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Obama, Putin Brief Encounter at Summit; What Does Obama Expect to Accomplish in China; Will U.S. Relations with North Korea Improve; Anger Grows Over Murdered Mexican Students; George W. Bush Book Tribute to Father; Miami Heat Thanks Veterans

Aired November 11, 2014 - 13:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting from Washington.

President Obama and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, came face to face at a summit of world leaders in China. Relations between the U.S. and Russia are at a pretty low point right now, mainly due to Russia's meddling in Ukraine, its annexation of Crimea.

Our senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, reports on the brief encounters between Presidents Obama and Putin, and other highlights from the summit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be meeting over dinner over the next few hours. They've been cutting business deals on areas where they agree and talking through issues where they disagree.

The big development of the day is the president came face to face three times with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They spoke about Iran, Syria and the situation in Ukraine. Deputy national security advisor, Ben Rhodes, called Russia's recent military moves in eastern Ukraine a recipe for isolation, but he conceded the sanctions so far on Moscow have not changed Putin's behavior.

The president has one more day here in China. The big remaining question is just how far the president is willing to go in criticizing Beijing over its record on human rights and hacking. So far that criticism has been more polite than pointed. Just as the president was raising U.S. concerns about cybersecurity, there were reports in the "Washington Post" about Chinese hackers breaching the U.S. Postal Service. There were also reports that the Chinese were offended by the president's gum-chewing in Beijing. The Chinese may not be aware the president chews Nicorette from time to time so he doesn't have to smoke. It is something reporters who follow him at the White House do see him doing when he has some free time on his hands.

Jim Acosta, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: So what do we expect the president of the United States to accomplish at these kinds of meetings?

Let's bring in Gary Locke. He was the U.S. ambassador to China for three years, and also a former governor of the state of Washington.

Governor, thanks very much for joining us.

First of all, just to get it out of the way, that chewing gum, is there a real cultural difference here between Americans and Chinese on the appropriateness of the president of the United States chewing gum in a meeting like this?

GARY LOCKE, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO CHINA & FORMER WASHINGTON STATE GOVERNOR: Well, I don't think there really are any real protocols. But a lot of the Chinese chew gum as well. So I think maybe it's just the formality of the situation that some thought it might be inappropriate. But anybody who knows President Obama knows he chews gum. And it's also, as you indicated, to try to stop smoking.

But more importantly is the substance of the meetings he's having with the Chinese leaders. Some announcements already. And not just the Chinese leaders but because his official state visit was preceded by this Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting and featuring the leaders from the Asia-Pacific region in which they're trying to firm up a trade deal called the Transpacific Partnership, which would be a very high-standards trade agreement, which has the Chinese a little bit nervous because, eventually, if they were to join that agreement, they'd have to raise their standards in terms of labor, environment, working conditions and things like that.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: As you know, Governor, the Chinese -- they have like a $300 billion trade advantage. The U.S. has a trade deficit of $300 billion, is that right?

LOCKE: That's right. We have an enormous trade deficit. The encouraging thing is that U.S. exports over the last several years to China have actually been increasing. Many more exports of American- made goods and services creating jobs for the American people.

One announcement that the president just made was the relaxation of visas for the Chinese businesspeople and tourists coming to the United States, giving them a 10-year visa, five-year visas for students. This will make it enormously easier for the Chinese to come here on vacation, to come on business trips, to buy American goods and services. This is going to be a big job creator for the people of America because when those tourists -- and Chinese tourists are number one in the world, outstripping the number of Americans traveling the world. A third of what they buy is to bring back to China, things they buy in the United States, that they cannot get at a decent price in China.

(CROSSTALK) BLITZER: As you know, Governor, it's a huge deal for Chinese who want to come to the United States, whether business leaders or tourists, whether students, it's going to make their opportunity to come to the United States so much easier. But at the same time it's reciprocal and make the opportunity for American business leaders, for American students, American tourists to go to China. They could get this five or 10-year visa. This is a big deal. And it underscores an improvement in the U.S./China relationship, right?

LOCKE: This is a project that I was working on my entire time in Beijing. I'm sorry that we couldn't make the announcement while I was still there. But this is going to enable more people to exchange, from students to scientists to businesspeople, so we can actually learn from each other, understand each other, and hopefully create the foundation for more partnerships at the political level, the economic level, the people-to-people level as we try to solve things like climate change or halting the proliferation of nuclear weapons in North Korea or Iran. But for the American people, those Chinese tourists shop in malls. They're going to eat in restaurants. They're going to stay in hotels. That's going to be income for American companies, which means more jobs for the people of America.

BLITZER: One final question on North Korea. China's relationship with the North Korean regime right now, strained a bit, as you well know. You see an opportunity now for the U.S. to improve relations with North Korea now that the North Koreans have freed those three Americans?

