophantic elements of the Republican Party, in fact, some of the most fringe elements.
So one would have thought he would have better -- that Donald Trump would have done better than 55 percent. But for the moment, anyway, the party still belongs to Trump. For the moment.
But there's a long way between now and the next presidential election.
HOLMES: Yes. And some of those potential contenders might decide to jump ship on Trump at some point. And several of them speaking there.
In the bigger picture, I'm trying to think of another one-term president of any party who lost the House, the Senate, the White House, lost the popular vote, impeached twice who gets treated with such adulation and this sort of the expectation of a return to power in this setting. Why is that, this fealty?
DENT: Well, what's so mystifying to me is the fact that so many Republican leaders are doubling down on defeat. You just laid it out.
The man's been impeached twice, he lost the popular vote twice, he cost Republicans the House and the Senate. And so now they're saying hey, let's do this again -- I mean, no.
This is looking backwards, the party needs to grow, not shrink and currently, right now, the party's shrinking.
I believe since January we have seen 120,000 people across the country leave the Republican Party. In Pennsylvania I know it's been about 20,000 people alone since the insurrection.
So it makes no sense to me why anybody thinks that embracing a disgraced, twice-impeached president is a path forward for the party. We still have a suburban problem here for Republicans, the suburbs are
largely gone. And a big part of that reason was because of Donald Trump.
So I don't see embracing him advances the ball down the field.
HOLMES: And to that point, I guess when you look not just what happened at CPAC but generally speaking with that so-called base.
It's clear that there is a good sized portion of the party base that is OK with insurrection and still believes the big lie that the election was stolen.
I'm curious -- your thought on whether the extremist wing in the GOP has become almost too big to confront.
You've got Jim Jordan, you've got Ted Cruz out there singing Trump's praises -- and by refusing to confront that, are they normalizing it and bringing that back into the mainstream of the party?
DENT: Yes. There's no question about it, that the fringe elements of the party have too large of a voice. Look no further than Georgia where Marjorie Taylor Greene was welcomed into the Republican conference and protected by many of her colleagues to keep her committee assignments.
I always felt since day one that she should not have been welcomed into to the House Republican conference and should not have been seated on any the committees. That's how you deal with people who are peddling 9/11 truther conspiracy theories that QAnon espouses.
That's what the party needs to do. It needs to crack down on these fringe elements that have an outsized voice.
HOLMES: We've only got a minute left but I do want to squeeze this in. We're talking about how the Republican Party goes forward in terms of growing the tent.
The base is loud, it's passionate obviously. But that core Trump base in purely numerical terms, it's not big enough to win elections, is it?
It might swing a Republican primary but is Trumpism big enough to win in a national sense? The party does have to grow.
DENT: That's correct. My own view is that Donald Trump, at least his vision for America is too exclusionary. Politics is an exercise of inclusion not exclusion, addition not subtraction, multiplication not division.
And the party needs to grow. And that means we have to grow towards the center and also diversify. That means we have to embrace the diversity of the country, not fight it. Like so many in the party leadership are currently doing.
So I do think we've reached the point; we're either going to break with Trump or we're not. And if we don't resolve this thing -- if Republicans don't resolve this thing quickly, I think it's going to be very difficult for them to get governing majorities in the House or the Senate.
Now by all rights, they should win the House majority back in two years, if history is any guide.
But if there's going to be a internal fight within the Republican Party then the election could become less of a referendum on Biden and Democrats, mid-term election, and more of a choice election.
Which is not something you want if you're a Republican going into the midterms.
HOLMES: Yes. Good point, good point. Charlie Dent, thank you so much. Appreciate the time.
DENT: You bet. Anytime. Thanks.
HOLMES: Myanmar's pro-democracy protesters are marching again after the deadliest day of crackdowns since last month's military coup.
[01:10:00]
The U.N. Human Rights Office says 18 people were killed, more than 30 people injured by police and military forces on Sunday alone.
But the protesters are back in the streets showing resilience and defiance. They're demanding the army give back power to the civilian government, including Aung San Suu Kyi, the deposed leader. She's due to appear in court today.
Ivan Watson following all of this from Hong Kong.
