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Putin Meeting Xi Ahead of Olympics; Leader of ISIS Killed in U.S. Raid; Four Senior Aides Abruptly Resign from Downing Street; U.S. Says Russia Planning False Pretext to Invade Ukraine; Chilean Plant- Based Company Aims for Global Success. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired February 04, 2022 - 00:00   ET

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

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Ahead this hour, causes per lie (ph). The U.S. claims the Kremlin are planning to fabricate an attack by Ukrainian forces on Russia, to be used as pretext for invasion.

[00:00:47]

With a low profile, uncharismatic, ghostlike leader of ISIS now dead. What's next for the terror group, which still claims a jihadist army, 10,000 strong?

And meltdown at No. 10, four senior officials quit in one day, including the longtime aide to the prime minister, described as Boris's brain.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: Great to have you with us. We begin in Beijing. And right now, the Chinese capital is at the very center of the sporting world, as well as geopolitics.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expected to touch down any moment. He will meet with China's president, Xi Jinping, with the crisis over Ukraine expected to loom large. But so, too, will trade and energy.

Right now, China is the only major power backing Russia in its standoff with the west. Putin will also attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics, one of just over 20 world leaders to be there in person, none of them representing a major Democratic power.

Still, China is hoping these Winter Games will burnish their image around the world, which has been badly tarnished by ongoing human rights abuses of the Uyghur Muslim minority in the northwest Xinjiang province.

Putin's visit comes as the U.S. accuses Russia of planning a false- flag operation as pretext to invade Ukraine. The Kremlin has denied it's preparing a graphic propaganda video of a fake attack by Ukrainian forces on Russia, or Russian separatists, depending on at least some details, but no evidence to support the allegations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN KIRBY, U.S. PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: As part of this fake attack, we believe that Russia would produce a very graphic propaganda video, which would include corpses, and actors that would be depicting mourners, and images of destroyed locations, as well as military equipment, at the hands of Ukraine or the West.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Meantime, the real-world deployment of 30,000 Russian troops to Belarus, which borders Ukraine to the north is causing great concern among U.S. and NATO officials. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: Over the last days, we have seen a significant movement of Russian military forces into Belarus. This is the biggest Russian deployment there since the Cold War.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Senior international correspondent Ivan Watson, live this hour in Hong Kong. He's covering Vladimir Putin's visit to China. And Ivan, this is, what, meeting No. 38 for Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. And the hype in China's state-controlled media is something to behold.

They're writing stuff like, on the land of China and Russia, winter and spring coming together, leaving footprints of the two heads of state walking together. It's quite the meeting, quite a love affair.

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, this is a friendship that has been developing between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin for years. And they share something in addition to their 4000 kilometer border, John, and that is that they're both in antagonistic relations with Washington.

Of course, what Putin is currently facing with the U.S. and NATO allies is much closer to a crisis right now around Ukraine. But Xi Jinping has his own problems with the U.S. and with American allies, as is evidenced by the boycott, the U.S.-led boycott of the Winter Olympics. Diplomatic boycott, rather.

So in this case, what we've seen is the two leaders and their governments heralding friendship and deepening ties between Russia and China. We had the two foreign ministers meeting on -- just yesterday, basically, paving the way towards the summit between the Russian and Chinese leaders.

Some of what they're dealing with is just basics. For example, there has been cross-border trade in some parts of the border that has been suspended after there had been many outbreaks of COVID in Chinese border cities. They're having to address that.

They addressed Afghanistan after the U.S.'s swift withdrawal. That's a country on -- next to the borders, and spheres of influence of China and Russia. That they're inheriting, effectively, that potential headache, and what could happen there.

[00:05:17]

But of course, they're also going to be showing some solidarity against the U.S. and western allies. So in the Chinese readouts, the Russian side briefed in this foreign ministries meeting, on the latest progress of Russian-U.S. relations, Russia-NATO relations, stressing the principle that security is indivisible. China understands and supports that, is the way the Chinese foreign ministry illustrated this.

There are some complications here. China, to date, has not recognized Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. China has relations with Ukraine, if hostilities break out there. So that is a concern.

