Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

China's Xi Jinping Presides Over Massive Military Parade in Beijing; 11 Killed in Strike on Alleged Drug Vessel in Caribbean; Israeli Reservists Vow to Refuse Orders for Gaza City Takeover; China Bids for New Global Order Amid Military Parade; Chinese Military on Display at Major Parade in Beijing; Parental Controls to Launch on ChatGPT. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired September 03, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:42]

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.

Xi Jinping's unstoppable China. Beijing's massive military parade with the Russian and North Korean leaders in attendance.

Donald Trump ramps up his offensive against the cartels, striking what the U.S. calls a drug vessel in the Caribbean.

Plus, parental controls are coming to ChatGPT. How OpenAI hopes this will help young users avoid potential harms with its chatbot.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Lynda Kinkade.

KINKADE: Well, China has just wrapped up a massive military parade that was meant to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. It was designed also to send a clear message to allies and adversaries alike that China's military is growing and modernizing, and that the country's rise on the world stage is, quote, "unstoppable," according to its Chinese leader, Xi Jinping.

Xi was joined by several foreign heads of state and stood side by side with Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, marking the first time the three leaders have appeared together in public.

The parade featured thousands of soldiers marching in tight formations and showcased the country's latest military technology, including new intercontinental ballistic missiles, stealth fighters and drones, as well as air and sea defense systems. A show of force that China's leader says is proof, quote, "that the country is never intimidated by any bullies."

Well, we are covering this from all angles. CNN's Marc Stewart is live for us in Beijing and our Mike Valerio is standing by for us in Seoul.

Great to have you both with us. I want to start with you first, Marc. Certainly such a spectacle.

Beijing showing off its military might from tanks and drones to balloons and even doves. Talk to us about the optics. What message is China sending?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Lynda. Look, this was bold. It was unapologetic. China wanted to show off its strength. And for about 90 minutes or so today, it certainly did with these images being blasted around the world. The optics, the symbolism, very strong as China shows its military might.

There are really two big goals out of all of this. Number one was, again, for China to continue this narrative that it too can be a leader on the world stage, an alternative to the West and some of these traditional alliances, strongholds like NATO. The other goal of China was to position itself and portray itself as a strong, stable, rational force. And for Xi Jinping to have all of these world leaders here, including Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, standing next to him is a tremendous sense of validation.

Xi Jinping did speak briefly. His talking points not necessarily novel, but continuing on themes of the past about a calm road ahead, a logical roadmap for the future.

Let's listen to some of his remarks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

XI JINPING, CHINESE PRESIDENT (through translator): Today, humanity once again faces the choice between peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, win-win cooperation over a zero sum game. The Chinese people firmly stand on the right side of history and the progress of human civilization. We adhere to the path of peaceful development and work hand in hand with people of all countries to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: Despite the optics of missiles and tanks in the streets of Beijing, he took a much leveled, much more peace focused approach.

Perhaps one of the biggest moments of the day was a flyover toward the end of this parade. We saw military jets crisscrossing or going across the skies here in downtown Beijing. I was actually in our studio as part of our live coverage. I could hear it and immediately I opened the curtain to the window and you could see these planes flying overhead. It was quite a dramatic sight.

[00:05:03]

Lynda, just because the parade is over, it doesn't mean that Xi Jinping and the world spotlight is necessarily going away. We have many world leaders here. It is likely that he will spend some more time with them, not necessarily an extended conversation like we saw yesterday between he and Vladimir Putin, but of course, Kim Jong-un is here, the president of Iran. So we're expecting to see perhaps some meetings later today there are also a number of events planned as well -- Lynda.

KINKADE: All right. If you can stand by for us, Marc, I want to bring in Mike because certainly, as Marc mentioned, alongside China's president, the leaders of Iran, Russia, North Korea, Kim Jong-un even made the journey by a luxury bulletproof train.

