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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Xi And Trump Hold High-Stakes Summit As World Watches On; Chinese President Xi And U.S. President Trump Visit The Temple Of Heaven In Beijing; Xi: Taiwan "Most Important" Issue in China-U.S. Relations; Fallout after CA Mayor Admits to Being Agent for China; Ralph Lauren Curates Stamps for America's 250th Birthday. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired May 14, 2026 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome to The Story Is. I'm Elex Michaelson. It is 10:00 p.m. Wednesday night here in Los Angeles.

It is 1:00 p.m. Thursday afternoon in Beijing where the first day of talks has now wrapped up between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping just wrapped up just a few moments ago. They kicked off their highly anticipated summit on an optimistic note at the hall, Great hall of the People.

President Xi said the U.S. and China should be partners rather than opponents amid the current global turbulence. Here's a little bit of what President Trump had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: You and I have known each other now for a long time. In fact, the longest relationship of our two countries that any president and president has had. And that's, to me, an honor. We've had a fantastic relationship. We've gotten along. When there were difficulties, we worked it out. I would call you and you would call me.

And whenever we had a problem, people don't know. Whenever we had a problem, we worked it out very quickly. We're going to have a fantastic future together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: The day started with a grand welcoming ceremony in central Beijing. This is the first time since 2014 that a U.S. president is visiting the Chinese capital. Trade, technology, the war in Iran are just a few of the topics they're expected to discuss over the next two days. A state dinner is planned for Thursday night local time.

We have live team coverage. CNN's Mike Valerio and Betsy Klein, both in Beijing. Betsy, let's start with you. We understand the president is on the move.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right. The president making his way to the Temple of Heaven where he is going to have some sort of cultural exchange with China's leader Xi Jinping. But this comes after about two hours of substantive talks behind closed doors in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

And we are -- we've asked the White House for a readout of their version of events, but we are starting to hear some details from Chinese state media on what transpired in there. And one of those details is that President Xi forcefully raised the issue of ties Taiwan.

Now, analysts and experts heading into this meeting had said that because of the war with Iran, Xi holds all the cards. And there were some concerns that he could use that leverage to pressure president or to pressure President Trump for more control over Taiwan. Xi warning that it could be a, quote, very dangerous situation, according to the translation, if it were mishandled. Again, according to state media.

Now we have ahead of the meeting, we heard from senior U.S .officials who said that there would be no change to US Policy on Taiwan. Now separately, the state media also says that trade talks are on a positive track for a positive outcome.

We know that President Trump brought dozen or so CEOs with him. They are expected to unveil some trade deals on aerospace, agriculture as well as energy. Some wins for the president to tout when he comes back home. But President Trump also expected to raise the case of the jailed Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai.

Now, of course, Iran looming over this trip. This is not the original China trip that President Trump had envisioned. And of course, China has very close ties with Iran. They are the largest consumer of Iranian oil. President Trump was expected to push Xi to pressure Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and also to accept a peace deal.

We also know that Xi met earlier this week with Iran's foreign minister, so might have a better idea of what Iran is willing to accept. And then separately, I just want to turn and reference all of that pomp and circumstance. I was there outside of the Great Hall as president Trump arrived, greeted by President Xi. The two leaders walking across a red carpet together to observe a military ban, to inspect the troops and also to see this hundreds of children holding flowers and flags.

President Trump visibly delighted. And Trump is a former reality television star. He is so acutely aware of the stagecraft of a presidential visit, both when he is a home host and when he is a guest abroad. So, President Xi keenly attuned to President Trump's flair for a visual extract -- visually extravagant presentation. That is what he received ahead of that meeting.

We'll be waiting to get some more details from the White House on what exactly transpired behind closed doors. But for now, they are headed to the Temple of Heaven where they are expected to tour that together ahead of a state banquet a little bit later this evening, Elex.

[01:05:00]

MICHAELSON: Yes. And we expect them to arrive there within the next minute or so. But while I've got you, Betsy, what was it like being in the middle of all that? How did that feel and how did that compare to other things you've covered?

