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Xi & Putin Meet in China Ahead of Military Parade; Artificial Intelligence's Real Environmental Cost. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired September 02, 2025 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: -- Korean-inspired spot Coqodaq is charging $100 for six nuggets with a side of caviar.
[06:00:09]
Fans are loving it. Some say, at that price, it may not be an everyday indulgence. Yes, you think?
Others -- hit offerings at this year's tournament are mahi mango tacos, ramen shrimp scampi, and rye cookies. All sound pretty delicious to me.
Thank you for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Brian Abel in Washington. CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: The gun show in China. President Xi flexes his military might for Putin as North Korea's Kim Jong-un enters the chat.
CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
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PETER NAVARRO, TRUMP ADVISOR: It was a shame to see Modi getting in bed with the two biggest authoritarian dictators in the world.
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CORNISH: The White House watches as what could be a new world order takes shape.
And the CDC and chaos. Ripped apart, says the president, because of the COVID shots developed on his watch.
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SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): What's he trying to distract from?
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): This is a wonderful distraction.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: This is the distraction of the day.
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CORNISH: The "D" word. Democrats use it a lot. Is it too much? The president's about to award the nation's highest civilian honor to
former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. And the group chat is going to have some thoughts on that this morning.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you call her fat?
CARDI B, RAPPER: No. I was calling her a (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
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CORNISH: Cardi B goes viral for her colorful testimony. But will it sway the jury?
Artificial intelligence and power. Even big tech now admits asking ChatGPT could put the planet at risk.
Six a.m. here on the East Coast. Here's a live look at Capitol Hill as lawmakers return to D.C. today.
Good morning, everybody. It's Tuesday, September 2. I want to thank you for joining us. I'm Audie Cornish, and here's where we start, in Beijing, where right now, two of America's global adversaries get closer by the moment.
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VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I thank you for the warm welcome extended to our entire delegation. Our close communication reflects the strategic nature of Russia-China relations, which are at an unprecedentedly high level.
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CORNISH: China's Xi Jinping called Russia's Vladimir Putin his old friend moments ago at today's summit. The headline event of Putin's four-day visit will be a massive military parade in China's capital. That's happening in the coming hours.
Also traveling to Beijing, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, along with a total of 26 foreign heads of state. It will be only the 10th time Kim has left his country since taking power.
Joining me now to discuss is CNN correspondent Marc Stewart in Beijing.
Marc, we're talking about Putin here, Xi, Kim, all together. Is this rare, or have these powers been coming together more recently, more often?
MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is rare. This may be the first time, if our history is correct, that we will see all three of these leaders perhaps standing together in front of Tiananmen Square. This is an event that certainly is going to be rich in optics. And
really, it's the symbolism that is going to be the story: to see two established nuclear powers being China and Russia, the leaders of these two nations, and then an ambitious nuclear nation, North Korea, hoping to develop its nuclear program further.
To see these three together, these images are going to reverberate around the world.
And it really is happening at a time when China, in particular, is seeking validation as it really tries to establish itself as the leader of what is often described as a new world order, something to counter the West, to counter these traditional alliances, such as NATO.
That's the big theme that certainly is going to be projected.
It's also a way to boost the morale and show some excitement for the Chinese population, as well. There's been a lot of curiosity, not only about these photo ops, but also one-on-one meetings.
It is very likely that we will see Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un have some kind of conversation. After all, the North Korean leader did travel here by train, which has a whole history within itself. So, that's a meeting that we are looking to potentially take place.
And then earlier today, here in Beijing, we saw Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping meet in the iconic Great Hall of the People. This has been a relationship, a no-limits relationship, as it's often described. And once again today, that kinship was very strong.
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Keep in mind that China has not condemned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. China continues to be Russia's No. 1 customer of oil. So, this relationship is very strong, as we heard from those remarks by Vladimir Putin.
So, Audie, looking forward, I think it's not going to be a question of seeing agreements or substantial decisions made. It's the fact that we are going to see all of these leaders together. It's the symbolism which really is going to be the big story here.
CORNISH: CNN correspondent Marc Stewart in Beijing with some great context there. Thank you, Marc.