Just how is South Korea interpreting this very public show of alignment?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're looking at where his place is now, Lynda. And Kim Jong-un, I think it's fair to say, has regained a place of honor next to Xi Jinping and Russian president Vladimir Putin. And what we mean by that, what we're talking about here is that for the better part of a year, we weren't sure exactly what Kim Jong-un standing was with Xi Jinping.

And that is because, as he seemed to gravitate closer to Vladimir Putin as Russia was relying and still is relying on North Korean artillery shells, manpower to serve as a lifeline for their war in Ukraine, it seemed as though, and I stress seem from an outside observer's perspective, shared among many North Korea watchers, that perhaps North Korea was drifting farther and farther away from the orbit of Beijing.

Even small things like when a new beach resort was opened a couple of months ago, it was Russian tourists who were coming. No Chinese tourists were admitted in. So we were all wondering, like, are they good? What is the rapport? So a few days ago, when we learned that Xi Jinping was personally inviting Kim Jong-un to this display, that was our first indication that, like, OK, they have relations that are warming up again.

And to the point when this whole parade is to try to show to the world that China and its allies are not afraid to challenge the United States based world order and the world order that is led by democracies writ large from the point of view of these nations that were in Beijing today, Xi Jinping is saying that Kim Jong-un has an irreplaceable position in that new world order. Standing right next to him, we were wondering, OK, is he going to be off to the side? Is he going to be in a different frame of the camera?

But I think the indelible image, Lynda, today was Xi Jinping front and center, Vladimir Putin to his right, Kim Jong-un to his left. That conveys that the three men who have never been seen on the same stage together at the same time, are linked on this new path closer than ever to challenge this U.S. and Western based world order.

KINKADE: And of course, just back to Marc again. Thanks to you, Mike.

Marc, how are Chinese citizens perceiving this event? Is there a sense of national pride, or perhaps a concern about rising tensions globally? Or is it kind of hard to check the temperature right now?

STEWART: Well, Lynda, I think this is very much domestic centered in the sense that for Chinese people, this is a moment of pride, regardless of what's happening in other parts of the world. I remember talking to a man just a few weeks ago in anticipation of this parade, and he said, for such a long time, China has kept a low profile. And now this is China's moment to elevate itself.

I was also thinking back to an experience I had almost a good year ago, when China sent a rocket to the moon. It sent a spacecraft to the moon. I remember talking to a Chinese man who said, we are able to send someone to the moon. It's a symbol of strength. I think a lot of the same themes certainly were exuded here.

And this national pride in many ways, Lynda, is needed. The Chinese domestic economy is dealing with a lot of hardship right now. There is unemployment. There is the aftermath of a real estate crisis. Young people say they're very unmotivated to go to work. So in many ways, this was a show for the world, but also for Chinese citizens. If anything, a big boost of energy that Xi Jinping and the leadership in Beijing certainly hopes will help prevail China into the future.

KINKADE: All right, Marc Stewart, for us in Beijing. Mike Valerio in Seoul. A very busy day. We will chat again soon. Thank you.

Well, President Trump says the U.S. Military has killed at least 11 people in a targeted strike on a vessel allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean. He claims the boat from Venezuela was linked to the Tren de Aragua, the criminal organization that the U.S. considers a terrorist group, and one which President Trump has cited in his aggressive immigration crackdown.

[00:10:08]

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is promising more details on what the U.S. calls a counter-drug mission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: It was a lethal strike. I think the Pentagon will have more details and other things to offer you here in the next few hours.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: So what kind of a vessel?

RUBIO: Yes, that's a drug vessel. It was carrying drugs.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Size?

RUBIO: I'll refer you to the Pentagon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: The U.S. Military buildup in the Caribbean has angered Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. President Trump accuses him of controlling the cartel involved. President Maduro has said Venezuela will not bow to threats from the U.S.

CNN's Jennifer Hansler has more on the strike from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. Military on Tuesday conducted a deadly strike against an alleged drug vessel that they say was operated by the cartel Tren de Aragua. President Donald Trump said in a post that 11 people were killed in this strike, which he said took place in international waters. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had earlier referred to the lethal strike taking place in the southern Caribbean, and he said the boat had departed from Venezuela.

