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Secretary Blinken Meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping; Alexei Navalny Faces New Trial Over Extremist Views; Pennsylvania Trooper Shot and Killed in Gun Battle. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired June 19, 2023 - 05:00   ET

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

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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world, I'm Christine Romans. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meeting face-to-face right now with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. The high stakes one-on-one is part of Blinken's efforts to meet with China's top diplomat, an effort to lower the temperature amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China.

CNN's Kylie Atwood live in Beijing for us this morning. Just the fact that they're meeting is huge news. Kylie. We just learned about 90 minutes ago that this meeting was a goal. What do we know about it?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right, it's happening right now here in Beijing. The Secretary of State who is the first Biden cabinet official to visit China throughout Biden's administration more than two and a half years is sitting down, meeting with President Xi, we don't know much about the meeting yet, because it's still ongoing.

But here's what we do know. There have been a number of hours that the secretary has engaged with Chinese officials over the course of the last two days here in Beijing, spending more than five hours in a working meeting with Foreign Minister Qin Gang yesterday, followed by a working dinner.

And then he met earlier today with Wang Yi, who is China's top diplomat for three hours here in Beijing. A number of issues, State Department officials last night told reporters who are here on the ground that they were making progress on a number of threads. They said that the meetings had been direct.

What they didn't do was get into the substance of these meetings just yet. Of course, they were briefing us in the middle of this two-day stretch here in Beijing. So what we're waiting to see is if there can be any forward progress on a few things that the United States set out to do on this trip. First of all, they want to regularize communications between the U.S. and China, particularly when it comes to military-to-military channels of communications between the two countries.

And then, there were a number of concerning issues that the secretary was going to raise with his Chinese counterpart. One of those, of course, being the issue of synthetic opioids in the United States, which is a major killer of Americans. Fentanyl, the input from fentanyl, many of those substances come from China.

That's something that he was going to discuss with his Chinese counterparts. Also three Americans who were wrongly detained in China, he wanted to raise that to seek ground if there was a way to try and get those Americans out of this country. And then, of course, the issue locally here in the region of Taiwan.

And yesterday, the foreign ministry put out a readout of the secretary's meetings, and it was clear that Taiwan was a sticking point. Because that readout said that China's foreign ministry made demands regarding the issue of Taiwan, and said that, that is the issue that presents the most pronounced problem for U.S.-China relations.

So, we'll watch to see what kind of conversations they had about Taiwan. Of course, the ongoing war in Ukraine was also expected to be a topic that they were going to raise. They secretary has a press conference later this morning.

ROMANS: Yes, cooling tensions seems to be really important here at this point. We had just a deteriorating relationship with China for so long. All right, Kylie Atwood, thank you so much. Now, to Russia, where jailed Putin critic Alexei Navalny is back in court. Navalny faces extremism charges. New charges. He's already serving nine years behind bars for fraud and contempt of court.

A new conviction could tack another 30 years onto his sentence. CNN's Matthew Chance is live in Moscow with the latest. And Matthew, what kind of defenses Navalny mounting, and does it stand any chance of fending off these new charges?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm not sure about that. But I know that Alexei Navalny has been presented, and his legal team have been presented with maybe, 4,000 pages or, you know, outlining the crimes that he's alleged to have committed. You know, like his organization says when he's been behind bars.

And so, these are very extensive charges that the Russian authorities have assembled against Alexei Navalny, as you just said. He's in prison for nine years, if he's found guilty of financing terrorism -- extremism, rather, and promoting extremism, then they could add a further 30 years on top of that. There's been a statement from Alexei Navalny referring to the absurdity of all of this.

Because remember, this comes at a time when the Russian authorities are really cracking down, and more than a year now since the war in Ukraine, really cracking down on opposition figures in the country, basically, all of the main opposition figures who have remained in Russia have been locked up.

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Alexei Navalny is just the most prominent amongst them. And he said this, talking about the new charges against him -- "although, it's clear from the size of the tomes the number of documents that I am a sophisticated and persistent criminal, it's impossible to find out what exactly I am accused of."

And so, you know, that quote from Alexei Navalny sort of pointing to the absurdity and the inevitability, perhaps, of these charges against him.

ROMANS: All right, Matthew Chance for us in Moscow, thank you so much for that. A Pennsylvania state trooper was shot and killed over the weekend, another is now fighting for his life. Police say the gunfire began at the state police barracks in Mifflintown. CNN's Polo Sandoval has the details.

