AXIS OF EVIL: Trump Set to Confront Xi Over China-Iran Alliance

Meanwhile, it's a pivotal week for U.S.-China relations with President Trump set to welcome Chinese President Xi to the White House. The two are expected to discuss a wide range of crucial topics, including the war in Iran and concerns of our A.I. Madeline Rivera is live in Washington, D.C., with more. Madeline, good morning. Hi. Good morning. So yesterday, President Trump returned to the White House from Camp David a day earlier than expected, and it's unclear why he did so, but he does have a busy week ahead, meeting with several world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly before Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to D.C. on Wednesday. The president is greeting Xi at Joint Base Andrews, which is rare, as U.S. presidents usually welcome foreign leaders at the White House. After that warm meeting, though, the two will delve into some tough topics, like A.I., Iran, and trade. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson is helping to spearhead talks on the latter. He and United States Representative Jameson Greer are meeting with Chinese Premier Li Feng in New York today, and per Reuters, Besson will try to set up some potential agreements on A.I., tariffs, and critical minerals. Besson could also bring up the shared risks of A.I. opening up the possibility of cooperation with China on the issue. Greer is saying the Trump administration will continue to pursue balanced trade with China by monitoring the implementation of recent commitments, optimizing trade in non-sensitive goods, and improving market access for American farmers, manufacturers, and workers. These working-level meetings could continue into tomorrow. Charlie Rachel Engliff. And speaking of China and the Middle East, it's important to kind of take a look at the relationship between Iran and China. Of course, it's become, I'm sure, a major topic this week. It's developed into a symbiotic relationship of sorts, with Iran supplying China with roughly 90 percent of its oil exports, despite the fact that the United States has sanctions on Iranian oil around the globe. China loves to thwart that. China also views Iran as a partner in balancing U.S. influence in the Middle East. Obviously, the American influence in the Middle East is one of the more controversial political aspects of all of it. And China uses that, likes to use Iran as a way to balance that off. Also, Iran offers China overland access to Europe through maritime reach via the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. With China, where it is blocked off from Europe, it is – Iran allows the ability to sort of cross over there. In return for that, China helps Iran by providing diplomatic backing and supporting the Iranian regime they have for decades, partly because it's a way for them to sort of stick their thumb in America's eye and keep America off balance. Also, China's massive economy allows Iran – enables them to allow Iran to get around the sanctions, the global sanctions, and also specifically the sanctions that America puts on them. It also gave Iran its full access to its satellite navigation system, which we've seen in the last couple of weeks, Iran's ability to target American interests using that system, which is obviously not good for the United States of America. So it is – I'm sure these topics will be of top of mind in the conversations between President Trump and President Xi of China this week. Yeah, and that last one, that last one, the satellite access – remember, we lost three U.S. servicemembers at Muwafa Care Base in Jordan, and now there is reporting that Iran was able to target that strike using this Chinese satellite technology, as well as to also allow Iran to try to track our U.S. ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and if that is currently active and going on, we don't know. These are top-secret things, but if that's actually going on, that needs to be front and center, dead in the eye, looking at Xi, saying, that ends. That stops. Yeah, and you know, all of these things are interconnected, right? So we're still fighting the war in Ukraine, which is, you know, having an impact on the weapons and the amount of supplies we have to fight the war in Iran. But also, China has been emboldened by this relationship that they also have with Russia, which is also supplying them with oil to make up for what they can or can't get from Iran. And again, the war in Ukraine, what a huge mistake. We brought—literally brought Russia and China together in that. We would have been better not having them be friends and finding some diplomatic solution with Russia in this regard. But again, people get us into these crazy wars, and there are all kinds of repercussions on this. So absolutely, President Trump is going to have a conversation with Xi. He brags often about how good that relationship is, and I believe that. I believe that if anyone can get any concession out of Xi, a person that President Trump says is a very intelligent, strong man, it's going to be President Trump. And top of mind will be the impact that China is having on the war in Iran, which is a huge concern for the president. He would like to wrap this up, preferably before the midterms. He would, I think, get a huge political boost out of that. But in the very least, he doesn't want China helping our enemies in Iran. The biggest sea change between President Trump and all of his predecessors is that President Trump is nakedly interested in America's best interest, what's best for America. And he makes no apologies about it. He makes no bones about it. And I think, ironically, I think that a lot of foreign leaders really appreciate that, because it's so much more complicated when you have no idea where somebody—the position somebody's coming from. And when President Trump just says, look, I'm interested in whatever's best for America, it simplifies things, and it allows them to figure out, OK, well, this is what we can negotiate on, and this is what we don't want to negotiate on. I think that is one of the greatest points that you're making right now, Charlie. That's why you're so brilliant. Oh, geez. You're so right. He's not wrapping this up. He's not wrapping up Venezuela or, you know, love it or hate it, he's not wrapping Venezuela or Iran up in Freedom Prize. He's telling you, I'm looking out for America's best interests. And so you're right, it makes negotiating a lot easier when you know—when someone is that transparent. Right.