The military action against the cartels is a significant escalation by the Trump administration, and could have severe implications for the region. The Trump administration earlier this year designated a number of cartels, including Tren de Aragua, as foreign terrorist organizations. In his post on Tuesday, President Trump said, quote, "Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. Beware."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said that the counter-drug mission would continue, and he said the administration was going to wage combat against the cartels. All of this comes as the U.S. has deployed significant military assets to the area around Latin America and the Caribbean. They've also deployed more than 4,000 service members.

This deployment was condemned by Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela. He has said that he would meet maximum pressure with maximum pressure, and we will wait to see what his response will be to this strike on Tuesday.

Jennifer Hansler, CNN, the State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Israel's military is mobilizing tens of thousands of reservists despite growing tensions with political leaders over the looming operation to seize Gaza City.

We'll have the latest on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:16:58]

KINKADE: Qatar says mediators are now discussing a different model for a Gaza ceasefire agreement. Tuesday's announcement comes as Israel insists it will only discuss a comprehensive deal that would release all of the remaining hostages and end the war on Israel's terms and conditions. The most recent proposal for a 60-day ceasefire, which was accepted by Hamas last month, would see 10 of the living hostages returned in exchange for a mass release of Palestinian prisoners. That offer is based on a similar proposal presented by the U.S. in July, and crafted in coordination with Israel.

Dissent is brewing within the Israeli military ahead of a full scale operation to seize Gaza City. On Tuesday as thousands of Israeli reservists begin reporting for duty to prepare for the takeover, a growing movement known as Soldiers for Hostages announced that they will refuse orders to participate in what they call Netanyahu's illegal war.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Tens of thousands of Israeli military reservists were mobilized on Tuesday in preparation for Israel's major assault on Gaza City, a city where nearly one million people are currently living and now at risk of being displaced. But what is especially extraordinary about this moment is that this operation is moving forward with the call up of 60,000 reservists, despite the fact that Israel's top general, the military's chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, has effectively expressed opposition to carrying out this operation.

And that's because we've learned that in a series of security cabinet meetings, General Zamir has effectively made clear that he doesn't believe this operation will lead to the total defeat of Hamas, which the Israeli prime minister has made clear is his goal. And he has also warned that it will lead to the loss of life of Israeli soldiers, and also could put at risk the lives of the remaining hostages held in Gaza.

Instead, the chief of staff has been urging this Israeli government to take up the ceasefire proposal and hostage release deal on the table, which Hamas accepted about two weeks ago, in which the Israeli government has yet to respond to. Instead, the Israeli government has indicated -- the prime minister himself has indicated that a partial deal for the release of some of the hostages is no longer something that he is interested.

Instead, he is looking for a total deal that would secure the release of all of the hostages, lead to an end of the war in Gaza, and critically, something that's been a red line for Hamas, Hamas demilitarizing and disarming in the Gaza Strip.

And so this is quite a significant moment, one that carries enormous risk for Palestinians in Gaza City, where we've already started to see waves of thousands of people beginning to flee the city, hundreds of people who have been killed in the early steps of the Israeli military bombing and shelling Gaza City over the course of just the last few days.

[00:20:06]

In addition to that, we are also seeing a wave of countries that are preparing to recognize a Palestinian state partially in response, not only to the starvation, the famine that we have seen in parts of Gaza, but also in response to this impending Israeli military assault on Gaza City. And in in response to that, the Israeli government is now weighing potential retaliatory measures for those countries that plan to recognize Palestine as a state.

The prime minister set to hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss these proposals to annex parts of the West Bank. And his options that are now on the table range from a limited takeover of several Jewish settlements to recognizing all of Area C, which is already under Israeli security and administrative control and amounts to 60 percent of the West Bank. That would effectively be a major step to preclude the possibility of a Palestinian state ever actually existing on the ground.

