deliberative body. and i'll also point out, erin that dwayne "the rock" johnson, an actual wrestler was on capitol hill today. maybe they needed to bring in some actual fighters today. but it's just another example, again, of how the institution has really changed in recent years, erin. >> changed, and i know you're being diplomatic in your words. it's a stunning moment when you realize these are real people with real jobs and significant responsibilities. thank you very much, melanie, i appreciate it. and of course the rock was there to talk about whether he would run for president. of course we are awaiting now president biden any moment about to begin a press conference. it is going to be only his third solo press conference in this year. it's november 15th. so, this is only the third time. obviously going to be here in prime time. it's been a bit delayed after what appears to have been a very significant meeting with the chinese leader xi jinping. president of the united states will be taking those questions in just a few moments.

in just a few moments. let's hand it off to anderson. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good evening. in just a few moments from now, president biden is expected to talk and take questions from reporters about his summit meeting this afternoon with china's president xi jinping. the schedule for the press conference has shifted throughout the evening, but it is now expected to begin very shortly. the two leaders spoke for about four hours today at a mansion just outside san francisco in conjunction with apec, the asia-pacific economic cooperation forum, being held in that city. a senior american official saying the two leaders agreed to take steps to curb fentanyl production. afterwards, quote, planet earth is big enough for the two countries to succeed, adding that one country turning its back on the other is not an option. mj lee is at the summit location for us. david culver is in san francisco. he reported from china for three years, including at the height

of the pandemic. also evan oz knows, former israeli ambassador to the united states, michael orrin, and dana bash. mj, what's the white house saying about how the summit went? >> well, you know, anderson, as we wait for president biden to come out any moment now for this solo press conference, i think it is abundantly clear that when he comes out, he is going to herald this summit as having been a success. it is clear that he is going to point to a few of the deliverables that the administration had laid out, leading into the summit, namely the re-establishment of the military-to-military communications between the two countries. and then this significant announcement on cracking down on fentanyl. i think in the bigger picture, the president is likely to say that he has achieved, sort of, the overarching goal of hitting a reset on u.s./china relations. both leaders, when we heard them speaking at the top of the

summit, making very clear that they agree that, even though these are two countries with serious conflicts and areas of disagreement, that what they do agree on is that the two countries must be able to have diplomacy, that there must be communication between the two countries, so that they can avoid any misunderstanding and really dangerous situations, where crises might erupt. so, i think we are expected to hear president biden talking about this in terms of, sort of, the success coming out of this. that's not to say that these conversations did not touch on tough issues, areas of disagreement. but, again, i think it is abundantly clear that in terms of the big picture goal of hitting a reset on u.s./china relations, president biden and everyone on down, we are expected to hear say that that goal was achieved and that there's going to be more conversations, that this is just the beginning of more conversations and more diplomacy in the months to come. >> david, how is the chinese media describing the summit?

china and its media have been railing against the u.s. for years. this does seem to be a huge shift. >> it was a major shift, anderson. and today i had to go through some of the chinese state media articles multiple times just to make sure i was reading it right. certainly the years i was living there, 2019 to the height of the pandemic, it was nothing positive toward the u.s. and what we have seen in the past 24 is almost a glowing pro-u.s. messaging coming from chinese state media. and i'm sure even those reading that within china were a bit confused. some were even commenting on social media, noticing the tone shift and how dramatic it was within their own country. but taking all of that aside, i'm really curious to see how they're going to portray it in the days to come because that will indicate where the chinese communist party is perhaps trying to lead the narrative to go from here. and you hear from u.s. officials and perhaps a fresh start. i don't want to come across

pessimistic on this. but deliverables have to come into action. and china has agreed to things in the past. and they can take steps toward something like cracking down on fentanyl or perhaps re-establishing communication between the two countries' militaries, which sound great. and they're certainly using all the right words in some of these chinese state media readouts that are coming out right now. we've got to see the action follow. and i know china can mobilize, literally overnight. we saw that when they locked down a city three times the size of new york city. i was living in the mid-s of that. when they want to do something, they can. it's very different than the u.s. where there's a lot more bureaucracy. you have to go to public comment. the chinese way of doing things, if the party wants to go a certain direction, if xi jinping wants to do something, it will happen, anderson. >> and you've done a lot of reporting on the fentanyl pipeline from china.