I'm going to add one additional factor here, is that in the last 24 hours, India has announced a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics, angry that a Chinese military officer who participated in a deadly clash on the Indian-Chinese border was one of the Olympic torch bearers.

And not only that, India has announced that it is not going to be showing on its public television broadcasting service, the opening and closing ceremonies.

It's just giving you a sense of how the geopolitics, while both Russia and China do not want politicization of the Winter Olympics, the geopolitics are swirling all around these games -- John.

VAUSE: Absolutely, Ivan. Thank you. Ivan Watson, live for us there in Hong Kong.

And we go live to Moscow now. Alexander Gabuev, senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center. He joins us now. Welcome to the program.

OK. So Alexander, good to have you with us. OK. So with this threat of unprecedented economic sanctions hanging over Russia, it seems Vladimir Putin really needs Xi Jinping a lot more that Xi needs him in the moment. To what extent, though, could China blunt the impact of those sanctions on Russia's economy?

ALEXANDER GABUEV, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE MOSCOW CENTER: There are three baskets where China could be really helpful. One, are additional energy projects that are very likely to come through, like the extension of existing gas pipeline power. Siberia, building of another pipeline, Power Siberia 2, with the same capacity as the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

So there is this bunch of prospects that will deliver new money to the coffers of the Kremlin. The second part is avoiding dependency on U.S. dollar, and shifting trade away from currencies like U.S. dollars or euros, to ruble and renminbi, the Chinese currency.

The third basket is help on chips and semiconductors because the U.S. threatens to impose export bans on any U.S.-designed technology for chips and semiconductors for Russian strategic sectors of the economy, like weapons manufacturing or aircraft.

So here, China can be of help for Russia, because China is engaged in massive substitution program following sanctions of quality.

VAUSE: Essentially a lifeline, if you like, in the face of those financial sanctions from the U.S. and NATO.

But we're also hearing from a senior senator in the U.S. Congress, Democrat Richard Blumenthal. He's calling for Russia to be sanctioned now. He raised concerns about the close relationship between Putin and Xi. He talked with CNN just a few hours ago. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): I've advocated that we start those sanctions right away. Because Putin will not be deterred by words alone. He's a KGB thug. He understands force, military or economic force. And he's going to be meeting with Xi. Together, they represent a threat to the world, one of the biggest threats since the world war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That's a big call. But how far would Xi Jinping be willing to go to support Putin? To what extent is he willing to risk further straining ties with Washington?

GABUEV: There is an overall diplomatic support for Russian demands on security. And both countries are very allergic to U.S. military posture close to their border.

I think that if we see Russian tanks, or Russian troops rolling over international-recognized border of Ukraine, that support will diminish, and China will go back to their usual mantra of, Oh, let's look at the U.N. charter, and we support a peaceful resolution of conflict.

For example, China was supporting Russia on countering U.S. sanctions in previous war in 2014 and 2015 but has never recognized Crimea.

This time around, I expect limited diplomatic support, but probably, we will see much more on tangible economic support to counter western sanctions.

[00:10:05]

VAUSE: The U.S. has accused Moscow of planning this false flag operation to act as a trigger for a Russian invasion of Ukraine. I want you to listen to the response to that allegation from Russia's ambassador to the E.U. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR CHIZHOV, RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE EUROPEAN UNION: I can assure you that Russia is never involved in any business of this kind. And there is no reason, logically speaking, that that might be taking place.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: That's not much of a denial, given you know, multiple reports coming back weeks from U.S., British, and Ukraine intelligence. Russia has been preparing a number of false flag operations.

How do you see that?

GABUEV: Yes, well, we've seen Russia engaging in something that's different from false-flag operations. There are number of incidents that are secret (UNINTELLIGIBLE) about Syria.

But then, the good template is the 2008 were in Georgia, where Russia has massed troops on the border with two-week breakaway regions that are red internationally recognized part of Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

President -- then-president Mikheil Saakashvili, was compelled to attack the breakaway regions with massive shelling of civilian buildings, and killing some of the Russian peacekeepers. And that was used by Russia as a pretext to massively invade into Georgia, annex those two breakaway regions, and recognize them as independent states.