KLEIN: Yes, I mean, I've covered President Trump since 2015. I've been to a lot of these types of events. This was pretty remarkable. I mean, the military precision of this presentation, the firing of the cannons, it was really something that President Trump seemed to enjoy and really relish.

Really quite a display. And you had both delegations there witnessing this. You had all of these tech CEOs lined up alongside President Trump's cabinet. Really a remarkable display.

MICHAELSON: It was that we witnessed live a few hours ago. And we're about to see a remarkable display in a few minutes as well. Betsy, thank you for your coverage.

Mike Valerio, let's bring you in right now, also live for us in Beijing. Mike, talk about what we expect to see in the next few minutes.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, when the two leaders of these two superpowers make their way to the Temple of Heaven as Betsy's described, I think it's worth noting to all of our viewers around the world why they chose the Temple of Heaven. This was constructed in 1420. We're talking about the Ming Dynasty more than 600 years ago. And this is where emperors for centuries would go and receive the mandate of heaven.

So no mistake that Xi Jinping, the most powerful leader of the Chinese Communist Party since the era of Mao, is choosing this indelible landmark not only to show the beauty of Beijing and this exquisite cultural landmark, but to also drive into the minds of Americans and everybody watching around the world that this is his nation that he built in a much stronger place than the time that President Trump first visited in 2017, and I should add, began his first trade war about two months after that blockbuster first state visit in November of 2017.

This is also where emperors just one more note on the cultural nuances of this place. This is also where the emperors prayed for harmony between heaven and earth. So when stability is the name of the game here and trying to reset the relationship and harmony, it also is no mistake that this is where they would want to enjoy the afternoon after the first round of very consequential talks.

So, to go a little bit deeper into what Betsy described, I think it's notable how the tone shifted quite directly, very deliberately and quickly from one of optimism to a warning. Make no mistake, a warning was elicited by Chinese leader Xi Jinping that stability in this relationship emanates from the Taiwan question. So in terms of what exactly was said, we have the flash from Xinhua News, which is the official state media outlet here in China.

And just to give a little more detail, it said that Xi Jinping emphasized that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations. If it's handled properly, relations between the two countries can maintain overall stability.

If it is not handled properly --

MICHAELSON: Yes.

VALERIO: -- the two countries may clash or even come into conflict, pushing the entire China-U.S. relationship into very. A very dangerous situation.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

VALERIO: So we'll be waiting to see if the president posts on truth, what, if any, concessions the United States has made. Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, has said that no change is going to be made. But because of the president's ambivalence in the Oval Office about defending Taiwan, that is still seemingly an open question.

MICHAELSON: As we now look at these live pictures, we see that President Trump and President Xi are on the move at this symbolic trip that they are making together. They're having an opportunity to check out this historic spot in China. We bring back in Betsy Klein. Betsy, you've covered President Trump, as you mentioned, since 2015.

He is, let's be clear, the most sort of media friendly president that we have had in decades in terms of interacting with the press. That is not what Xi Jinping is known for. Talk about the difference in covering a trip in China versus the way this would be going down if this was happening in Washington in terms of press access and the ability to ask questions.

KLEIN: Right. I think if this were happening at the White House, it would be a situation where the president were stopping every few yards to take questions and kind of freewheel. But this is completely orchestrated by China. They are not leaving anything to chance.

But I think one of the other things that is quite notable here, even as I'm watching on the screen here, is just this warm relationship that appears to be on display between President Trump and China's leader, Xi Jinping. I mean, President Trump has a lot of admiration for Xi. It's very clear.

You could see them during the arrival ceremony, touching each other's arms, guiding each other. Very friendly, warm relations.

[01:10:05]

But again, to your point, we are not going to see President Trump stop and talk to cameras here while he is in the presence of Xi. He understands he's his guest and they have a very different way of doing things here. But you can see him there standing there, listening to pose for a photo here. MICHAELSON: Let's listen in.

XI JINPING, CHINESE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

TRUMP: Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFGIED MALE: Mr. President. Did you talk about Taiwan?