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, this was a nearly 4-hour long ordeal that culminated a violent shoot-out between Pennsylvania state troopers and a suspect who was armed with a hunting rifle, and a scene that was described on Sunday by authorities as a situation that was as harrowing as it gets.

It all started on Saturday afternoon when police say a suspect, a 38- year-old Pennsylvania man pulled into the barracks at the Pennsylvania state police in Lewistown, which is about 57 miles west of the capital city of Harrisburg, and then it opened fire on their parked patrol cars. He then drove away, and it was nearly two hours later, that the suspect then took aim at Lieutenant James Wagner.

A married father who is also a 21-year-old veteran, he critically wounded him. We're told he's still in the hospital. Witnesses even using the lieutenant's radio to summon help from authorities. And it was later, a couple of hours later that authorities then tracked down the suspect near some businesses, near a restaurant, when that suspect reportedly shot and killed a trooper Yack Rogell(ph), about 29 years old, a member of the force there before the suspect was then shot and killed, ending what was an extremely violent shoot-out that was described by the Lieutenant Colonel you're about to hear from as virtual war zone.

GEORGE BIVENS, STATE POLICE, PENNSYLVANIA: What I witnessed, and I will tell you in my many years with the Pennsylvania state police and many serious situations, was one of the most intense, unbelievable gun fights I have ever witnessed. As he, Stein, drove through a field, approached Harshbarger's store, and a small restaurant there, he drove to the parking lot.

There were people in the lot that were patronizing that business. Our troopers put themselves between those people and by force with their vehicles, and by engaging him, forced him away from the business.

SANDOVAL: And there's a question about a motive. At this point, authorities saying that they're not able to elaborate on that, only that this was basically a cat and mouse game that the suspect was playing. He would call into some of the 911 centers and then tell authorities that he was at a particular location, authorities would arrive and then he was gone. We also know according to authorities that he used a very high caliber

rifle that was customarily used to hunt large game, and that anybody armor that Pennsylvania state troopers would have been using would have been no match for the suspect's fire power. Now, the Pennsylvania state troopers are moving forward with this investigation while not only planning a line of duty funeral, but also continuing to support their fellow trooper that remains hospitalized. Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

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ROMANS: All right, Polo, thank you for that. At least, 2 million people are under a tornado-watch right now from northeastern Louisiana and western Alabama. The extreme weather follows a weekend of extreme heat with heat indices well over 100 in portions of Texas and Louisiana. Let's bring in CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam. Good morning, Derek, what's the latest on this, I guess, this heat threat?

DEREK VAN DAM, METEOROLOGIST: And a tornado threat this morning, right, Christine? So, the tornado-watch you just mentioned goes until 8:00 a.m. Central Standard Time, 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. And unfortunately, these storms have been known to produce what is an unconfirmed tornado just south of Jackson.

This is in the Jasper County region. There has been some information from local authorities on the potential for some injuries as well, some rescues that had happened overnight. This is the line of storms, you can see them moving south and east of Jackson in the central portions of Alabama. They have severe thunderstorm tags associated with them at the moment.

It's part of a larger storm system that produced yesterday eight tornado confirmed reports, and then several wind damaged reports and large hail report. So, an active weather scene on hand again today. Here's a look at the level 2 of 5, you see that shading of yellow -- by the way, that includes New Orleans, Tallahassee, all the way to Savannah, with a marginal risk extending towards the Atlanta region.

This is all part of a larger low-pressure system that continues to churn across the southeastern U.S., keeping rain and unsettled conditions for that area. Christine mentioned the heat, well, it continues today.

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We are really going to continue to test the power grid here across Louisiana and Texas. Check this out, this is not a typo. We have heat index value. This is what it feels like as you step outside on your skin, you factor in the humidity within the air, and it is going to be downright balmy for many locations like San Antonio, Houston and Corpus Christi.

I was taken back when I saw this. This is just incredible. This is the feels-like temperature as you step outside, 120 degrees today in Corpus Christi.

ROMANS: Yes, this is --

VAN DAM: Christine?

ROMANS: Not the day to go out walking your dog. Stay inside --

VAN DAM: One hundred percent --

ROMANS: And check on your neighbors. Nice to see you --

VAN DAM: All right --

ROMANS: Derek Van Dam.

VAN DAM: All right.