I want to keep the conversation going and talk about what this means for the U.S. in this new world order in the age of Trump.
Joining me now in the group chat, Isaac Dovere, CNN senior reporter; Jonah Goldberg, CNN political commentator and editor in chief of "The Dispatch"; and Maria Cardona, CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist.
Another thing that a lot of these countries have in common, when you look at Myanmar, Iran, India, the other people who are there, is sanctions. They're all people who are dealing with pretty tough sanctions by the U.S. and are looking for alternate patrons, so to speak.
Jonah, now that we are fully living in the "America first," whatever the Trump foreign policy doctrine is, what does it mean in the face of a new axis?
JONAH GOLDBERG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. So, I mean, I -- I was in India in -- last Fall and met with a lot of government officials and think tankers and all that kind of stuff. And it was an interesting experience.
And one of the things I came away with is, first of all, being very pro-India as a future strategic -- strategic ally, I also don't think India is permanently going to be, like, aligned with China and Russia.
It -- Modi's --
CORNISH: But taking a photo, Modi in the limo with Putin, is clearly trying to send a message.
GOLDBERG: Yes, it's -- it's a diplomatic black eye for the -- for America.
CORNISH: Yes.
GOLDBERG: It's disastrous for America.
And there is -- you know, in 1949, when the -- when China went communist, the debate in foreign policy circles for more than decade was who lost China.
And you could have a debate here about who lost India, which would be, I think, disastrous for us, but also probably disastrous for India.
CORNISH: Yes, but we know that the U.S. is concerned about this. Here's Trump adviser Peter Navarro talking about India in the context of what you were talking about.
And just for context, India is facing levies, I think, of 50 percent in terms of tariffs by the U.S. for accepting Russian oil. Here's what Navarro had to say.
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NAVARRO: It's time for -- for Modi to step up. I have great respect for Modi. I love the Indian people. It's -- it was a shame to see Modi getting in bed, as the leader of the biggest democracy in the world, with the two biggest authoritarian dictators in the world in Putin and Xi Jinping. That doesn't make any sense.
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MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Except for it does make sense when you look at how the United States is -- is treating what could potentially be and has been our allies. I remember in the '90s when India was one of the big emerging markets
for exactly the reasons that you just stated, Jonah.
And so, I think this is bigger than just India. This is demonstrating the way that Trump has treated our allies and has treated countries in the -- in the West, is giving China an opening, because people cannot -- our allies around the world on a global scale cannot trust the United States anymore to be a good partner, to be somebody that they can count on.
You have China investing billions in Africa, investing billions in Latin America. This --
CORNISH: Which they've done for a long time.
CARDONA: They -- they have.
CORNISH: But you're pointing out it's in the vacuum.
CARDONA: Yes.
CORNISH: That the U.S. is leaving.
CARDONA: That's exactly right.
CORNISH: OK.
CARDONA: And even in things like moving away, taking away our investments in climate, for example, in green energy, this is going to be a market that is huge. It is currently huge for China.
CORNISH: Yes.
CARDONA: And they're going to be able to continue to move into those areas.
CORNISH: I was interested in something Marc said, which is he talked about the relationship between China and Russia, like having no limits and using that term "no limits," which is comparing that, in my mind, to Trump's relationship even with Europe, which is definitely like, limits, conditions, fine print. Like, it's a very different offer.
EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: But also, a very different clock on everything, right? Trump is often thinking, at most, by his two-week standard. Right?
Russia and China don't think about things in that way. And their government systems allow them to not think of things in that way.
But look, I'm thinking, sitting here this morning, about ten years ago, in 2015, I was in India myself with Barack Obama when he went there at the beginning of 2015.
And the big thing that he was doing on that trip was trying to steer India into the Paris climate accords. And the reason why he was trying to do that was not just to get India there, but to put pressure on China so that they would join.
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That was for a climate -- international climate policy agreement that, whether you think it was perfect or not -- and it definitely was not perfect -- but what -- there are a lot of questions that have been raised about it, even by people who are for it -- was thinking about the world order in a very different way than what Donald Trump is doing here.