And that is exactly the goal of many of the right-wing members of this government. It's not clear that the Israeli prime minister will actually move forward with annexation. There are other retaliatory steps that he could take, but certainly this is one of the options now on the table.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Hypersonic missiles and underwater drones, just some of the cutting edge weapons on display at the military parade in Beijing.

Coming up, I'll speak to a military analyst about their significance.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:26:27]

KINKADE: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

China has wrapped up an elaborate parade led by President Xi Jinping, showcasing its latest military hardware. The event marks 80 years since the end of World War II in Asia. Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended.

A landmark trial that could reshape Brazil's political landscape began on Tuesday. Former president Jair Bolsonaro is accusing -- is accused of plotting to overturn his defeat in the 2022 election. If found guilty by Brazil's Supreme Court, the right-wing populist leader could go to prison for decades.

The prosecutor's office in Paris has confirmed that actor Gerard Depardieu will face trial for alleged rape, but no court date was announced. Actress Charlotte Arnould first accused Depardieu of rape in 2018. He has denied any wrongdoing. He was convicted of sexual assault earlier this year in a separate case.

Military experts are analyzing all the new technology on display in China's huge parade. It included at least two types of air defense laser weapons. State-run media says one can be mounted on warships. The parade also featured extra-large undersea drones and several hypersonic weapons. Chinese officials said more than 10,000 military personnel were taking part, along with more than 100 aircraft and several hundred ground vehicles.

Well, joining me now from Brisbane is retired Australian army major general, Mick Ryan, now a senior fellow for military studies at the Lowy Institute.

Great to see you, General.

MAJ. GEN. MICK RYAN (RET.), AUSTRALIAN ARMY: It's good to be with you.

KINKADE: So, General Ryan, we've just witnessed what was one of the most dramatic military parades in modern Chinese history. Officially, it commemorates the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. A message of peace, according to Beijing. But you've said the real purpose is far more strategic. In your view, what are they trying to achieve here?

RYAN: Well, I think there are several objectives that the Chinese were seeking with this parade. First and foremost was to show that, you know, China's time has come. This is part of a consistent and steady narrative of the current president of China, Xi Jinping. But it also in some respects shows off China's military hardware to the world. Not just that it's a capable and professional military, but this is hardware that China might be willing to sell to many countries to replace countries like the United States and Russia who are traditional sellers of large numbers of military equipment like this.

KINKADE: And speaking of that equipment, China certainly rolled out the big guns quite literally. We saw the full nuclear triad on display, missiles that can be launched from land, sea, air, along with hypersonic weapons, drones, electronic warfare systems.

How would you assess China's current military capability?

RYAN: Well, I would assess that they certainly have a hyper modern military capacity. They have all the modern weapons that you could hope for and indeed many of the systems on display, be they tanks or missiles or aircraft, are more modern or at least newer than many of their Western counterparts. But none of them have been used in combat like many American or European systems have. We don't know how the Chinese will integrate them into their overall war fighting concepts.

So impressive on the surface but military parades are not a good indicator of military effectiveness.

[00:30:09]

KINKADE: President Trump has downplayed the parade, although he did take to Truth Social to question whether the nations, the leaders of the nations there were colluding against the U.S.

Still, he insisted that the U.S. has no concerns. I just want to play some sound from President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT (via phone): I'm not concerned at all. No, they -- I'm not at all. We have the strongest military in the world by far, and they would never use their military on us. Believe me, that would be the worst thing that could ever do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Is he right? Is the U.S. Still the strongest military in the world?

MAJ. GEN. MICK: Well, I think it is, but probably by a lesser margin than it has been for many decades. The Chinese military is -- is very technologically sophisticated. It's big, but most importantly, it just about builds everything it needs indigenously.

This gives it a lot of flexibility if it gets involved in a war in the future, because it can't be coerced by foreign suppliers of weapons, stopping them from using them.

The Chinese are very capable. We should not underestimate their capacity in our strategic planning.

KINKADE: And we certainly saw Xi Jinping flanked by Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un. What do you suspect Putin and his generals were thinking, watching that parade?