ROMANS: All right, just ahead, gun violence mars the holiday weekend from the streets of St. Louis to the woods of Washington state. Plus, a wild scene with a bear hanging out of someone's window. But first, more on the meeting now under way between Secretary of State Blinken and Chinese President Xi. How China sees it.

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ROMANS: Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing for day two of high-stakes talks. Right now, he's meeting with the Chinese President Xi Jinping according to China's state broadcaster. He held closed-door discussions with China's top diplomat Wang Yi a short time ago. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins me live from Hong Kong this morning. Kristie, what's the goal of the talks with Xi?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, both sides are seeking to stabilize the relationship on this final day of his high-stakes visit to Beijing. Antony Blinken is meeting the Chinese leader Xi Jinping. This meeting is a key sign of China's interest in taking steps to rebuild the relationship, a relationship that is at its lowest point in decades.

Now, this meeting also comes just days after Xi met with the Microsoft Co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates. In that meeting, she said that the foundation of China-U.S. relations is, quote, "in the people." Now, for insight into the meeting that is underway in Beijing today, according to the assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, who was also present at this meeting, she said this, quote, "President Xi said state-to-state interaction should always be based on mutual respect and sincerity."

Hoped this visit by Secretary Blinken could make positive contributions to stabilizing China-U.S. relations. Earlier today, Blinken met with China's top diplomat Wang Yi for three hours. It's a meeting the State Department described as candid and productive. But Wang Yi also asked the U.S. to lift unilateral sanctions and to halt its tech crackdown.

And he also reiterated that Taiwan is one of China's core concerns. A senior U.S. official says Blinken's main goal here is to just re- establish the lines of communication, especially direct military-to- military communications between China and the U.S. Over the weekend, we heard from U.S. President Joe Biden, he says that he believes that Blinken's trip could ease tensions between the U.S. and China.

And he added that he hopes to meet with President Xi Jinping in, quote, "the next few months". So Blinken's meeting with Xi Jinping happening right now in Beijing helps pave the way for that very meeting. Back to you, Christine.

ROMANS: Yes, just the fact that they're meeting is huge news. Kristie Lu Stout --

LU STOUT: Yes --

ROMANS: Thank you so much. So, the world watching and waiting to see how U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to China will end and what it means for U.S.-China relations ahead. Let's bring in Kim Dozier; a CNN global affairs analyst and senior managing editor at the "Military Times". This is part of what Xi said in the meeting, quote, "the two sides have made progress and reached agreements on some specific issues.

Kim, just the fact that they're meeting is progress in this relationship that's been deteriorating, right?

KIM DOZIER, SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR, MILITARY TIMES: It's progress that they're meeting. It's progress that after the foreign minister, the foreign secretary meetings, that Blinken went on to meet Xi, and that the conversation is continuing. Because it signals that perhaps when Xi comes for the conference here this Fall, the global conference that perhaps he and Biden will meet.

Essentially what we're aiming for is to agree to disagree. China is on an expansion track. It says it's expanding globally in terms of trade. It's also expanding its control of what it considers its territory, including the South China Sea area, and eventually, Taiwan. Whereas, the U.S. is in a containment strategy, trying to contain that expansion and signal to Beijing that, OK, we understand that you want to compete on a global level, and eventually match us in terms of military might.

But while you're doing that expansion, we are going to make sure that you play by the rules or at least, try to. So, these two sides are coming from this diametrically-opposed position, and they've got to essentially agree to not let fighting break out to have a civil dispute, as opposed to having this fall into something like armed conflict.

ROMANS: Yes, and just the risk of misunderstanding, quite frankly, or some kind of a mishap with just how frayed the relationship was. This is what a State Department spokesperson said of Blinken and the China's top diplomat Wang Yi's meeting.

It was a quote, "candid and productive" discussion, adding, the secretary underscored the importance of responsibly managing the competition between the United States and the PRC through open channels of communication to ensure competition does not veer into conflict. What do you make of that, competition does not veer into conflict?

DOZIER: Well, look, one of the most important places to make sure that competition doesn't end up in conflict is militarily. And ever since then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, China has cut off the military hotline with the U.S., and then proceeded to do a number of very harassing sort of exercises, buzzing a U.S. spy plane, playing chicken with the U.S. warship.

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These are things that would not be done with the commander on the ground deciding to do it. The Chinese military is very hierarchical. Things don't happen on the ground unless someone in a high rank decided it's going to happen. So, as this kind of friction continues, there's got to be a relief now, there's got to be a way for the U.S. to say, are you serious about this?