Far more brutal, far more deadly; clearly, the junta is willing to kill to stay in power. The question is how much further might this go?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SNR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That is really the fear and the unanswered question right now.
In the months since the military coup, we had seen day after day of protests. In the early days of this cycle we had seen, in some cases, the riot police and the security forces kind of staying back.
But that really came to an end on Sunday. Where, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office, there was deadly violence in at least seven different towns and cities across the country.
I think we can show you a map to illustrate just how widespread the deadly violence was -- again, according to the United Nations.
And that suggests that it wasn't just pockets of violence escalating, that there seemed to have been some kind of an order out authorizing the use of deadly force by the security forces.
Again, with -- the U.N.'s estimated the death toll at least 18. Also, with the government, the military government, asserting that it had detained hundreds of people on Sunday alone.
And we're seeing starting -- the demonstrators increasingly resorting to newer tactics of setting up barricades. You can see the helmets here, goggles. Reminiscent of other protest movements that we've seen here in Asia such as here in Hong Kong, for example.
Not really sure where this face-off is going to lead the country next. Michael.
HOLMES: Of course, you've got the U.S., the U.K., others have all called for Aung San Suu Kyi's release and the restoration of democracy.
They've imposed sanctions aimed at the military junta and its business interests. The question is will sanctions work especially if China is offering its support to the junta?
WATSON: Yes. And that also is unclear. I think that many historians and longtime Myanmar watchers will say look, this country's been governed by military dictatorships for much of the last sixty years.
And they were very, very isolated in the past and crippled by sanctions and it didn't stop the military. But Myanmar today after a decade of opening up is a very different place from what it was in the '90s and even in the early '00s.
I was just on the phone with a European businessman, for example, who has a company there who arrived there within the last decade hoping for a democratic Myanmar.
And he's seen his business crippled by the fact -- this may actually be hurting the military dictatorship more than anything right now -- the fact that almost all of the country's banks have stopped functioning over the course of the last month.
Which means people just don't have access to cash. They can't pay employees, they can't pay suppliers. And a lot of the freezing of the financial sector seems to also extend the central bank of Myanmar as well.
So in addition to the theater out on the streets which has turned very deadly in the last 24 hours, Michael, the civil disobedience movement has had these kind of crippling strikes across the country, across the transit sector and I think the financial sector.
And no matter what the military says, it can't really force people to go back to work.
That will be a major test of wills going forward.
HOLMES: Yes, absolutely. Good point, interesting tactic. Ivan Watson in Hong Kong. Appreciate it, good to see you.
We're going to take a quick break here. When we come back pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong will soon have
their day in court after being charged under the strict national security law.
We'll have details on what's at stake for them and the pro-democracy movement.
And life after lockdown isn't easy, not even in paradise. Why New Zealand's prime minister is saying follow the rules, don't let the country down.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:15:00]
HOLMES: Right now, Johnson & Johnson is shipping millions of doses of its coronavirus vaccine across the U.S. Americans could start getting it this week.
The CDC recommended the nation's third vaccine just hours ago after the FDA authorized it for emergency use.
And unlike the other two vaccines, Johnson & Johnson's requires just one dose.
CNN's Natasha Chen with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NATASHA CHEN, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. vaccination effort is getting another shot in the arm with up to 4 million doses of a new Johnson & Johnson vaccine ready to roll out immediately.
That follows the meeting of the CDC's advisory committee on immunization practices Sunday afternoon held almost exactly a year since the first COVID-related death reported in the U.S.
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, U.S. CDC DIRECTOR: People are listening, people are engaged, people really want to know what this important advisory committee has to say.
CHEN: The committee voted unanimously to recommend the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to adults over 18.
In U.S. trials, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is considered 72 percent effective and offers 86 percent protection against severe forms of COVID-19. An efficacy rate not as high as in Pfizer and Moderna trials but experts say it's apples and oranges.
DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: There are advantages and disadvantages of all the vaccines. And actually, it's hard to compare them side by side because they were tested at different times.
[01:20:00] CHEN: The Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one dose and isn't stored frozen.
Another positive sign. There are fewer than 50,000 people in the U.S. hospitalized with COVID-19 for the first time since early November. That's according to the COVID Tracking Project.