There have been some very boring statements made by senior Russian officials. Like last year, Russian military minister Sergey Shoygu, said that the U.S. has allegedly brought chemical weapons to Eastern Ukraine to stage provocations.

So this rhetoric, along with western intelligence report, is indeed very, very boring (ph).

VAUSE: Alexander, thank you. Alexander Gubuev [SIC] -- Gabuev, I should say, in Moscow. We appreciate your time, sir. Thank you.

Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi was leader of ISIS for less than three years. But overnight, as U.S. forces raided his compound in Syria, Qurayshi blew himself up, along with members of his family.

Despite a relatively low profile, Qurayshi was behind some of the most brutal acts carried out by the Islamic State. U.S. officials say the goal was to try and take him alive.

CNN's Oren Liebermann has details now on how the operation unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A U.S. raid shattering the overnight hours in northwest Syria. Special Forces going after the leader of ISIS, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, aka Hajji Abdullah.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Last night's operation took a major terrorist leader off the battlefield and has sent a strong message to terrorists around the world, we will come after you and find you.

LIEBERMANN: President Joe Biden watched from the white house, as Special Forces closed in on their target. The helicopters approached the three-story compound in the middle of the night, according to senior administration officials.

Once on the ground, Special Forces warned civilians to clear out, evacuating ten civilians, including eight children. Officials say al- Qurayshi then blew himself up, killing his wife and children and tearing the top of the building apart.

His lieutenant one floor below was killed in an exchange of fire with U.S. Forces. The Pentagon said a child was also killed on this floor but wouldn't say how or by whom.

Toward the end of the two-hour operation, officials say two members of an al-Qaeda affiliate were killed in an exchange of fire with U.S. forces.

U.S. forces also happened to destroy one of the helicopters on the ground after mechanical failures.

Four civilians were killed in all, according to the Pentagon, and five combatants. That wasn't the plan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I say capture the leader of ISIS. That was the intent of the mission.

LIEBERMANN: This raid was the biggest U.S. operation in Syria since the operation that killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019, the original leader of ISIS.

Al-Qurayshi's background is a bit of a mystery. His exact birth place and birthdate, unclear. He was in U.S. detention in 2008 before he was turned over to the Iraqis, and at some point, released.

In March 2020, the State Department labeled him a specially-designated global terrorist, with a $10 million reward.

BIDEN: He was responsible for the recent brutal attack on a prison in northeast Syria, holding ISIS fighters. He was the driving force behind the genocide of the Yazidi people in northwestern Iraq in 2014.

LIEBERMANN: Al-Qurayshi never left the third floor of the building in northwest Syria, except to bathe on the roof, officials said. By early December, intelligence officials believe they had points of his location, and Biden authorized the operation.

The white house called his death a blow to ISIS, but the terror organization, still suffering from the defeat of its self-declared caliphate in 2019, has plans to rebuild.

(on camera) General McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, said that even if Hajji Abdullah didn't have the same name recognition or fame as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the original leader of ISIS, he was just as dangerous and just as involved in planning ISIS attacks.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials say the next leader of ISIS will suffer the same fate.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, at the Pentagon. (END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Joining us now is Jennifer Cafarella, the chief of staff and research director at the Institute for the Study of War.

Jennifer, welcome to CNN NEWSROOM.

JENNIFER CAFARELLA, CHIEF OF STAFF AND RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: OK, so according to U.S. officials, this was a complex raid. It was similar to the one which took down the former al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden.

As vice president, Biden opposed that operation, but he approved this one on Thursday. President Biden talked about the risks facing U.S. forces.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Knowing that this terrorist had chosen to surround himself with families, including children, we made a choice to pursue a Special Forces raid, at a much greater risk to our own people, rather than targeting him with an air strike. We made this choice to minimize civilian casualties.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: There's also the added risk of where of Qurayshi was living, part of Syria controlled by a terror group with ties to al-Qaeda. So why take on all that added risk? Why not just do what other U.S. presidents have done, call in an airstrike?

CAFARELLA: Look, I think, in this case, the civilian casualties are very high. And the U.S. military, and our civilian leaders, take the risk of civilian casualties extremely seriously.