MICHAELSON: You think that was killing him not to say something that scenario? He's trying to show some respect.

KLEIN: Just an uncharacteristically. Yes, uncharacteristically restrained President Trump there usually would have something to say on that subject. Many others, and we've seen him be quite freewheeling in his public appearances, even in the last week, going off script regularly, but really in that situation, making clear that he understands he is Xi's guest here or just not wanting to talk about it.

MICHAELSON: Right. And there is also pressure from some of the Chinese folks that are used to handling media in a different way than maybe some of the American folks are used to handling media as well.

Let's go back to Mike Valerio and talk about sort of the, as you mentioned already, the symbolism of this moment. But as we look at some of those pictures, what, what it means, you've been in this spot, what it's like to be there.

VALERIO: I mean, it's usually packed with people and just steps away from where we see these two gentlemen, the leader of the -- leaders of the two superpowers. You should know that when you walk maybe five minutes south of where they are, there's a ceremonial platform made of stone that is the spiritual center point of China.

I mean, China means in Mandarin, Middle Kingdom. So Xi Jinping is literally bringing President Trump to the center of an ancient Chinese empire, the ancient Chinese history, and trying to show that there is this historical continuity involved in China leading the world from their point of view.

And when you talk to historians in this town, they will say that China not being in the middle position of the world, the center of the world, is an aberration when you had not too far away from the spot, maybe a 25-minute car drive, palaces that were pillaged by British and French troops right before the Boxer Rebellion, part of the century of humiliation when China fell behind Europe.

And part of those ruins which the president will not be seeing on his trip, are still visible today and are put there, left there by the Communist Party to show that this can never happen again. So that certainly is one of the other causes, cultural destinations that is close by to this landmark that they're seeing.

But this is such an integral part of Chinese society that it certainly makes sense why he's going there right now. I should add that tomorrow, around the later part of the morning, into the early afternoon, before the president goes back to Washington, D.C. he'll go to Zhongnanhai, which is the compound for the leadership of, of the Chinese Communist Party.

So he has some executive time in the not too distant future for the afternoon. Now he goes back to the Great Hall of the People later this evening around 6:00 p.m. local time for the state dinner.

And then it's Zhongnanhai, which is just to the west of the Forbidden City, which is the center of Beijing and very much the center of Chinese history. And that is to bring President Trump into this beautiful guest house setting where there are tranquil waterfalls. It's, again, sort of supposed to be a setting that we will see tomorrow of peace and harmony. You have Crane's beautiful tableau spread throughout the complex.

If you think of it sort of like the Chinese equivalent of the White House, but much more secretive and much more expansive, it certainly is an honor from the Chinese point of view that President Trump gets to go there to the epicenter of Communist leadership and hopefully hammer out some deals and a better rapport between the two countries.

MICHAELSON: Yes. And now we're looking at some of these tape pictures, and the live pictures are moving in and out as well as the press pool is moving and the signal is coming in and out. So we appreciate you staying with us and giving us some grace as this news is happening in real time as we all watch history unfold together.

Betsy, we didn't hear much from President Trump as we were talking, but we heard a few words from him. What was his -- what was his comments that we've -- that he just made?

[01:15:00]

KLEIN: Yes, very brief comments from President Trump. But I was able to get a transcript of what it was he said. He said, quote, it's great, great place, incredible. China's beautiful. The question to him there was, how were your talks today, sir?

So the president clearly putting a positive spin on this for now. We do expect him to have a little bit of downtime this evening before heading to that state banquet. But really the most substantive part of today's discussions has concluded and the president clearly still showcasing a very friendly relationship with President Xi there.

MICHAELSON: And an interesting choice that China is making Taiwan such an important part here. And through their state media, the first thing that they leak out about those discussions is about Taiwan sort of asserting their own leverage in all of this and sending a message not only to the president in the room, but to Americans back at home about the importance of that issue.

KLEIN: That's right. And I think that, you know, President Trump has made clear that there wouldn't be any change to U.S. policy before this meeting. We'll have to see what the readout on the U.S. side says exactly about this. And we'll be watching and reading that language very, very closely for any subtle hints or changes. But clearly, Xi is trying to send a message. This is a bit of a power move, I would say, by him making clear that this was the most important issue for him and for China.