But as different states relax restrictions --
DANA BASH, ANCHOR, CNN STATE OF THE UNION: Is this premature?
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We definitely don't want that to happen.
BASH: Are the easing of those restrictions too --
FAUCI: I would think it is. I think, obviously, each individual state and city needs to look at the situation in their own location where they are.
But in general, to think just because the cases are coming down on a daily basis -- take a look at the pattern and just watch over the next several days to a week.
CHEN: On Friday, North Carolina increased the mass gathering limit for indoor gatherings and capacity limits for certain businesses.
Starting tomorrow, Massachusetts will allow indoor dining with fewer restrictions. And next Friday, New York movie theaters can reopen at 25 percent and no more than 50 people per screen.
FAUCI: It is really risky to say it's over, we're on the way out, let's pull back. Because what we can see is that we turn up. It isn't hypothetical.
Because just look historically at the late winter, early spring of 2020, of the summer of 2020. When we started to pull back prematurely, we saw the rebound. We definitely don't want that to happen.
CHEN (On Camera): That's a very real possibility with variants floating out there. There are now more than 2,400 cases of variants reported in the U.S.
Doctor Fauci says the vaccines may not produce the best response against the variants but good vaccines that produce a high level of antibodies will be what he says within the cushion of effectiveness.
CHEN (On Camera): Natasha Chen, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: New Zealand reporting no new local cases of COVID-19 after the first day of Auckland's week-long lockdown.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern spoke at a news conference earlier. She says zero complacency is key to getting through the lockdown which
was brought on by a single case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACINDA ARDERN, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: We made contact with those who are at risk. We placed testing requirements on them. For close contacts, we had symptom and isolation checks including in- person checks, primarily for welfare needs but also to ensure compliance.
We also used wider restrictions as an extra layer of protection.
But we also ask people to follow the rules, to play their part. And we have always done that. Quite simply, we cannot do this alone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now under the lockdown, people could leave their homes only for work and essential shopping. Some high-profile events have been disrupted.
Still, some residents say they're unfazed by the restrictions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: A little bit disappointed. Yes. Well, I'm able to work from home so I'm not impacted too much.
UNKNOWN: It's easier and harder at the same time.
UNKNOWN: Yes. Pretty bothersome but it's just something we're going to have to deal with for the next week (ph) but hopefully get through it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles says the details surrounding the new cases merit quick action to stop infection from spreading.
In an article for the online magazine, "The Spinoff," she writes, quote:
"Auckland woke this morning to another week at alert level three with the rest of the country at alert level two after a new community case of COVID-19.
It will have come as a shock especially as Jacinda Ardern and Ashley Bloomfield appeared at a Beehive press conference with very little notice at 9:00 p.m. on a Sunday night. But the details of the case were too concerning to wait."
And joining me now is Siouxsie Wiles, an associate professor at the University of Auckland. Good to see you, Doctor.
A lot of people would say level three for one case, why? But you write that the details of the case were too concerning to wait. Tell us why.
DR. SIOUXSIE WILES, MICROBIOLOGIST & ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND: Well, so New Zealand's pursuing an elimination strategy which means that whenever we pursue a case as a community we act very hard to make sure it doesn't spread any further.
And we've stopped outbreaks before using contact tracing and testing and isolation. But they're when we are very clear that the outbreak's quite small.
So, in this case this is actually part of a bigger outbreak that's been going for a couple of weeks now and we had a mini, three-day lockdown a couple of weeks ago, thought that everything was contained and then came out. And then this case popped up.
HOLMES: Right.
WILES: And it turns out it's been in some family members who had contact that we don't know about but the person was infectious and out in the community for about a week. And so that's really very concerning for us.
HOLMES: Right.
[01:25:00]
HOLMES: Now living here in the U.S. where restrictions are far from onerous and even being lifted in many states even as the virus continues to be rampant, explain why moves like this in Auckland work in terms of limiting spread?
WILES: Well, we know that this virus spreads person to person, we know that it spreads -- it's airborne. And so this really is about limiting contact between people.
So we have four level alert system at the level three basically means that most people will be working from home. We are only -- so shops are all closed.