So that, also, if some sort of accidental clash, physical clash between a warship where two planes happens, it doesn't escalate, that's why you need lines of communication open.

ROMANS: Yes, all right, Kim Dozier, thank you so much for your analysis this morning. Nice to see you. All right, multiple mass shootings across the nation this holiday weekend from Washington State to Pennsylvania, and from Missouri to Georgia. In the Chicago suburb of Willowbrook, one person is dead, 22 injured after a gunfire erupts at a Juneteenth celebration. CNN's Camila Bernal has more.

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CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): No one is in custody at the moment, and authorities have not identified a motive. But they are giving a better timeline of what happened. They say this Juneteenth celebration started at around 6:00 p.m., and they say that law enforcement officers were there at the event.

But it was at about 12:25 in the morning when they received a 9-1-1 call that reported an alleged fight nearby. So these law enforcement officers responded to the 9-1-1 call, and as they were doing that, they heard the gunfire. They immediately went back to the Juneteenth celebration. And what authorities are saying now is that, an unknown number of suspects fired multiple rounds on multiple weapons.

And it was chaotic, according to many of these witnesses. Unfortunately, one person is dead, 22 are injured. And authorities saying that more were also injured as they were trying to escape and run away from this chaos. Take a listen to what some of the witnesses say happened.

MARKESHIA AVERY, WITNESS: It was supposed to be like Juneteenth celebration. And literally, we were actually getting ready to go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes -- AVERY: As we were getting ready just to go, we gathered everybody

else that was with us, they just -- we just started -- heard a shooting coming from behind so we dropped down. We dropped down until they stopped, they just kept going. After that, we literally scattered away, just started to check up on everybody that we knew.

BERNAL: And authorities say that right now, they're talking to victims and witnesses. They're also going over surveillance video and cellphone video belonging to some of these victims and witnesses. Unfortunately, though, this is now one of 310 mass shootings in the United States, according to the gun violence archives. Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.

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ROMANS: Quick hits across America now. At least, one juvenile is dead, nine other teens injured after a mass shooting in St. Louis at a downtown building where a party was held Sunday. Police have a 17- year-old in custody. In central Washington State, two people are dead after a shooting at a camp ground near a concert venue. Police say three others were injured including the shooter who is now in custody.

A large bear seen dangling from a second-floor window in Colorado, trying to figure out how to get down multiple times. How did he get out? Had to go back inside the house and came out through a ground floor window. Coming up, the death toll rising after a cyclone in Brazil. And the leader of a starvation cult, well, he's still eating as hundreds of his followers are found buried.

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DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What happened in the forest with your followers?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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ROMANS: Kenyan authorities have exhumed hundreds of bodies including children buried in a forest, as they investigate a religious cult that embraces salvation through starvation. The televangelist leader is accused of brainwashing his followers into starving their children and then starving themselves. CNN's David McKenzie joins me live from Johannesburg, South Africa. This is just a horrific story, and you're hearing surviving cult members are still refusing to eat, David?

MCKENZIE: Christine, it's really difficult to get your head around this story. And investigators say it's one of the worst cults of this kind for many decades globally. And yes, some of the members of this cult, more than 60 of them are still starving themselves, believing it's their ticket to salvation. We just got back from Kenya, and must warn some viewers some of these images and themes may be disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MCKENZIE (voice-over): He called it the wilderness, luring his flock to a remote corner of Kenya. We've come to try and understand how the many months so many could die. In the Shakahola Forest, the data still being found. Forensic keeps(ph) carefully remove the remains of members of a Christian death cult from shallow graves.

They've already unearthed more than 300 people, many of them children, many showing signs of starvation.

FRANCIS WANJE, FATHER OF A CULT MEMBER: It's painful. Just so painful. It was so painful. Yes, this is my daughter.

MCKENZIE (on camera): Francis Wanje says his daughter and son-in-law, both abandoned good jobs and took their children to the forest cult. What happened next is hard to comprehend.

WANJE: Everybody should die, and commit to Jesus, and they have to start with the children.

MCKENZIE: The members of the cult, including your own family, they were starving the children?

WANJE: Yes.

MCKENZIE: And then when the children didn't die quickly enough --

WANJE: They suffocate them.

MCKENZIE: They suffocated them?

WANJE: They suffocated them, yes.

MCKENZIE: And this is your own blood.

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