LOCKE: Well, I think it's a good sign. But the real test is whether or not they're willing to come to the negotiating table with the support and participation of China, because the United States and China both have been trying to push North Korea to halt its development of a nuclear weapon, which would really destabilize the region and poses a threat to the security of the United States. So this is an area in which both China and the United States have common interests. I'm sure it's a topic that the president of the United States, along with the president of China will be discussing, along with many other topics, from trade, cybersecurity to climate change issues, and really cooperation on security matters all across the world.

BLITZER: Very important meetings that the president is having in China right now, not only with Chinese but other leaders, including the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin. They have a good opportunity to at least start some sort of dialogue under enormous strain right now.

Ambassador, Governor, thanks very much for joining us.

LOCKE: My pleasure, Wolf.

BLITZER: Up next, a son pays tribute to his father, one president honors another. It's a Bush family celebration that's under way.

And honoring U.S. military veterans. How one basketball team, the Miami Heat, is now giving back to those Americans who have served.

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BLITZER: There's deep anger in Mexico right now over those dozens of college students who are believed to have been murdered.

Rosa Flores is joining us. She's in Guerra Province.

Tell us what's going on, Rosa. I understand there's anger being manifest on the streets there?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, very tense moments right now between protesters and federal police. I want to paint a picture here for you because these protesters -- and you can see them at a distance on a bridge -- have been moving forward, clashing with federal police, slowly moving upon their territories. Police have been moving back. They've been throwing rocks. A vehicle -- we saw them roll a vehicle toward police. Police have been firing back with teargas. One of our guys here tells us they've been using rubber bullets as well. But it's been very tense. Right now, it has calmed a bit. But 15 minutes ago, that was not the case. People were running for their lives. We were also hearing a lot of fireworks being fired on behalf of the protesters towards the police. So I can tell you this, since we've been here, we've seen a lot of things happen, burned cars, burned buildings. The spokesperson of the protesters tells us they're getting ready to get more radical. And, Wolf, that's exactly what we're seeing.

BLITZER: We'll say in close touch with you, Rosa. Thanks very much. Be careful over there with the teargas and the rubber bullets.

Rosa Flores on the scene for us right here in Acapulco where the anger is intense.

We'll take another quick break. We'll be right back.

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BLITZER: In Texas, a moving tribute from a son to his father, from one president to another. George W Bush unveiled his new book, "A Portrait of My Father," dedicated to his father. The elder Bush, 41, and his wife, Barbara, were on hand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a love story. It's not an objective analysis of President Bush. It's a story about an extraordinary man who, in my judgment, is the finest one-term president our country's ever had.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Our national correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, is over there at the Bush Library in Texas. Our chief political analyst, Gloria Borger, is with me here in Washington.

Suzanne, give an idea what it was like during this pretty emotional ceremony. SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was very emotional.

But it was also full of humor. It was really classic Bush. You had this group, obviously, supporters. His parents sitting in the front row. His former chief of staff, Andy Card, asking some questions. A lot of jokes, saying -- the first question coming to, why did you decide to write this book now about your father, this love story? And he said, well, because I still wanted my dad to be alive. The group just erupted with laughter. And he said, we have a big-print version for a lot of you out there. A lot of jokes, but also a sense of real humility, a sense of endearment towards his father. He talks about things in the books that we couldn't pull out of him during his presidency. In his college days, he talks about how when he drove drunk onto his neighbor's lawn and hit a trash can. His mother said, your behavior is awful, go to your father. He went to his father and his father just looked at him sternly and the president says he knew at that moment that he tragically disappointed him and how much that meant to him, the unconditional love that he had from his father and how he struggled as a man, how he became more disciplined as his life went on. It's quite fascinating. It's personal and professional. He talks about being a father to his daughter. He talks about President Clinton being a father as well, and how important it is to him. So this is -- it's something that is historic. But as he'd also mentioned, too, it's not objective. It really is something about what it was like for him to grow as a man, as a person and as a leader.

BLITZER: And it certainly was emotional, Gloria. You watched it unfold.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It was.

BLITZER: You don't see a lot of emotion all the time, but this time, it was.

BORGER: This is the most conversant I've ever heard Bush 43. And he was telling stories about his father and their relationship and also, by the way, talking about Jeb Bush. Very clear that his brother -- very clear that the family, maybe aside from his mother -- but he said, just remember, this is the same mother who told me not to run against Ann Richards, that I couldn't beat her to be governor of Texas, and he went on to beat Ann Richards. And he said, we're going to offer our brother love. This is a big decision he's got to make personally. But it was very clear the family wants him to do it. And one other interesting thing was the relationship -- and we've talked about this before, Wolf, between the Bushes and the Clintons right now because Bill Clinton has grown so close to Bush 41. And he said, look, Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush are the two people who really understand what it's like to be president of the United States, and clearly made the case that that might actually be a great campaign.

BLITZER: There's a lot of people watching not only here in the United States and around the world wonder if there could be another Bush/Clinton in the White House.