MICHAELSON: Betsy, thank you. Mike Valerio, thank you. We appreciate both of your coverage. We are going to sneak in a quick commercial break, but we'll have more live coverage of the president's trip right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:21:12]

MICHAELSON: We continue to follow breaking news happening right now live in China. President Donald Trump, Chinese leader Xi Jinping are meeting today, the first day of their historic summit. Right now the two presidents are at the cultural landmark called the Temple of Heaven. Two leaders wrapped up their first round of talks behind closed doors at the Great hall of the People.

President Trump hailing their fantastic relationship, praising his Chinese counterpart as a great leader. President Xi says that Taiwan is the most important issue in China, U.S. relations. We expect to see live pictures again from there any moment. In the meantime, we want to bring in live from Beijing Simon Rabinovitch, Beijing bureau chief for The Economist. Welcome to The Story Is for the first time. Thanks for being with us.

This meeting between the two presidents, it lasted longer than expected. They're actually behind schedule. What do you read into that?

SIMON RABINOVITCH, BEIJING BUEAU CHIEF, THE ECONOMIST: Well, I think as President Trump says he has a good personal relationship with Xi Jinping. They have a lot of ground to cover. I don't think this necessarily means there's been any great breakthroughs. I think in fact, expectations for what actually will come out of these two days are relatively modest.

But at least on a leader to leader level, they clearly seem to get along. And that's good for America, good for China and good for the world.

MICHAELSON: Yes, indeed. You have been talking to Chinese advisers. What are they telling you?

RABINOVITCH: Well, one really interesting thing that's come out of the discussions that a lot of Western media have talked about, the fact that Donald Trump is coming into Beijing with a relatively weak hand because of the Iran conflict.

What the Chinese are saying is that they see that as Western media framing. They do not want to underestimate Donald Trump, his grip on the GOP, what he's capable of, what he's able to do with foreign policy. So they're not about to start to press him too hard or to lecture him. They do believe, of course, that China has risen to be a great power, a close peer to America. And so they're no pushover. They are confident, but they do still have a lot of respect for what Donald Trump is capable of doing.

MICHAELSON: And we go back live now. This is an image as they are touring the Temple of Heaven. We see this sort of back and forth between the American press and some of the Chinese folks were pushing them around a bit. So we're going back and forth between these pictures and we hope to bring them back to you.

But let's talk with you, Simon, in terms of how critical the next few days are like, what would be the best case scenario for U.S.-Chinese relationship?

RABINOVITCH: Well, I think what the Chinese side really want is a bit of predictability, because, of course, last year at the start of Trump's second term, the trade war between the two powers was really taking off tariffs of more than 100 percent that both levied on each other. China slapping export controls on rare earths. It threatened to tip the global economy into a recession.

So what the Chinese are looking for is predictability. They know tariffs are not going to go away, but they want to know that they're not going to keep going up and up. The Americans want to see a better balanced trading relationship. And so I think that's what they're going to be driving for.

The other thing to remember is that this is the first meeting between Trump and Xi this year. If things go according to plan, they will see each other three more times. So this is really a stepping stone to building up what is going to be a really important six months of great power bilateral diplomacy.

MICHAELSON: Including an American meeting, right?

[01:25:00]

RABINOVITCH: That's right. So it's not been officially announced yet, but the expectation is that quite likely in September, Xi Jinping will be visiting Trump. So America will have a chance to return this hospitality. And so the Chinese want to kind of pace what they're doing with America.

Of course, they brought up Taiwan at the very start of the meetings today. They don't expect that there will be any kind of change in American policy today, maybe not even this year, but they want to basically set it in motion. They want this to be a good, constructive meeting. And then over the course of the remainder of this year, we'll see if they're able to achieve kind of even bigger agreements.

MICHAELSON: Yes. Interesting that is the thing they say is the most important thing and is the thing that they are leaking to their state media right away and trying to set the expectations on that. Simon Rabinovitch live in Beijing. Thank you so much for helping watch history together. We appreciate it. RABINOVITCH: My pleasure.