There are a number of measures put in place to ensure that the United States does not, intentionally or otherwise, cause an undue loss of life, or a disproportionate loss of civilian life.

And our military takes that very seriously. So in this case, when it became clear that eliminating this ISIS leader was going to incur a very high civilian casualty toll, if we did it through something like an airstrike, they decided to take the risk on themselves, put U.S. soldiers in harm's way, in order to get the job done.

VAUSE: Yes. Qurayshi took over as leader of ISIS four days after the death of al-Baghdadi back in 2019. And, despite, what, almost three years running ISIS, not much is known about him.

Here's the Pentagon spokesman, John Kirby, with some details.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRBY: What we do know is he was a hands-on kind of leader, maintaining a level of situational awareness during the Hasakah prison break last week. We know that he was directly involved in the massacre and the -- and the rape of innocent Yazidis back in 2014. This is a man that we should all be happy is no longer walking on the face of the Earth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And it does appear that, in recent months, he was trying to reconstitute ISIS in Iraq and Syria. So how serious were those efforts, and do those efforts die with him?

CAFARELLA: Those efforts were serious. And unfortunately, ISIS has made significant progress in certain parts of Syria and certain parts of Iraq, reconstituting what we call an insurgent military force. That sort of operates underground but is increasingly capable of conducting sophisticated attacks.

And the attack that we saw on the Hasakah prison was a high-water mark in recent years for the kind of sophisticated operation ISIS was able to mount. And ISIS also sustained a firefight with U.S. forces supporting our local partner this year in democratic forces.

ISIS engaged those forces in a firefight for a number of days, really protracting this battle, and so eliminating the ISIS leader in the context of this resurgence is important.

That resurgence, unfortunately, is entrenched and is likely to be able to continue to fight, even after the death of this leader. But it nonetheless matters, and I think the timing is significant, as well.

VAUSE: In the big picture, it seems he was almost kind of a nobody. He liked the name recognition of Osama bin Laden and al-Baghdadi, and after taking over from al-Baghdadi, "The Washington Post" reports that he "effectively disappeared from public view. U.S. officials said they believe Qurayshi continued to direct operations, but he did so from hiding, never showing himself publicly, or even releasing videotaped messages to rally morale. In social media chat rooms frequented by Islamic State sympathizers, many reacted to the news of his death with a shrug. Whatever Qurayshi's contributions as leader, his loss is ultimately of minor significance, some said."

He was also known as being an informant when he was captured by U.S. forces back in 2008. And given how important the leader of a terror group is, in terms of recruitment and morale, if there's a dud running the show, why not leave him there? Why run the risk that the next leader could be more charismatic, or can, you know, rally the faithful?

CAFARELLA: Yes. But that is a risk. And look, in this case, this ISIS leader didn't have the same kind of global image that his successor, Baghdadi, did. He didn't have the resonance, and he clearly didn't have, you know, the charisma, or the ability, to have an inspiring effect, through big, broad, communications.

In that respect, he was a less successful commander. Right? However, that does not detract from his operational role in the day to day, and, you know, we heard from spokesman Kirby that he was directly involved in the Hasakah prison operation.

[00:20:06]

And so we've eliminated an important node and coordination mechanism within Iraq and Syria. And I think, even without the same kind of global branding, it's entirely possible that this guy was deeply involved in the coordination and activities of global affiliates, where ISIS is on the upsurge in Afghanistan and across Africa.

And while it's not quite the same as having a Baghdadi at the helm, that is dangerous. And anytime we have an opportunity to remove a player like that from the battlefield, especially one who has been so deeply involved in the atrocities that ISIS has committed, like the genocide against the Yazidis, that's an opportunity we should take and I'm glad that President Biden did take.

VAUSE: Jennifer, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate your time.

CAFARELLA: Thank you.

VAUSE: When we come back, jumping ship en masse. Four senior aides to the British prime minister quit, leaving Boris Johnson more beleaguered than ever before.

Also, a light at the end of the long COVID tunnel for Europeans. The latest from the WHO when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:23:21]

VAUSE: The chaos and turmoil in Downing Street just went into hyper drive, with four of the prime minister's most senior aides all resigning on Thursday.