BORGER: There could. Yes, there could. And President Bush was saying that might not be such a terrible thing and he also said that the relationship between Bill Clinton and his father is absolutely extraordinary. I mean he -- Bill Clinton is so close to the man he defeated for the presidency. It's quite a remarkable relationship. And it's clear he thinks it wouldn't change even if Bill Clinton's wife ended up challenging Jeb Bush.

BLITZER: Suzanne, we saw Bush 41 in a wheelchair. Obviously, he's getting older, he's getting more frail. Did he speak at all? Did we hear at all from the first President Bush?

MALVEAUX: No, we didn't. We just saw him up front. He wasn't really in a position to speak. But it was very clear that when you -- when you watch the two of them interact with each other how warm and how proud he was of his son up on stage and how loving this moment was. There was a moment in President Bush's -- and President Bush has talked about this before, W. Bush, about the fact that there is a point in his book where he feels somewhat defensive and that is over the Iraq war and Saddam Hussein and he says in the book, he says "look --" and he said it today, that you have to have a clarity of purpose when it comes to being a good leader, that you can't be befuddled. And he says his father had that clarity of purpose in going after Saddam Hussein when they went into Kuwait but not to go into Baghdad, that that was fine for the time to contain Saddam Hussein. But he also defends his own actions because he wants to still be clear and he has said this before that he wasn't trying to avenge his father. That the mission was different, that 9/11 happened, and he felt like he needed to go in and make sure that weapons of mass destruction were not in the hands of Saddam Hussein or other rogue leaders. That was the thing that he says in the book made his father right and made him right as well -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Suzanne, thanks very much. An emotional day down in there in Texas.

Gloria, thanks to you as well.

Still ahead, honoring U.S. military veterans. How one NBA basketball team is giving back to those who served here in the United States.

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BLITZER: Today, November 11th, is Veterans Day in the United States. It's a time to thank those in the U.S. military, past and present, for the sacrifices they have made. And in the state of Florida right now, the basketball team, the Miami Heat, is doing just that.

Joining us now is the president of the Miami Heat, Pat Riley; and the U.S. Army veteran, Matthew James.

Guys, thanks very much for joining us on this Veterans Day.

Pat, this program the called the Home Strong Initiative. Tell us what it entails.

PAT RILEY, PRESIDENT, MIAMI HEAT BASKETBALL TEAM: Well, Home Strong is really a program, Wolf, that we started about eight years ago when we won the championship in 2006. I can recall getting a lot of letters from servicemen in Iraq at that time and Afghanistan, they would send me boxes of shells, they would send me anything that would also remind me that they were also tremendous fans of the Heat. And at that particular time, we started this program to honor and respect our returning servicemen. And every single night, they remind me at the American Airlines arena that we would honor them. And it's been about 400 or 500 families. And we're happy to be here today and with rebuilding together, Matthew James, an eight-year veteran, his house is being painted a soft green. That's what they're calling it right now. But we're happy to have him here and be part of our community. And I'm just so honored to be part of his life today.

BLITZER: Matthew, tell us a little bit about your story.

MATTHEW JAMES, ARMY VETERAN: Well, I served eight years in the military, from '80 to '88. And what happened was I bought this home and when I got in this home, I was a random victim of a crime and I got shot like six times. I fell through cracks because nobody knew that I had got injured like that and I came home and I tried to get myself together and things just weren't working out. Me and my wife, we split and it was just tough for me to do it by myself. But I ended up getting on my feet and I worked for a homeless shelter place and I work for a tree trolley system so I was able to just get by just by little by little and one day rebuilding in south Florida just called me and told me they were going to come check my house out and I thought it was a prank call, but when I seen what was happening, they told me the backers were coming out. And I seen the Miami Heat and they told me what it was all about. And I just started being, like, tickled pink since then. Well, I think tickled pink is like

(LAUGHTER)

It's green. It's green. Because my house was --

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: Pat, I know you have a long history of honoring American veterans. When did it actually start with you? Who what motivated you and the Heat to do this?

RILEY: Well, as far as getting involved with the military, it was an individual thing more than anything else, Wolf. I never got to serve in the military and, you know, it wasn't one of those things -- I'm a child of the '60s, as probably you are, so I had a lot of friends and family that had been in the military and it just was those letters and those cards at that time being in a war that was showing such horrific results for our returning veterans that we just want to do something for them. And Matthew is just one of many that we're trying to help and get redirected. But for him to get up off the ground in front of his house having six bullet holes in him and being able to work for Camilla's house right now and to reach out and help other people, it goes beyond just him being a military veteran. So he has helped himself, we want to help him and anybody else that we can that returned from any place in the world that are serving our country, risking their lives. I work in the toy department of human affairs, they call it professional basketball. And when I'm around these kinds of men and women, it just humbles me.

BLITZER: Well, you're doing an excellent job. Thanks so much for what you're doing, what the Heat are doing.

Matthew, thanks, and good luck to all of you. Appreciate it very much on this Veterans Day.

That's it for me. Thanks very much for watching.

For our international viewers, "Amanpour" is next.

For our viewers in North America, "Newsroom" with Brianna Keilar starts rght now.