RYAN: Well, I think they would be more worried than encouraged, to be quite frank. Russia and China fought each other in the last century. They've certainly got a long history of antagonism. The recent coming together may not last forever.

And, given that Russia has stripped out many of its military forces from the East to fight in Ukraine, if I was a Russian general sitting in Moscow, I'd be feeling very vulnerable right now.

KINKADE: Hmm. Great to get your analysis, as always. Mick Ryan in Brisbane, Australia. Thanks so much for your time.

RYAN: Thank you.

KINKADE: Still to come, parents could soon have more access to their children's ChatGPT accounts. Coming up, what is driving the changes to this popular chatbot?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:31:54]

KINKADE: Welcome back. In a ruling that's being closely watched across California's Silicon Valley, a U.S. federal court judge has ruled that Google will not be required to sell off its Chrome browser or Android.

The decision came at a landmark antitrust case that found the tech giant was operating an illegal online search monopoly.

But the company will be barred from entering into or maintaining exclusive contracts related to the distribution of its services, like Chrome, Google Assistant and its Gemini app.

And the parent company of ChatGPT is launching parental controls for its popular A.I. assistant. OpenAI hopes the controls will address concerns that ChatGPT and other chatbots have contributed to self-harm or suicide among teenagers.

CNN's Hadas Gold reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New guardrails are coming into place for ChatGPT after a series of high-profile cases where people's mental health issues were exacerbated --

GOLD (voice-over): -- after lengthy interactions with OpenAI's ChatGPT A.I. chatbot.

Most recently, a family in California has sued OpenAI, alleging that it played a role in their 16-year-old son's suicide.

Now, according to the lawsuit and the chat logs, ChatGPT offered the teen help to write a suicide note and even set up a noose. Now, after that lawsuit was filed, OpenAI did say that changes would be coming.

And on Tuesday, they rolled out a series of what they said were parental controls that will be coming into effect in the next month or so.

Now, part of these parental controls will include that parents can link their own account with their teen's. They'll be able to control for age-appropriate model behavior rules.

They'll be able to disable features on their teen account, like memory and chat history. And that the parents can receive notifications when the system detects that their teen may be in a moment of acute distress.

OpenAI says that this will also be part of a series of other changes, other guardrails that will be instituting system-wide over the next 120 days, about four months or so, to help protect people if they are experiencing mental health issues as they're interacting with ChatGPT.

These include expanding interventions for more people in crisis, making it easier to reach emergency services and talk to experts. And also, enabling connections to trusted contacts.

Now, OpenAI says that ChatGPT already has a new guardrail in place. This is a timer notification that will -- sort of a notification that pops up if you're spending a very long time talking to ChatGPT.

And this is important, because one thing that OpenAI has admitted is that the guardrails that they have in place work well when you're having a short interaction with ChatGPT, but the guardrails become unreliable when you're having a very lengthy interaction with ChatGPT.

And many people I've spoken to who've experienced these mental health issues, exasperated [SIC] by A.I. chats, what they sometimes call A.I. delusions, they're having days-long, weeks-long conversations with these chatbots.

Now, these guardrails are just for OpenAI and ChatGPT. There are a lot of different A.I. chatbots, A.I. companies out there. And each have their own different rules and regulations over these potential safety guardrails. GOLD: Hadas Gold, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, Sweden has a new list of most prized cultural heritage.

[00:40:03]

Among the 100 works, brands, and ideas on the list are the wacky red- haired Pippi Longstocking, IKEA, and, of course, the Nobel Prize.

The list is a pet project of the government's right-wing ruling coalition and was authored by the nationalist, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats. It has been criticized by some for being far too narrow.

All items on the list must be at least 50 years old, which is why pop group ABBA, one of the country's most famous cultural exports, did not make the cut.

Well, that does it for this edition of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Thanks for your company. I'll be back with much more news at the top of the hour. For now, WORLD SPORT is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:45:30]

(WORLD SPORT)