We're allowed to what we call click and collect or online shopping but we're really trying to minimize interactions between people.
And then we know that, given that there are a number of contacts that this person had while infectious, this is a way that we can ensure that people don't spread the infection any further.
HOLMES: New Zealand, of course, is an island nation, a small population comparably. Is it fair to say the New Zealand approach wouldn't work in most other countries? Is New Zealand fortunate in some ways?
WILES: We were certainly fortunate in that we had time to act so we were a little bit further behind in our outbreak than other countries. But I don't think it's fair to say that just because we're an island, this is what has worked. Auckland's our biggest city so we have -- we're quite densely
populated there. It was about the fact that we don't allow cases to get to very high numbers.
HOLMES: That was the point I was trying to get to. What can the world learn from how New Zealand has handled -- there's very few countries who've handled it as well. Australia's done well, Vietnam's done well.
What can the rest of the world learn from New Zealand?
WILES: Well, I think it's that a zero COVID approach is the one that works. That you really have to try and stop transmission between people.
The thing that's a bit different about our lockdowns, I guess, is that they're very, very strict and we also have the government providing financial support to companies to keep people employed.
Because you can't do a lockdown and not have people still be able to pay their rent or pay their mortgage. So that's, I think, been an absolute key to our success.
HOLMES: Yes, absolutely. And just quickly before we go. How do New Zealanders react to moves like this? We've just seen protests in Europe, violence in Dublin this past week. New Zealanders are pretty much head down and let's get on with it.
WILES: Well, because we've been living a fantastic life. We've got sporting events going on, we've had concerts, we've had all sorts of things. So people know that this is a necessary move.
The mood is a little bit different this time because it has been some people not following the rules that's led to this latest outbreak. So I think people are angry.
But we know that we get through this by working together. So hopefully, people remember that.
HOLMES: Well, it's certainly effective. I must admit I see friends in Australia and New Zealand out mixing and no masks and having a nice time and it's very jarring being here in the U.S. Because it ain't nothing like that.
WILES: Thank you.
HOLMES: Siouxsie Wiles, thank you. Good to see you.
Now Australia's wine makers have lost their best foreign customers.
When we come back -- how a sweet relationship turned sour amid the pandemic.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [01:31:38]
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Now in the next hour, a Hong Kong court will hear from 47 pro- democracy activists accused of violating the national security law that China imposed.
Leading opposition figure, Joshua Wong is among those charged with conspiring to commit subversion. If found guilty, he and others advocates could face up to life in prison.
Let's go live to Hong Kong with CNN's Will Ripley. Tell us more about these charges which are for not doing very much and what we are expecting to happen.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This basically boils down, Michael, to 47 pro-democracy politicians whose only crime was wanting to stand in the primary election last year, which has now been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
And of course, after the postponement, a number of candidates were disqualified, some went into exile, but those who remain, many of them, dozens of them, are inside the West Kowloon Court building right now, preparing to face a judge because they are being accused of trying to gain a controlling majority in Hong Kong's parliament, so that they can veto things like city budgets. Politicians, wanting to gain a majority, so that they can veto things that are imposed by the pro Beijing government.
That apparently now qualifies as a crime that could land you in prison for years here in Hong Kong. It's supposed to have a semi-autonomous one country, two systems guaranteed for 50 years from the 1997 handover from British rule, but after the imposition last summer of the national security law that obviously is no longer the case.
What many people are calling the death of democracy here in Hong Kong. So you can see, you have a large police presence out here, this is certainly the biggest crowd that I have observed here in Hong Kong, but it still has a gathering limit of just four people, allowed to gather out in public due to the coronavirus pandemic, even though the number of cases here is fewer than a dozen per day.
You can see this crowd stretching around the block. And there is one, probably the most familiar, most visible face, here in this crowd -- Alexandra Wong -- known as Grandma Wong, who is out here protesting, even though she herself was detained in China for more than a year for voicing her political views.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXANDRA WONG, ACTIVIST: Every day, I always take a -- reach always and look around me always. Because a lot of people, sometimes on the street. Or somebody will scare me, somebody say something to scare me, or do some, some moves to scare me. (END VIDEO CLIP)
RIPLEY: Now, I should point out that unlike the protests in the summer of 2019 that were tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people, that at times got violent. This is very peaceful.