Policy chief and longtime senior aide Munira Mirza was forced to go. She'd been by Johnson side for more than a decade, was described as Boris's brain.

Within hours, the other three -- the chief of staff, principle private secretary, and director of communications -- all submitted their resignations.

CNN's Bianca Nobilo has details now, reporting in from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Four senior members of Boris Johnson's Downing Street team, gone. All of them resigned Thursday. His chief of staff, director of communications, head of policy, and principal private secretary.

Not all of them were unexpected, but taken together, the optics is of a No. 10 derailed. Munira Mirza, his policy chief, landed the biggest blow when she

resigned. Citing the prime minister's remarks on Monday, she wrote, "I believe it was wrong for you to imply this week that Keir Starmer was, personally responsible for allowing Jimmy Savile to escape justice. There was no fair or reasonable basis for that assertion. This was not the usual cut-and-thrust of politics; it was an inappropriate and partisan reference to a horrendous case of child sex abuse. You tried to clarify your position today, but despite my urging, you did not apologize for the misleading impression you gave."

The prime minister, speaking before Mirza's resignation, had this to say about his remarks in the House of Commons on Monday.

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I want to be very clear about this. Because a lot of people says have got very hot under the color. And I understand why.

Let's be absolutely clear. I'm talking not about the leader of the opposition's personal record when he was -- when he was the DDP. And I totally understand that he had nothing to do, personally, with those decisions.

[00:25;15]

And, totally, I understand that he had nothing to do, personally, with those decisions. I was making a point about the -- his responsibility to the organization as a whole. And I think people can -- can see that. But I just -- I really do want to clarify that, because it is -- it is important.

NOBILO: The resignations might have come as a shock, but the prime minister did say that he would be making big changes to his Downing Street operation in the wake of the Partygate scandal.

But, still, the optics are chaotic. Four senior staff members resigning on the same day, a day after three more members of the prime minister's own party publicly declared that they'd submitted letters of no confidence in the prime minister.

And, all of this amidst a backdrop of open condemnation. And the Conservative Party putting the prime minister on notice.

Bianca Nobilo, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: In the coming hours, COVID vaccines will be required by law for all adults in Austria. The law was approved by the upper House on Thursday. The lower House ratified the bill last month.

And now, the legislation heads to the president to sign it into law.

Compliance checks begin next month. Those without a vaccine certificate, or an exemption, could be slapped with fines of nearly $700, up to four times a year. Beginning next week, Sweden will life most of its COVID restrictions,

following similar moves by Norway and Denmark earlier this week. The government health agency says the COVID situation in the country is stable enough to start easing rules.

Starting on February 9, the 11 p.m. curfew on bars and restaurants will be lifted. Public events will be allowed to operate at maximum capacity. People will not have to show vaccination certificates to attend.

The World Health Organization says the end of the COVID pandemic in Europe could be in sight, despite about 12 million cases being recorded across the continent just last week.

Dr. Hans Klug says it's a result of vaccinations, a seasonal pause, and the relative mildness of the Omicron variant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. HANS KLUG, WHO REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR EUROPE: This context, that we have not experienced so far in this pandemic, leaves us with the possibility for a long period of tranquility, and a much higher level of population defense against any resurgence in transmission. Even with a more virulent variant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: This as the vaccination rates across Europe, some countries do, in fact, have a high vaccination rate. That's the dark green color there.

But Dr Klug cautions that the pandemic is not over and that hospitalizations continue to rise in countries where there are lower vaccination rates in vulnerable populations.

The Russian president may be heading to Beijing for the Winter Olympics, but his military is dug in, in this very frontier on the Ukraine border, amassing record numbers. We'll have details on that in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:17]

VAUSE: Welcome back. Russia denies it's planning a false flag operation to justify an invasion to Ukraine. The U.S. has accused the Kremlin of preparing a graphic propaganda video showing a faked attack by Ukrainian forces on Russian territory, or Russian-backed separatists.