how significant could it be? >> reporter: so, when we think about fentanyl coming into the u.s., the direct link is mexico at the southern border. skpu i have talked about this in recent months. we spent time in sinaloa, with the mexican army, as they were trying to bust labs. after we did that report, mexico's president said they don't make fentanyl in mexico. and then reached out to president xi jinping asking for help when it comes to the ingredients to make fentanyl, what are known as the precursors. that's the source of it all. and that is within china. and it is really easily accessible. our investigation showed how you can just log on to wechat, communicate with some of these folks who are representing some of the precursor productions, and you can place an order and have it shipped really anywhere in the world that you wanted. most of it going to mexico. and even some of those folks who are working for those production factories will provide a how-to guide in making fentanyl. so, this is going to take the

chinese government doing a serious crackdown. and again, anderson, if they want to do it, they can do that. >> it looks like we have some activity. you saw secretary of state antony blinken getting seated. it seems like the president is very close. the stakes are very high for him, not just on china, but the middle east, his re-election. >> all of it. this is very rare. and when i say "this," i mean just having a press conference. so, it is going to be an opportunity for the reporters, like mj and others who cover him on a regular basis, to ask him, of course, about china and about what we're hearing from david and mj. but a lot of questions about the u.s. policy and stance towards the middle east. and also, as you mentioned, the very place he seems to be according to every single poll, not just national polls but see

battleground states, of where he is vis-a-vis the presumptive front runner on the republican side. and that is donald trump. so, a lot of opportunity, hopefully, for many reporters to get questions. because it is so rare that that happens with this president. >> evan, i want to talk to you about the shift of tone by china toward the u.s. you recently wrote a really fascinating piece from "the new yorker" titled "china's age of malaise." what's driving china to do this? >> that is a key piece of the puzzle. in some ways xi jinping was coming into this summit in a much weaker position than he was a year or so ago. you know, there was a time when it felt as if he was riding high. he had just installed all of his loya loyalists into the senior ranks of the government. now the chinese economy is struggling, as many people know. also more broadly. this is one of the things i sensed on the ground when i was there recently. there's just a real sense of frustration. one of the words people use in

chinese, they feel disheartened to do something. it's a big deal. that's a big change from when he came into office a decade ago. he came into the room today, you heard him making very clear indications that he wanted this summit to be a success. david a moment ago was describing how the positive message in the chinese media -- that's not by accident. the message has already come down before they met that they wanted this to be a success as much as the americans did. >> and yet the issues that -- there's a lot of issues that are extraordinarily difficult for the u.s. and china to agree on. >> yeah, that's really -- in some ways the short-term fact is they came out of here with a productive, successful civil meeting. the long-term fact is that they still -- across a whole range of issues. i'll give you one fascinating little detail from the opening remarks today. xi jinping, when he was just framing the meeting, he said that he does not share the view that these two countries are in

a competition, which is afterall at the core of how the united states sees it. but the chinese would rather not have a competition. they would rather the united states, frankly, move out of the way, take on a smaller role in the middle east, in ukraine, in taiwan. and that is a core disagreement between these two. and that's not going away. that's what you need now, the infrastructure of things like military-to-military communications to manage on a day-to-day basis. >> mj, dana was talking about how rare it is to have a press conference with president biden. how long has it been? and how long is this expected to be? do we know? >> yeah. this is just the third solo press conference that the president is taking part in this year. it is certainly rare for reporters covering him regularly to get this kind of open and formal opportunity to ask him questions. one thing that i just wanted to note, just jumping in on what evan was noting before, just based on our reporting, i think