[01:34:46]
RIPLEY: The crowds are peaceful. Hong Kong police are showing restraint although they have been out here taking video of some of these men and women, many of them young people, who choose to be out here, especially when they were chanting slogans that could now be considered subversive and a violation of the national security law.
So Michael, I have to say, it is pretty brazen for people to come out here anyway knowing what penalties they could face under this national security law but they say they are fighting for their future, fighting for this small glimmer of hope that remains that the global community can help to bring some semblance of democracy to Hong Kong even as the pro Beijing government continues to slowly chip away and tear down any resemblance of democracy here.
HOLMES: It is very brave and the charges, are a bit head-shaking in many ways. Going forward, what does the political landscape look like in Hong Kong?
RIPLEY: Well, you have a judiciary that is slanted in favor of the pro Beijing government because remember, only national security law judges can hear national security law cases. So even though there are still western judges here on the judiciary, the chief executive who's appointed by Beijing, appoints the judges who are hearing the cases inside court.
And so far, every single defendant has been denied bail. If that gives you any idea of how we can expect these prosecutions to go.
Then you have politicians who have to be essentially approved by Beijing. And you have pro democracy lawmakers disqualified because of their views.
So, you can see how the cards keep stacking up Michael against any voice for the large majority of Hong Kong people who have elected for pro democracy politicians because those people have now been removed. And they're either in exile or they're in court or in jail facing charges.
HOLMES: All right. Will, good to have you there on the spot covering this. It's extraordinary really, isn't it.
Will Ripley there in Hong Kong.
Now we want to update one of our other top stories. Myanmar's deposed civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has now appeared in court according to Reuters. Suu Kyi's lawyer telling Reuters that she is now facing three charges. The latest comes from a colonial leader (ph) of law which prohibits publishing information that causes fear or alarm. The lawyer tells Reuters that Suu Kyi attended the hearing through video conference, and appears to be in good health.
We will have more on this as it develops.
Now, the dispute between Australia and China over the origins of the coronavirus which has lead to disruptions in trade and some pretty harsh tariffs is now hitting the Australian wine industry especially hard.
CNN's Angus Watson reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANGUS WATSON, CNN REPORTER (voice over): Taste the difference. 2015 Australia and China sign a free trade agreement. And Aussie winemakers are among the big winners. The removal of tariffs super charged a growing industry.
Then, following a single statement, it dried up.
SCOTT MORRISON, AUSTRALIA PRIME MINISTER: It is important that we learn the lessons of how this pandemic started so we could move on any future pandemic wherever it starts.
WATSON: That call for an inquiry into the origins of COVID-19 left a bad taste in the mouths of the Chinese government. And soon after, China hit Australian export products with blocks in huge tariffs.
Number 2 diplomat in Australia, Wang Xining (ph) said that China felt like Caesar betrayed by his friend Brutus.
Temporary GTs (ph) of up to 212 percent was slapped on Australian wine and a probe opened into alleged Australian dumping of cheap product on the Chinese market.
BRUCE TYRELL, TYRELL'S WINES: Margins are margins. So it could be quadrupling of our price, which pretty much put us out of the marketplace.
WATSON: In December 2019, Australia exported over $134 million worth of wine to China. In December 2020, just $3 million.
Bruce Tyrell says the wines from his family (INAUDIBLE) in Hunter Valley, north of Sydney, are particular pleasing to the Chinese palate -- fruity and acidic.
Just like his government in Canberra, Tyrell believes the rising taste for Australian wine in China defies Beijing's accusation that Australia has been dumping its cheap stuff.
TYRELL: And if we were dumping, why did the average price of our exports to China go up by 30 percent in four years? That just makes the dumping accusation complete rubbish. Someone -- someone's dreamed it up.
WATSON: Before the tariff hike on Australian product, only France was shipping more wine to China. Emmanuel Bria (ph), a small part of that -- a Frenchman with a love for Australian wine. He says Chinese customers love it too. So much so, he only sells Australian at his shop in Hong Kong. But he's had to put his business shipping wine from Melbourne to Shanghai on ice.