U.S. officials say Russia is recruiting actors to play mourners, and the video will include corpses, as well as scenes of destruction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We are publicizing it now, however, in order to lay bare the extent of Russia's destabilizing actions towards Ukraine, and to dissuade Russia from continuing this dangerous campaign, and ultimately, launching a military attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Meantime, U.S. and NATO officials are also worried about Russia's deployment of 30,000 combat-ready troops to Belarus, along Ukraine's northern border.

The NATO secretary-general calls it the biggest since the Cold War.

CNN's Matthew Chance is in Kyiv with more on the current state of the Russian troop buildup.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the latest front in Russia's unrelenting buildup near Ukraine's borders.

Joint military drills in neighboring Belarus, a close Kremlin ally. But NATO says there's been significant movement of an expected 30,000 Russian troops in recent days. It's the biggest deployment there since the end of the Cold War.

This as the Kremlin tells CNN more U.S. forces in Eastern Europe simply pump up tension in the region, and that Russia is worried.

DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESMAN (through translator): we are talking about the deployment of American soldiers in European countries near our borders. It's clear these are not steps to de-escalate tensions. On the contrary, these actions elevate tensions.

CHANCE: But it is one country that should be feeling tense. It's Ukraine. This latest video showing Special Forces being trained in the snow, released by its ministry of defense. Ukrainian officials insist they're ready for any Russian attack. But then plain talk of a conflict.

OLEKSIY REZNIKOV, UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): The situation is under control. The number of Russian provocations has decreased recently. And the past 21 days, not a single Ukrainian soldier has been killed by the enemy.

CHANCE: But U.S. intelligence continues to assess an armed conflict is being planned, amid new warnings of a possible false flag operation, although the timing is no longer being referred to in public as imminent.

Ukrainian officials say that's an important diplomatic result and will help calm any panic. But with Russian forces, now massing near Ukraine on multiple fronts, it may be the calm before the storm.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Kyiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: The clock is ticking, just hours away from the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics. China's president has not met with head of states since the start of the pandemic, nearly two years ago.

But on Friday, he'll be there to greet more than 20 foreign leaders. But it's Vladimir Putin who is at the top of Xi Jinping's guest list. The two are set to meet any moment now.

CNN's David Culver has a closer look at the bond between these two leaders and their nations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A mesmerizing opening ceremony, expected to be attended by two strongman leaders. China's President Xi Jinping will soon be hosting his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as their countries stand shoulder to shoulder in defiance of the west.

Despite lingering disputes over issues such as economic interest in the Middle East, Beijing and Moscow managed to see past those differences, and focus instead on one common adversary: the United State, which has launched a diplomatic boycott of the games over Beijing's human rights record.

And as tensions rise between Russia and NATO over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, Beijing has publicly backed the Kremlin. In a recent phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi stressed that "Russia's reasonable security concerns should be taken seriously and resolved."

(on camera): This will be the 38th time that President Xi and President Putin have met face to face since President Xi took power here back in 2013.

(voice-over): These frequent interactions a sign of increasingly close bilateral ties, despite how different the two leaders are.

The images tell it all. The pair, in 2018, happily sampling together a traditional Chinese pancake. A few months later, they made a Russian version of the dish, complete with caviar and vodka.

They visited China's iconic pandas the following year and took in an ice hockey game. Later, basking in a sunset boat tour.

[00:35:10[

The cozy China-Russia relationship, not stopping the U.S. from trying to sway China on the Ukraine crisis.

VICTORIA NULAND, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: We are calling on Beijing to use its influence with Moscow to urge diplomacy.

CULVER: But Beijing sees little benefit to side with the west.

DANIEL RUSSEL, ASIA SOCIETY POLICY INSTITUTE: What Putin and Xi Jinping having common here is actually a desire to undercut U.S. credibility, to drive a wedge between Washington and its allies.

CULVER: Other democracies and U.S. allies like Taiwan will be watching closely as China steps up its military activities across the Taiwan Strait.

RUSSEL: If the people in Taiwan saw that., despite all of Washington's efforts, and all of NATO's tough talk, that they didn't succeed in deterring Putin, they're going to ask themselves, Can we, on Taiwan, really count on the United States in a crisis?

CULVER: After the U.S.'s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, Ukraine presents the latest test on the U.S. capability to maintain global peace and security. And the outcome may further convince China and Russia of an emerging new world order that both have long sought.