And I think it's important. We can forget in America how much, all around the world, they are watching what happens in our political process here in capitals and --
CORNISH: Yes.
DOVERE: And all of these world leaders are looking at this and thinking, what -- what do they do now?
GOLDBERG: One thing that I mean, this is like the third time I've talked about this in 24 hours. And the one thing that keeps falling out of it is the personalist nature of Donald Trump's understanding of geopolitics.
He tried to lean very heavily on Modi, who, look, is a technocrat. But he's also a populist, you know -- not autocrat.
CORNISH: Yes.
GOLDBERG: But he's a populist leader, too. And he tried to lean on Modi on the issue of how to spin Trump's intervention on the India- Pakistan conflict.
CORNISH: Right.
GOLDBERG: Which --
CORNISH: Saying that he had solved it and created a --
GOLDBERG: Imagine Modi saying here's -- you know, President Trump, here's how you need to talk about the Epstein files.
I mean, it is such an unbelievably sensitive, complicated issue for the -- culturally, politically. I'm not saying India is always right about it, but Trump wants a Nobel Prize.
CORNISH: Right.
DOVERE: And that's the core of it. He wants India to nominate him for the Nobel Prize for that.
CORNISH: For that.
DOVERE: But that's not in Modi's interest, necessarily.
CORNISH: I don't think that's -- yes. GOLDBERG: Modi cannot be seen as giving in to that kind of pressure.
CORNISH: Yes.
GOLDBERG: Pakistan played it pretty smart, because they could. And now it's -- I don't know.
CARDONA: Not make him happy.
CORNISH: Well, I'm glad you guys are talking about this, because I think that these are the kinds of moments that history, you can, like, look back on and wonder. And for -- we're talking about India in part because it's like, how do we treat our friends?
CARDONA: Right.
CORNISH: How do we treat our enemies? Et cetera.
All right. Group chat, stay with us. We've got a lot to talk about this hour.
Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, we'll see President Trump, who just hours from now is making a big announcement. Will that be enough to quiet some wild rumors out there on social media?
Plus, Bill Belichick's big debut as a college football head coach didn't go so well.
And closing arguments set to begin in a few hours in the civil trial against Cardi B.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who's trying to get some money?
CARDI B: She is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you know that?
CARDI B: Because she's suing me for 25 million -- $24 million.
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CORNISH: It's now 15 minutes past the hour, and here is your morning roundup.
Tragedy in Sudan. More than 1,000 people are dead after a landslide wiped out an entire village in the Marra mountains. The Sudan Liberation Movement says only one person survived.
The disaster followed days of heavy rain in the war-torn Darfur region. It's where thousands had fled the ongoing fighting. The group is now pleading for urgent international help.
Today, closing arguments set to begin in the civil trial against Cardi B. A security guard suing the rapper for $24 million, accusing her of physical assault. Cardi claims it's all a money grab.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you disabled? Yes or no?
CARDI B: At that moment, when you're pregnant, I'm very disabled. You want me to tell you the things I can't do?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fine, fine.
You said she's bigger than you? Is that correct?
CARDI B: Absolutely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you know that?
CARDI B: I mean, look.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you call her fat?
CARDI B: No. I was calling her a (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
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CORNISH: The rapper's team says there was no physical altercation, just a verbal one.
And Bill Belichick's highly anticipated college football coaching debut did not go as planned. The University of North Carolina Tar Heels fell to Texas Christian University in a tough season opener. We're talking a 48-to-14 loss.
And after the break on CNN THIS MORNING, Congress returns to Capitol Hill today. And they haven't forgotten about the Epstein files. But they do have enough support -- or do they? -- to get them released.
Plus, when you ask ChatGPT a question, should you be concerned about harming the environment?
And good morning to New York City. Your former mayor about to get the nation's highest honor for civilians. And it's turning some heads.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In addition to the water use, this was a problem because of the energy used.
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CORNISH: A.I. is draining local water supplies. And we've known this for a while. States want to regulate it on their own. Municipalities are wary, and now tech companies are trying to ease those fears.