EMMANUEL BRIA, WINE SELLER: There was a lot of demand for this wine, but not anymore. Still hoping that it won't last forever, and it's just for short period of time and things will get better.
[01:39:59]
WATSON: Until then, other countries eye (ph) up the gap in the Chinese market.
TYRELL: With Australia kicked out of China, I would think the Europeans would be in there looking right up our (INAUDIBLE).
WATSON: And in the immediate term, Australian winemakers look to recoup some of their lost sales close to home. As bars and restaurants here reopen, after COVID-19 lockdowns.
Angus Watson in Sydney, Australia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Days after publishing its report on the Jamal Khashoggi murder, the U.S. is expected to elaborate on the actions it will take against Saudi Arabia.
We'll have a live report on how all of us could impact business in the kingdom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: The Biden administration will consulting with U.N. Security Council partners on the best way forward on the Iran nuclear talks. The White House says it is disappointed that Iran rejected an offer by the European Union to join talks but that the U.S. remains open to diplomacy.
Tehran's rejection comes just days after the U.S. military struck a site in Syria use by Iranian-backed militia groups.
Later on Monday the U.S. State Department is expected to elaborate on the actions the Biden administration is taking against some Saudis. This coming after the publication of that intelligence report, blaming the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman in the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The U.S., imposed sanctions on some Saudis, but not the Crown Prince himself.
On Sunday, CNN's Dana Bash, asked the White House press secretary, why not?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We believe there is more effective ways to make sure this doesn't happen again. And to also be able to leave room to work with the Saudis on areas where there is mutual agreement, where there is interest -- national interest for the United States.
[01:44:57]
PSAKI: That is what diplomacy looks like. That is what a complicated global engagement looks like.
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Jen --
PSAKI: And we have made no secret and been clear, we are going to hold them accountable --
BASH: But Jen --
PSAKI: -- and on the global stage and in with direct actions.
BASH: Jen, yes, I hear you. But say hold him accountable and it just doesn't look like that when it comes to the notion of justice. And the question is do you feel like justice has really been done when it comes specifically this Crown Prince, and his role in the brutal murder of a journalist because the journalist was working on stories that were challenging him.
PSAKI: Well, this is a horrific crime. And the president has said that himself. I will reiterate that here today.
One of the reasons the State Department put in place what we are calling this Khashoggi rule is because we believe that anyone who threatens journalists, who threatens dissidents should be held to account.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Some Saudis say the U.S. Is trying to bully a critical ally. CNN's Nic Robertson with more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Given the strong pushback that we have heard from the Saudis about the assessment that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman issued the order to capture or kill of Jamal Khashoggi and the strength of pushback from Saudis golf partner supporting Saudi Arabia on this.
There will be a degree of concern about what President Biden is going to announce on Monday. He's talked about he's going to -- the relationship generally going forward with Saudi Arabia's going to be shaped. He's talked about holding Saudi Arabia to account of human rights abuses. How is this going to take shape? It's been an extremely bumpy weekend for the U.S.-Saudi relationship. The Saudis also buffeted over the weekend by attacks from firing ballistic missile all the way from Yemen to the capital Riya. That will cause concern for the Saudi leader, the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
Saudi officials are saying that they see this as a of the Houthi' tactics. Of course the Houthis backed by Iran. So that sense of instability or uncertainty in Saudi Arabia and the region has really gone up over the weekend. And this announcement by President Biden that there's more to come Monday is really only going to duel that. The Saudis were expecting a bumpy time when President Biden came in. But perhaps not quite like this.
Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now for more on how all these developments could impact business in Saudi Arabia, CNN's John Defterios is live for us in Abu Dhabi.
John, the Biden administration talking tougher about the Saudi Crown Prince but not doing anything about it literally but will he be untouched by the sanctions?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: It's interesting how you play this out Michael, because the tone has certainly changed between the Trump administration and the Biden administration. Donald Trump embraced the Crown Prince., loved the idea. He was going to spend up to $100 billion on military spending, the strong arm approach to reforms inside the country.