MICHAELSON: A new Fed chair about take over the top spot. Just as data shows inflation accelerating after weeks of the war with Iran, we'll dive deeper into all that. Ryan Patel talking the economy and your money, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:30:29]

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: An update now on President Trump's historic and highly-anticipated visit to China. Leader Xi Jinping greeted him with a very long handshake as they posed for photos outside the Great Hall of the People.

President Trump has also been visiting the Temple of Heaven, a UNESCO world heritage site. That is where he is right now. We expected more live pictures from that any moment. He'll be the guest of honor at a state banquet on Thursday night.

Not long ago, the Chinese leader called Taiwan the most important issue in U.S.-China relations. He warned about what might happen if it is not handled properly.

With that, let's go live to Taiwan's capital.

CNN's Will Ripley is tracking all this live. Will, a couple of hours ago, when we talked with you, you said that the goal of Taiwan was to not be talked about at all. And then the Chinese leader says it's the most important issue to talk about.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Which is probably not surprising to officials here in Taipei. They know that Xi Jinping was expected to press President Trump on the China and Taiwan issue, specifically the claim that Taiwan belongs to China. Beijing believes that. They, of course, dispute that here in Taipei.

And we've heard this sort of language from Xi Jinping before, when he said, if not handled properly, the two countries may clash or even come into conflict, pushing the entire U.S.-China relationship into a very dangerous situation.

That quote, the very first quote from Xi Jinping, reported by Xinhua News Agency.

So certainly, they are expecting that kind of dialog from Beijing. This is something that Xi Jinping has been saying for a long time.

He's also said that he believes unifying with Taiwan is an inevitability. And a lot of people here in Taipei think he would like to see that happen while he remains in power.

The question, though is, is the United States going to budge? Is President Trump going to make some sort of a deal behind closed doors that could put Taiwan's already precarious status quo in a more vulnerable position?

That's obviously something they are hoping very much will not happen here. So they continue to try to engage on unofficial levels with Trump allies, with U.S. lawmakers, to try to get assurances that the United States position supporting Taiwan's democracy remains the same.

And the support for the democracy comes, as you know, Elex, primarily by selling weapons to Taiwan, as the United States is required to do under the Taiwan Relations Act.

MICHAELSON: Well, and to that point, there's about $14 Billion in Taiwan arms sales. That's still pending. How does that impact all this?

RIPLEY: That's right. And remember it was just this week that President Trump actually told reporters he was going to discuss that issue with Xi Jinping because Beijing does not like it. In fact, they hate it when the United States sells arms to Taiwan.

There was already an $11 billion arms package that President Trump authorized. But there's an additional $14 billion as you mentioned. So a total of $25 billion in U.S. arms sales. And that $14 billion is still making its way through Washington. President Trump has not yet authorized it.

So they're sort of holding their breath here in Taiwan. There's been a lot of debate on this island about authorizing the funding for these weapons. There was a delay that was largely due to the opposition party. Some accused them of stalling in Taiwan's parliament.

But they did eventually pass it, just really a matter of hours before President Trump took off for China. But now the United States still needs to sign off on that 14 billion.

If President Trump delays that, which is something that Xi Jinping could presumably ask for behind closed doors, experts say that would be a major concession given to China, and that would be a major blow for Taiwan.

So U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans, have said repeatedly that Taiwan is not up for negotiation. They have called on the Trump administration to reassure Taiwan that that is the case. You heard remarks in support of Taiwan from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others.

But everyone waiting with bated breath for when the microphone points at President Trump and they're making off-the-cuff remarks, or the Chinese readout is released. If there's any movement beyond the typical rhetoric around Taiwan, that would be a big deal here.

And again, they're hoping status quo remains, everyone sticks to the script and things don't change. That the stability across the Taiwan Strait, however fragile it may be, can continue, and it won't be shaken up by this summit.