it is clear that u.s. officials would, sort of, carefully and privately say that the dynamics at play for president xi back at home, domestically, probably had a lot to do with the interactions that we saw playing out tonight between the two leaders. of course u.s. officials are very attune to the fact that there are serious economic problems that president xi is facing at home. and our reporting was that in the months of planning that went into this summit, that there was a level of anxiety and a level of concern about how this would look for president xi, as he was visiting the u.s. for just a couple of days. this is not unusual, of course. we are talking about a foreign trim for the leader of china. but u.s. officials involved in the planning of this summit saying that that level of concern and the attention to detail down to where he would sit, what he would see when he looked out the window, that it really was, sort of,

unprecedented. so, again, i think u.s. officials might argue that the dynamics that are at play for president xi back at home had very much to do with the, sort of, decision to engage u.s. officials in this way right now. and that maybe u.s. officials, sort of, took advantage of the opportunity here that was available to them, taking into account the fact that they could make the case to their chinese counterparts. if you did x, y, and z, it could be to your benefit, particularly on the economic front. anderson? >> david culver, what is the benefit to china of if there is going to be a shift in tone or shift in relations? >> yeah, if they're going to take any action, you can bet they're going to want something in exchange. there's going to have to be something that the u.s. goes forward with. and as evan pointed out, it's a struggling economy. it is a really tough situation right now. youth unemployment at an

all-time high. you've got a housing market there that's in crisis. so, what president xi is trying to do in many ways is trying to figure out how he can boost his economy, and perhaps relying on american companies and perhaps even wooing them to go back. many of them left not only during the pandemic but in the months after because of beijing's crackdown on corporations. i mean, the government was going after and raiding offices in shanghai of american companies. now you have just a couple hours from now president xi hosting a welcome xi dinner, if you will, and it's being put on my two u.s.-based organizations. they focus on u.s.-china relations and in part focusing on bettering business relations. and this is a dinner in which president xi is hoping to rub elbows with some of these folks and perhaps convince them to come back to china if they've left or expand their reach within china. the issue these businesses is, can we trust you president xi? can we trust the government

isn't going to go forward with another crackdown? and can we trust any money we make in china, we can get out of china? many years they saw a lot of money coming out of china and saw it as an opportunistic place to be doing business. now they're not so sure. so, that dinner, by the way, that's going to be happening tonight, anderson, is really controversial. u.s. lawmakers are weighing in on this. you have the chairman of the house select committee that focuses on the ccp saying that this is an unconscionable dinner because of the price it will cost for those who want to pay to attend. that's $40,000 for those wanting a seat at the table with president xi. so, they're looking into names. they want names. >> ccp is the chinese communist party. when president biden spoke in tel aviv, you were very fusive about his support for israel. do you see any shift in the administration's stance? obviously the administration is

under pressure from a lot of different quarters. >> good to be with you, anderson. listen, they've shifted a bit on the question of the humanitarian pauses, the humanitarian corridors. and the israeli government is now, i think, tried to meet the president halfway on those measures, understanding the president is under that type of pressure. but on the crucial, crucial issue of the ceasefire, the president and his administration have not wavered a bit. they understand that the ceasefire means hamas wins, hamas gets away with mass murder. and they realize that a ceasefire for israel is something close to death. i mean, we would not be able to restore internal security or restore our regional deterrence. iran will internalize they can hit us with impunity and the international community will impose a ceasefire. i don't know how israel remains habitable after that point. so, there, the president, the secretary of state, have really stood steadfast. john kirby getting up every night before the white house press court and saying, we are

against a ceasefire. i think it's also a bipartisan support, as we saw in the mass rally yesterday in washington. >> dana bash, i mean, mj was saying this is only the third press conference he's been involved with. i think she said this year. it is a small amount. obviously there's a lot of questions about his stamina, his abilities. there's going to be a lot of people watching this to look at that and to see how he answers questions. >> yeah. no question. whenever president biden is asked about those issues, something that there's nothing he can do about, which is his age, his answer is, watch me. and this is an opportunity for the american people, people around the world, to actually do just that, to watch him. but much more importantly to really -- on the very, very big