David Culver, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: There will be some notable absences at this year's Olympic games. Like representation from major democratic powers, like the U.S., U.K., Canada, along with a few other nations there staging a diplomatic boycott over China's alleged genocide of Uyghur Muslims. The president of the International Olympic Committee, though, insists these games should not be politicized.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS BACH, IOC PRESIDENT: The position of the IOC must be, given the political utility, that we are not commenting on the political issues. Because otherwise, if we are taking a political standpoint, and we are getting in the middle of tensions and disputes and confrontations, of political powers, then we are putting the games at risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The U.S. believes that more than a million Uyghurs, along with members of other minority groups, have been subjected to torture in internment camps across the Xinjiang province.

When we come back, an alternative to meat company is a regional success in Chile. How it hopes to go global with the backing of one of the world's richest men.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Mount Everest has lost decades' worth of ice in just a few years. It took about 200,000 years, or 2,000 years, rather, to form the ice. It melted in 25 years.

Scientists are warning this could worsen the impact of climate change, cause more frequent avalanches, as well as dry up water sources.

[00:40:08]

A company in Chile that sells plant-based meat substitutes is already a regional powerhouse. Now, they're aiming for global success, with a powerful, wealthy investor.

CNN's Rafael Romo has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So what do we have here?

MATIAS MUCHNICK, CEO, NOT COMPANY: So here, we have the Not Burger.

ROMO (voice-over): Matias Muchnick likes to talk as much about what his company's products are, as what they are not.

(on camera): So there's nothing but plants in both of these?

MUCHNICK: Exactly.

ROMO (voice-over): In fact, he has created a whole company around the word "not" as in "Not Milk," "Not Ice Cream," and "Not Mayo." It's a whole line of plant-based food products that are intended to be a substitute for those made from animals.

MUCHNICK: When you look at the food system, it has become the common denominator to every major environmental ill known to humankind.

ROMO: Perhaps the most daring one is the Not Burger, which is intended to replace the ones made from beef.

(on camera): What kind of market share have you been able to reach?

MUCHNICK: So, at this point in time, only one year, a little bit over a year, then we launched the Not Burger. We have more than 7 percent of the total market share of burgers, and that includes animal burgers.

ROMO (voice-over): That's in Chile, the South American country where Muchnick launched his company in 2016. Not quite six years later, Not Company now sells its products in four Latin American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. It has also branched out to Canada and the United States.

MUCHNICK: We started off with mayo in Chile, where basically, we got 7 percent of market share in only seven months of sales. And that's what really kind of got the attention of the investment world.

ROMO: Investors like Jeff Bezos are behind a $370 million push that may allow Not Company to expand to Europe and Asia.

But not everybody is happy with NotCo's success. They young company has been sued by dairy producers in Chile.

MUCHNICK: They're really afraid of this change of consumer behavior, of consumer, you know, preference as well.

ROMO: NotCo is not the first one to produce plant-based food aimed at replacing animal product. American brands like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have been around for about a decade, and Swedish Oatly! was formed in the '90s.

But NotCo is filling a void in Latin America, where plant-based alternatives were rare until recently.

Does it taste like beef?

MUCHNICK: Well, you tell me.

ROMO (voice-over): As for the products themselves --

(on camera): It tastes very close, like a real burger. What is different from a burger is that the texture is very even.

(voice-over): It's like the real thing, but not quite the real thing.

(on camera): What do you say to those who don't like what you're doing, who say that this is not real food; this is fake food; it's going to go nowhere. What's your answer to that?

MUCHNICK: Well, I think my first answer would say, let's look at the numbers. Right? It's a category that has grown double digits since 15 years.

ROMO (voice-over): Muchnick himself, who claims he doesn't eat animal products, admits that plant-based alternatives are a work in progress. His technicians are always trying to improve, in terms of nutrition, taste and texture.

Rafael Romo, CNN --

(on camera): Mind if I take another bite?

MUCHNICK: Do. Eat up.

ROMO (voice-over): -- Santiago, Chile.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us. WORLD SPORT starts after the break. Have a good weekend.

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