MICHAELSON: Yes. Because sometimes in these situations, it's like you say what you got to say. You read off the script. We say what we got to say. We read off the script and everything kind of stays the same, right?

[01:34:51]

MICHAELSON: And that seems to be what the folks in Taipei really want.

RIPLEY: Yes. Because you have four decades plus of very carefully- worded and carefully-calibrated diplomatic language. So when you have a U.S. president who is known to go off the cuff, who is known to make decisions that might go against weeks of backchannel discussions at lower levels.

I mean, everybody who's dealing with the United States, and I've had this conversation with officials here in Taipei, they know no matter how much discussion, how much work is done ahead of time, if President Trump is in the room and he makes a decision, it could go radically against what his advisors thought he was going to do.

That's a big concern for a lot of leaders here in Taiwan. Even though publicly they've been projecting calm ahead of all of this, they're certainly behind closed doors, waiting to respond if there is anything unexpected that comes from this. And they're hoping that won't be the case.

MICHAELSON: At least publicly so far, President Trump has stuck to the script and did not take the opportunity to speak about Taiwan when he was asked several times within the last hour by reporters there, showing deference to the Chinese leader who does not engage in impromptu Q&As with the press the way that President Trump is so fond of doing.

Will Ripley for us live in Taipei. Will, thank you.

Want to bring into the conversation now here in L.A., Ryan Patel, senior fellow at the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. You're the business guy. We come to you to talk about money. And there's a lot of money at stake here, which as we saw today, all the top CEOs in the country, the most powerful people in the country right there to meet with the Chinese president.

Talk about how interconnected these two economies are and how important that is to the entire world.

RYAN PATEL, SENIOR FELLOW, DRUCKER SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT-CLAREMONT GRADUATE UNIVERSITY: Well, I mean, if you think about over the last couple of years, they've been at each other during trade wars, but it was clear that they need each other.

And what is really telling right now, I know all the press is around, you know, the political landscape around it. From a business perspective, to have those top CEOs, there is huge.

Why is it huge? Because those companies -- you see Nvidia, you see Apple, Tesla, all those leaders are there. Why? They want access to the Chinese market. It provides that kind of two-way street that is not currently there with the GDP in the U.S. right now at 2 percent to be able to go growth mode, not just resilient mode is huge.

MICHAELSON: Right. And we were talking last hour with Gary Locke, the former ambassador to China, who said China wants access to chips, which might be why Nvidia leader Jensen Huang was a last-minute addition at the request of President Trump.

PATEL: And it's huge. Chips is around. I mean, you think about -- you say the word innovation, you can't think of, say, A.I. no more. You think of what China is doing over there with their infrastructure and the way that they've moved manufacturing autonomous. It is very, very large access for them to be able to do it.

So this is no coincidence that it's not just a one-way street, but this is something that's not on the books. What I mean by that is this is talking about new opportunities that are worth billions of dollars that changes the landscape of how both countries interact, not just in business, but consumers, policy, right. All of this needs to be addressed going forward.

MICHAELSON: And it helps to prevent wars, right? Because the two countries need each other economically.

PATEL: And that's why where we have and even to say that there is everyone's playing nice right now, and this kind of summit is coming together it provides kind of an ease of tension.

MICHAELSON: But to that point, there is a war happening right now in Iran. We know that Iran and Russia, a lot of their funding comes from China.

And that war, of course, impacting all of our gas prices, no matter where you're watching us from around the world right now. How do you see that situation and the potential for this meeting to really make a dent in that situation?

PATEL: Yes. You think about that situation and how it affects the U.S. economy, right. You can see the inflation starting to rise because consumer spending is -- confidence is starting to decrease, right? Things are starting to get more expensive.

And I think then you have Wall Street on top of this, giving different signals to the consumer. So gas prices rising should affect the U.S. consumer, which it does. I believe that the consumer is more about being more efficient, just how the market is with not about growth more, but really adapting, which changes the way that you buy and how you interact with all these wars.

So I would say the key word, I know people use the word resilience, but I think it's more about consumers want to be comfortable and they're adapting immediately because of what's going on.