issues before him in his presidency in this country, internationally, like you just talked about with ambassador orrin. i mean, certainly he has been extremely steadfast when it comes to israel. -- with xi jinping, but also a lot of eyes on him. less than a year away from his re-election, lots of questions about domestic issues. unclear if he's going to get those questions about the economy, about the economy doing better. even this week, we saw numbers where they matter most to people. the price of eggs, the price of goods, they are better. the inflation numbers are going down. so, why don't people credit him with that? those are the messages that if he does give a lengthy press conference that reporters will be able to talk to him about, not just international, not just the raw political, but some of the policies that he's hoping he can get re-elected on.

and he's been trying to do it more and more. a chance to make his case. but, again, get some probing questions from those who cover him every day. >> evan, in terms of what the u.s. could do for china or china would be looking specifically to the u.s. for, what do you think is top of the list? >> we know what china wants. it's a meaningful fact that xi jinping has left that meeting and went to that bank with business leaders. the reason for this visit was xi jinping wanted to essentially go out into the world and signal to the global business community, to investors who have gotten very nervous about china, that he gets it, that he is, in a sense -- that he recognizes that he needs to show that he's paying attention to the economic troubles at home and that he's not pursuing a conflict with the united states, which after all,

would be a disaster for the world and for the world economy. so, on some level, his presence here is a sign that he is willing to acknowledge the scale of concern. but i think in terms of specifics, he would like the united states to say we are not going to impose -- semiconductors, a.i. he's not going gto get that. that is a major piece of how biden imagines the future of this relationship. so, they have to come to some sort of accommodation. >> obviously, evan, the issue of taiwan is a big, you know, disagreement, point of contention, obviously, between the u.s. and china. >> it is. in some ways it's the core point of contention. and in some ways actually what this meeting was about was not changing their position. it was about underscoring how

emphatic the united states is about two big things. one, it is not actually supporting independence for taiwan. it supports the status quo, which is the self-governing status that taiwan has now. but also indicating that the united states is not backing off the idea of defending taiwan in the event of an attack. it's a precise balance, but it's one of the key reasons they wanted to have this meeting. there's a fear when i was in beijing. i heard it when i was there. they think the united states is moving toward supporting independence in taiwan. if that happened, it would be, from china's perspective, a five-alarm fire. and joe biden wanted to send a very clear message that, no, our position has not changed. we will defend taiwan, and we want it to stay in the safe status that it enjoys right now. >> david culver, as we wait for president biden to make remarks and to take questions, in terms of the precursor chemicals involved, the precursor

ingredients for fentanyl, is there a -- for some of those chemicals, are there legitimate reasons for them to be manufactured? and how easy is it -- are we talking about shutting down factories in china or just the distribution supply networks? >> it's a fair point because there are a long list of chemicals that you could look at here to create fentanyl, certainly could be used for other things and are used for things in everyday life, paints and nail polish remover, things like that. . however, what you have to look at is the quantities. so, the way it was likended to me by one federal investigator, if someone is going to cvs picking up a couple packs of sudafed, not all that concerning. if they're picking up 500 packs of sudafed, that raises -- >> the president is walking up

now. let's listen. >> please, have a seat. as you know i just concluded several hours of meetings with president xi, and i believe they're some of the most constructive and productive discussions we've had. i've been meeting with president xi since both of us were vice president over ten years ago. our meetings have always been candid and straightforward. we haven't always agreed, but they've been straightforward. and today we built on the groundwork of the last several months of high level diplomacy for our teams. we've made important progress, i believe. first, i'm pleased to announce that after many years of being on hold, we are restarting cooperation between the united states and prc and counter narcotics. in 2019, you may remember china took action to greatly reduce the amount of fentanyl shipped directly from china to the united states. but in the year since that time, the challenge has evolved from finished fentanyl to fentanyl