The Biden administration trying to balance diplomacy and regional interests here in the Middle East specifically counter balancing Saudi Arabia and Iran. And trying to reengage with Tehran at this stage.
And you suggested correctly the sanctions won't touch the Crown Prince but if you think about sanctions against Russia and China, it's the same story. You don't go to the top leadership here with sanctions. I'm not too surprised on that.
But when it comes to business, I think most of the damage done in the kingdom itself inflicted by the Crown Prince himself. You can go back to 2017 in the rounding up of the Saudi businessmen. Some 300 in the name of corruption. Didn't use the court system. Pulled back $100 billion but it shocked foreign investors because those are the partners with the international companies that we're doing business in Saudi Arabia.
And then the Khashoggi murder of course, in 2018, the human rights abuse. The Crown Prince taking responsibility even though he said he wasn't involved, that raises a big question mark going forward.
And this is reflected in foreign direct investments. So the Crown Prince came through with his vision 2030- plan in 2016. If you look at the foreign direct investment it dropped to about $1.4 billion dollars the next year. It should go up during reforms.
And then 2018 and 2019 you see a recovery but that is half the run rate of the normal foreign direct investment that takes place in Saudi Arabia.
Then you take a look at the foreign exchange reserves from their oil earnings, Michael, again it's staircase lower, a peek into 2017 and then you can see this going down to about $450 billion in that range at the end of 2020.
So what it means is that Saudi Arabia and the Crown Prince needs to finance its own expansion, its own reforms like Neom (ph) in the northwest, the tourism development, the redevelopment of Riyadh. All the different efforts of the 2030 plan, very popular at home as you can see by the numbers I'm reflecting here. Not so popular with those who are being asked to invest in the country at the same time.
[01:49:50]
HOLMES: Yes. I see what you mean. I guess Saudi Arabia is at least the de facto head of OPEC. I mean prices have been surging since the end of last year, really. How does the kingdom and OPEC then manage this since they have been cutting supplies now for nearly a year?
DEFTERIOS: That's a great point you make. They are still cutting 7 million barrels a day and actually Saudi Arabia added extra million for February and March. We've had a 70 percent surge in prices since Joe Biden was elected.
And this is a sensitive issue. You don't want to overheat the market where it kills off demand. Saudi Arabia is aware of that.
They don't see it collapse like last year. So the elder brother of the Crown Prince, Abdelaziz bin Salman, the respected energy minister in Saudi Arabia saying we need to express extreme caution going forward.
But what does that mean? Did they put that extra million barrels back on the market. Did the other players add another 500,000. Did they strike a middle ground?
The Biden administration is watching carefully here. Also if you overheat prices it means that the U.S. shale competition comes back into play.
So this is a game of a nuanced by -- both Saudi Arabia. They don't want to look greedy. They don't want to over do it by bringing me too much oil back on the market. Then we'll find out that on Thursday when there's an OPEC Plus meeting on March 4, Michael.
HOLMES: All right. John Defterios always a pleasure, always feel smarter after talking to you there in Abu Dhabi. Appreciate it.
We'll see you next hour as well. Thanks.
We can take a break. When we come back the Hollywood Award season kicked off Sunday. And yes, it was virtual, the Golden Globes. We'll be right back with the night's biggest moments and top wins.
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HOLMES: Welcome back. The Golden Globes on Sunday proved Hollywood is still trying to find its rhythm in the pandemic. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosted the show. It was put on of course by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Awards given two nominees video chatting from their homes. Film and television nominees were notably different with streaming media dominating the categories this year.
British royalty drama, "The Crown", everyone has seen that, swept the television categories taking home for trophies including best drama, actor, and actress. "Nomadland" land director, Chloe Zao, made history as the first Asian woman and 2nd woman overall to win best director. The film also took the award for best motion picture drama.
But the night had its share of funny moments. Actress Catherine O'Hara want best actress in a musical comedy for her work in Schitt's Creek. And it was played off the stage by her husband, just a few words into the speech.
It's pretty funny. You've got check that show out.
Thanks for watching and spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. Follow me on Twitter in Instagram @Holmes.CNN.
I will be right back with more CNN NEWSROOM in the just a moment. You won't want to miss that.
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