MICHAELSON: We have a new Fed chair confirmed today, Kevin Warsh, which out of Washington, the most partisan vote ever for that. But he's going to be in charge soon.

Folks really at home want to know what does that mean for their interest rates?

PATEL: Well, I think as of right now, I think the news to them is that it's not going to increase as of right now, right.

[01:39:44]

PATEL: I think there was a little bit of with Jerome Powell going out, you know, giving stagnant -- could he increase fed rate, right?

MICHAELSON: Right. Because the whole thing was that President Trump wanted Jerome Powell to decrease interest rates and said that we're going to basically threaten to fire him if he didn't do it.

Now, the question for the new guy is, will you increase it? Not even -- and decreasing is out the window.

PATLE: Yes. Because you think about job -- the jobs reports are slowing, you know, consumer spending. It's hard for the Fed to decrease something when consumers are spending and the job, the job rate is where it is right now.

So it doesn't call for that. And so I think right now for him, his expectations to the average person is like, well, when are you going to give us more clarity on where we should be going in the next three, four months? And hopefully that would be the case.

MICHAELSON: So what, at the end of this whole trip, what is the big takeaway for consumers?

PATEL: Well, I mean, I think for me, is there, you know, you kind of used the words I said "play nice", right?

MICHAELSON: Yes.

PATEL: You know, are goods going to be cheaper for me to buy. So what that means is are we going to have a more multi, you know, you know, a bilateral agreement that's going to have more imports and exports or tariffs are going to come down between both of us. And what items are we looking for.

You know, President Trump in the past has picked certain industries. Is it the semiconductor industry that's going to be leading this and providing, you know, a cheaper aspect to the consumer?

I don't know. I think to me, that would be interesting to see. Is it car-making? Is it manufacturing? You know, what parts?

MICHAELSON: Is it Boeing?

PATEL: Yes.

MICHAELSON: Is it -- is it beef?

(CROSSTALKING)

PATEL: Yes. Right. You know, soybean. I mean, there's a whole bunch of things that come out of it. I would expect something to come out of this.

MICHAELSON: Well, you don't bring all those people there and bring nothing home. Those guys are used to getting something out of the deal.

PATEL: Yes.

MICHAELSON: Ryan Patel, thank you for that, big moment for our economy of both countries and the entire world economy, we have the two biggest economies in the world meeting in one room.

You are watching THE STORY IS. We've been watching history together.

For our international viewers, "WORLDSPORT" is next. For our viewers here in North America, I'll be right back with the amazing story of a Chinese spy working in local government here in America.

[01:41:47]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: More fallout after a southern California mayor resigned and agreed to plead guilty to acting as an agent for the Chinese government. According to the plea agreement, Eileen Wang worked on behalf of Chinese officials. They allegedly instructed her to promote pro-Beijing articles on a news Web site that she operated.

Now, some Chinese-Americans fear this could impact how their community is treated.

Joining me now is Joaquin Lim, a former mayor and council member for Walnut, California. He was one of the first Chinese-Americans to be elected in local government in L.A. County.

Welcome to THE STORY IS for the first time. Great to have you here.

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JOAQUIN LIM, FORMER MAYOR OF WALNUT, CALIFORNIA: Thanks for having me.

MICHAELSON: For people that are watching us from other parts of North America that maybe aren't that familiar with the San Gabriel Valley, can you give some perspective on just how significant the Asian- American community is there?

LIM: Well, the San Gabriel Valley is made up of about 31 to 32 cities, of which at least one-third are majority Asians. When I say Asians, I mean Chinese-Americans.

And the city that Eileen Wang lives in is Arcadia --

MICHAELSON: Right.

LIM: -- which is probably like 60 -- 65 percent, you know, Chinese- Americans.

MICHAELSON: And you knew Eileen or know Eileen. You see her professionally. Are you surprised by this?

LIM: No.

MICHAELSON: Why do you say that?

LIM: Because I read somewhere in reports that there's quite a -- quite a -- quite a few I would say -- I wouldn't say similar cases, but I would say, you know, I mean, China and U.S. have very strategic relationship.