chemical ingredients and pill presses, which are being shipped without controls. and by the way, some of these pills are being inserted in other drugs like cocaine. a lot of people are dying. more people in the united states between the ages of 18 to 49 die from fentanyl than from guns, car accidents, or any other cause, period. so, today, with this new understanding, we're taking action to significantly reduce the flow of precursor chemicals and pill presses from china to the western hemisphere. it's going to save lives, and i appreciate president xi's commitment on this issue. president xi and i maintain a policy of law enforcement coordination going forward to make sure it works. i also want to thank the bipartisan congressional delega delegation to china, led by leader schumer, for supporting this effort so strongly. secondly -- and this is critically important -- we're

reassuming military-to-military contact, direct contacts. as a lot of you press know who follow this, it's been cut off. that's been worrisome. that's how zpaccidents happen, misunderstandings. so, we're back to open, clear, direct communications on a direct basis. vital miscalculations on either side can cause real, real trouble with a country like china or any other major country. so, i think we made real progress there as well. and thirdly, we're going to get our experts together to discuss risk and safety issues associated with artificial intelligence. as many of you have travelled with me around the world, almost everywhere i go, every major leader wants to talk about the impact of artificial intelligence. these are tangible steps in the right direction to determine what's useful and what's not useful, what's dangerous, and what's acceptable. moreover, there are evidence of

cases that i made all along. united states will continue to compete vigorously with the prc, but we'll manage that competition responsibly so it doesn't veer into conflict or accidental conflict. and where it's possible, where our interests coincide, we're going to work together like we did on fentanyl. that's what the world expects of us, the rest of the world, not just people in china and the united states. the rest of the world expects that of us. and that's what the united states is going to be doing. president xi and i expressed views on a range of issues, including russia's refusal to stop the brutal war of aggression against ukraine and conflict in gaza. and as i always do, i reasaised areas of concern about the prc's actions, including -- u.s. citizens, human rights and coercive activities in the south

china sea. we discussed all three of those things. i gave him names of individuals who we think are being held, and hopefully we can get them released as well. no agreement on that. no agreement on that. i also stressed the importance of peace and stability in the taiwan strait. it's clear that we object to beijing's non-market economic practices and disadvantaged american businesses and workers, and we'll continue to address them. and i named what i thought those were. i welcomed the positive steps we've taken today. and it's important for the world to see that we're implementing the approach in the best traditions of american diplomacy. we're talking to our competitors, just talking bluntly with one another so there's no misunderstanding. in the months ahead, we're going to continue to preserve and pursue high level diplomacy at

the prc in both directions, to keep the lines of communication open including between president xi and me. he and i agreed that either one of us could pick up the phone, call directly, and we're going to be heard immediately. and now i'd like to be able to take some questions if i'm may. and i'm told that dmitry at "the financial times" has the first question. >> thank you. as an irishman, a polli apologi bringing the rain. >> i wouldn't have called on you if i knew that. i'm kidding. fire away. >> president biden -- does that alter your previous commitment to defend taiwan from any military action? and did xi jinping underline the conditions under which china would attack taiwan? >> look, i reiterate what i've said since i've become president, what every previous president of late has said, that we maintain agreement that there

is a one china policy. and i'm not going to change that. that's not going to change. and so that's about the extent to which we discussed it. next question, sorry, was bloomberg. >> among other issues, your agreement with president xi over fentanyl, will require a lot of trust and verification to ensure success. i'm wondering, after today and considering all that you've been through in the past year, would you say, mr. president, that you trust president xi? and secondly, if i could, on taiwan, you and your administration officials have warned president xi and china about interference in the upcoming election. i'm wondering what would the consequences be if they do interfere in the election? >> well, i didn't expect any interference, any at all.