Google Gemini just put out a new report which claims that one search query is equivalent to watching nine seconds of TV and uses five drops of water.
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JEFF DEAN, GOOGLE'S CHIEF SCIENTIST: People were wondering, like, if I do a Gemini query, is that equivalent to driving a car a thousand miles? And the answer is absolutely not. Like the data we gathered shows carbon emissions are actually quite small.
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Cornish: But not all A.I. models are created equal. Ask it something more complex, and the answer could take up a lot more resources. Not to mention that home power bills near these data centers are on the rise.
We're bringing in CNN business tech editor Lisa Eadicicco to talk about this.
Good morning, Lisa.
LISA EADICICCO, CNN BUSINESS TECH EDITOR: Good morning. Thanks for having me.
CORNISH: I don't think it's an accident that the voice of that person we heard at that kind of town meeting was in Arizona, right? Like places in the country where they're already concerned about water supplies.
Can you talk about how else this is sort of reverberating in the public?
EADICICCO: Yes. I think the biggest concern here, in addition to the water supply, is how this is going to impact consumers' energy bills eventually. Because one thing that we're seeing in research and projections that are out there right now is that the demand for power is only going to increase in the coming years.
There's a report from the Department of Energy that estimates that, by 2028, data centers that -- that power these A.I. services are expected to consume about 6.7 to 12 percent of electricity in the United States. And that's a big jump from 4.4 percent in 2023, according to that report.
And I think one of the challenges here is that it's really hard to kind of quantify how much electricity and energy these A.I. Services are occupying, because it can vary so much. We're talking about how much energy a text prompt might occupy, but people --
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CORNISH: And they don't exactly share the data. You know what I mean?
EADICICCO: Right.
CORNISH: Like, it's -- it's not as though we can crunch these numbers for ourselves. It's been interesting watching lawmakers try and get more information.
This -- we have sound of this tech CEO who was talking to a Senate panel over the summer about it. Take a listen.
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JEFF TENCH, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, VANTAGE DATA CENTERS: The greatest barrier we collectively face to our country's leadership on artificial intelligence today is timely access to reliable electric power.
We have multiple customers seeking one gigawatt or more for A.I. infrastructure, which is the equivalent of all electrical power used here in Washington, D.C.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: I mean, this is a massive call this industry is making on our infrastructure.
EADICICCO: Absolutely. And that's only going to expand. Like I said, a lot of these tech giants are investing billions of dollars in expanding their infrastructure and their data centers.
Meta, just on its most recent earnings report, said that it's investing 17 billion in capital expenditures in the quarter that ended in June. So, that number is important in this context, because it does typically refer to the amount of money spent on leases and infrastructure and things like that.
And that's probably only going to increase in the future as there's more demand for these services.
And it is hard to quantify, because people use A.I. for so many different things, and it's going to get harder to track as A.I. just gets baked into everything. And you're not always just going to ChatGPT to type in a query.
But some, you know, algorithms from OpenAI and these other tech companies might just be part of the other services that you're using down the line.
So, I do think it's going to be challenging to quantify, and it's going to be hard for these tech companies to kind of quantify that and put out that information in a timely manner.
CORNISH: What I hear, though, in these ads, talking about how much it uses, is they know we're concerned about it, right? You don't make these advertisements and explanations unless you know there's people out there saying, is it worth Googling or is it worth searching for something that's going to do this much damage for an answer I can get otherwise?
EADICICCO: Yes. And I think this is something that's not entirely new to big tech, especially those really large tech companies like the Metas and Googles of the world.
They've been aware of their carbon footprint for a long time and have been trying to make their operations more sustainable. So, I think this growth of A.I. services and this increased demand for electricity is just kind of another layer of that and another challenge for them to tackle moving forward.
CORNISH: All right. CNN's Lisa Eadicicco, thank you so much.
EADICICCO: Thanks for having me.
CORNISH: Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, the COVID vaccine was created under his watch. Now the president says it's ripping the CDC apart. Can he have it both ways?
Plus, Carlos Alcaraz back on the court today after making history at the U.S. Open.
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