So I would imagine we would have our people, you know, in China and they would have their people in our country. So I'm not surprised.

MICHAELSON: But her specifically, was there something about her that made you think maybe she's an agent working for China?

LIM: Not, not quite. But, you know, I live in L.A. for about -- almost 40 some years, and I've been on the city council for 17 years. So I know most of the elected officials, Chinese-American elected officials in this area. And of course, you know, she's one of them.

Was I surprise. Yes and no. Yes and no. Yes. Because there's been previous cases, although haven't been made public.

MICHAELSON: Yes. But -- and you think there are other people out there that also are doing this that are agents of the Chinese government?

LIM: I won't be surprised.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

LIM: I won't be surprised.

MICHAELSON: Are you concerned that there might be a bit of a backlash or racist backlash in your community after this?

LIM: I don't think there will be a tremendous backlash because over the past 20 or 30 years, we have several cases, although it didn't involve an elected official.

Of course, we have the scientist, Leeuwenhoek case, right. And then we have, I think, 3 or 4 -- 3 or 4 other espionage cases.

But I think Eileen's is the first elected official of Chinese-American descent that got arrested. So I think that was a --

MICHAELSON: Quite a moment.

LIM: -- I think the first, that was quite a moment. Yes.

MICHAELSON: Speaking of the American relationship with China, what do you make of the trip right now? President Trump, President Xi. What are you looking forward to?

LIM: Not much.

(CROSSTALKING)

LIM: Not much. And I think, of course, President Trump is facing some, some, some problems, you know, back home.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

LIM: So I think this might be a little, little, you know, vacation, you know, for him. So I don't expect too much coming out of this.

MICHAELSON: Yes. Obviously a lot of high stakes issues --

LIM: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- that are being talked about on this trip.

Joaquin Lim, thank you so much for coming in. We appreciate it. Nice to see you.

LIM: Thank you, sir.

MICHAELSON: Just ahead, the co-founder of a national cosmetic brand says after years of living large, he's making a life-changing commitment. Details in a few moments.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT VINCENT BORBA, CO-FOUNDER OF ELF COSMETICS: I had everything in the world. But I just felt this -- this sincere loss in my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: That was the co-founder of Elf Cosmetics, Scott Vincent Borba, talking about his decision to become a Catholic priest.

Borba tells CNN affiliate KGO that a turning point happened in his 40s, when he experienced a sincere loss of happiness and joy.

So after years of luxury living in Hollywood, he's preparing to be ordained into the priesthood.

The U.S. Postal Service is commemorating the nation's 250th anniversary with 13 stamps curated by American fashion designer Ralph Lauren.

Called "American Icons", the collection shows photos and designs from Lauren's archive and from visuals that inspired him.

The stamps depict the American flag, a baseball glove, the Empire State Building, and other images that reflect the unique fabric of the nation.

[01:54:45] MICHAELSON: The 86-year-old Lauren is known for intrinsically American clothing styles from preppy to classic to luxurious. He says he's honored to curate the collection.

Now to Canada, where a suspect caught on camera with stolen hot dogs will not face charges. Police in Alberta received a call about the stolen goods, with the suspect being described as short with red hair and wearing a thick coat.

Police searched the area. They found the alleged perpetrator of the crime trying to conceal the evidence.

The video may have given this away already. It is a fox. The victim decided not to file charges, so the fox was allowed to go free.

Irish rock legends U2 were spotted in Mexico City on Tuesday filming a music video for their new song, "Street of Dreams". A large crowd turned out to see the band perform on top of a school bus, which was covered in graffiti by a Mexican artist.

The new song is part of U2's next studio album due out later this year.

This week, Mexico City is hosting the 2026 Street Child World Cup with 30 teams from across the globe in town for the tournament and the members of U2 say they are proud supporters.

Thanks for watching THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson, I'll see you tomorrow.

The news continues right here on CNN with continuous live coverage of President Trump and President Xi's meeting. We expect later on to see a state dinner, the equivalent of that happening in China.

We'll have coverage of all of it throughout the day and night right here on CNN.

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