we had that discussion, as he was leaving. look, do i trust -- trust but verify, as the old saying goes. that's where i am. and, you know, we're in a competitive relationship, china and the united states. but my responsibility is to make it -- make this rational and manageable so it doesn't result in conflict. that's what i'm all about. that's what this is about. to find a place where we can come together and where we find mutual interest. but most importantly, from my perspective, interest in the american people. that's what this is about. and that's exactly what we'll do. you know, we're in a situation where we agree that fentanyl, as precursors, will be curbed

substantially, and the pill presses. that's a big movement. i guess i shouldn't identify where it occurred, but, john, i know two people where i live, kids literally, as i said, they woke up dead. someone had inserted in whether the young man did or not, inserted in a drug he was taking with fentanyl. again, i hope you don't have any experience with knowing anyone, but this is the largest killer of people in that age category. and, you know, i guess the other thing i think is most important is that since i spent more time with president xi than any world leader has, just because we were vice presidents.

his president who. i'm not making a joke. so, we met -- if i'm not mistaken, it was 61 hours of just face-to-face discussing with a simultaneous interpreter. so, i think i know the man, i know his modus operandi. he has been -- we have disagreements. he has a different view than i have on a lot of things. but he's been straight. i don't mean that as good, bad, or indifferent. he's just been straight. so, you know, we, as i said, the thing that i find most assuring is he raised and i fully agreed, that neither of us had any concern, mr. ambassador, within our regions. we should pick up the phone and call one another and take the call. that's an important progress.

i am embarrassed. i think it's cbs. but i can't remember who is cbs. i'm sorry. >> mr. president. >> sorry. i apologize. >> [ inaudible ] . [ inaudible question ] >> well, first of all, none of it did end up in conflict, number one. number two, you may recall i did a few little things like get the quad together, allow australia to have access to new

submarines, moving in direction to work with the philippines. so, our actions speak louder than our words. he fully understands. >> [ inaudible question ] this week you also said you must protect hospitals. so -- [ inaudible ] is an operation underway -- [ inaudible ] >> well, look, we did discuss this, by the way. we can't let it get out of control. here's the situation. you have a circumstance where the first war crime is being committed by hamas by having

their headquarters, their military, hidden under a hospital. and that's a fact. that's what's happened. israel did not go in with a large number of troops, did not raid, did not rush everything down. they've gone in and they've gone in with their soldiers carrying weapons and guns. they were told -- told. let me be precise. we discussed the need for them to be incredibly careful. you have a circumstance where you know there is a fair number of hamas terrorists. hamas has already said publicly that they plan on attacking israel again like they did before. they're going to cut babies heads off, burning women and children alive. so, the idea that they're going to just stop and not do anything is not realistic. this is not the carpet bombing. this is a different thing.

they're going through these tunnels. they're going in the hospital. and if you notice, i was mildly preoccupied today. i apologize. i didn't see everything. but what i did see, whether -- i haven't had it confirmed yet. i'll ask my team to answer the question. but what happened is they're also bringing in incubators. they're bringing in other means to help the people in the hospital. and they've given them doctors. and i'm told the doctors and nurses and personnel an opportunity to get out of harm's way. so, this is a different story than i believe was occurring before, indiscriminate bombing. what do you got "washington post"? i think that's right. >> thank you, mr. president. >> there you are. sorry. i couldn't see you in the light. >> mr. president -- more than 11,000 -- >> i'm sorry. you're breaking up.

i didn't -- >> israel's war in gaza has killed more than 11,000 palestinians in just over a month and created a humanitarian disaster. israeli officials have said this work -- or even years. have you communicated to prime minister netanyahu any sort of deadline or time frame for how long you're willing to -- israel in this operation? are you comfortable with the operation going on indefinitely? and is there any deal underway to free hostages? thank you. >> yes, no -- working backwards, forward. look, i have been deeply involved in moving on the hostage negotiation. and i don't want to get ahead of myself here because i don't know what's happened the last four hours. but i have gotten great cooperation from the qataris.

i've worked with them as well a number of times. i think the pause that the israelis have agreed to -- i won't get into too many detail. i know, mr. secretary, i'm going to stop. but i am mildly hopeful. i am mildly hopeful. with regard to when is this going to stop? i think it's going to stop when hamas no longer maintains the capacity to murder and abuse and just do horrific things to the israelis. and they still think at least as of this morning they still thought they could. i guess the best way for me to say it is that i take a look. the idf, the israeli defense

forces, acknowledges they have an obligation to use as much caution as they can in going after their targets. it's not like they're rushing into a hospital, knocking down doors and, you know, pulling people aside and shooting people indiscriminately. but hamas, as i said, said they plan on attacking israelis again. and this is a terrible dilemma. so, what do you do? i think that israel is also taking risk themselves about their folks being killed one to one going through these hospital rooms, hospital halls. but one thing has been established is that hamas does have headquarters, weapons, materiel below this hospital,

and i suspect others. but how long it's going to last, i don't know. look, i made it clear to the israelis that i think the only answer here is a two-state solution that's real. we've got to get to the point where there is an ability to be able to even talk without worrying about whether or not we're just dealing with -- they're dealing with hamas is going to engage in the same activities they did over the past -- on the 7th. but i can't tell -- i'm not a fortune teller. i can't tell you how long it's going to last. but i can tell you i don't think it all the way ends until there's a two-state solution. i made it clear to the israelis i think it's a big mistake for them to think they're going to occupy gaza and maintain gaza. i don't think that works. and so -- i think you're going to see efforts to bring along -- well, i shouldn't go into it any

more because that's things i've been negotiating with arab countries and others about what the next steps are. but anyway, thank you all very much. appreciate it. >> thank you. this concludes the press conference. >> when hamas said they plan on doing the same thing again, what they did, what they did on the seventh. they're going to go in there, they want to slaughter israelis. they want to do it again. they've said it out loud. they're not kidding about it. they're not backing off. so, i just ask a rhetorical question, i wonder what we would do if that were the case. >> [ inaudible question ] >> oh, what i meant was i'm doing everything in my power to get you out. coming to help you, to get you out. i don't mean sending military to

get them. is that what you thought i meant? no, no, i was not talking about military. i was talking about you're on our mind every single day. five, six times a day i'm working on how i can be helpful in getting the hostages released and have a period of time where there's a pause long enough to let that happen. and they're somewhere pbetween 0 and 100 hostages there, we think. >> sir, is one a 3-year-old american child? >> you're darn right it is. that's why we're not going to stop until we get her. >> president biden speaking to -- >> what kind of evidence do you have that hamas has a command center under the hospital? >> i won't tell you. >> are you confident based on

what you know? >> yes, yes. >> and mr. president after today would you still refer to president xi as a dictator? >> look, he is. i mean, he's a dictator in the sense that here's a guy who runs a country that is -- based on the government he runs. anyway -- >> president biden speaking to reporters after roughly four-hour summit meeting with china's president xi jinping. back now with the panel. dana, first of all, what do you make of the president's remarks? just now he spoke about fentanyl pill presses, about getting china cooperation on cutting down on pill presses, movement on precursor chemicals. he talked about direct military-to-military contacts between the u.s. and china, as well as addressing the risk of artificial intelligence. >> yeah, trust but verify, which is really an important answer to

a really good question, which was, do you trust president xi, particularly given the fact that during his campaign in 2020, then vice president biden talked a lot about what he repeated today, which is how many hours he had spent with xi jinping and how much he knew him and the fact that he could use that if he became president. well, today was a really, really important test of using that history that they have together. and, yes, it wasn't -- there wasn't a huge break through on economics and other issues that have been dividing these two countries who compete with one another for decades. but on the basics, just take -- i mean, fentanyl is one thing he mentioned, anderson. just take the fact that now there is communication reopened between the two countries' militaries. that's a big deal because it was

blown open thanks to a couple of things, including the fact china sent a spy balloon floating over america for a long time. so, it's obvious that he's trying to be hopeful but also pretty clear that there is a lot of work to do. and anderson, if i may, on israel, it was really striking how much he is staying the course on saying multiple times that hamas -- israel again and they must be destroyed, must be taken off the table. because if not, they will reconstitute, and they will do exactly what they promised to do, giving no timeline to the end of this war except for when hamas is fully destroyed. and i thought that was really noteworthy because obviously he is facing a huge increasing

pressure to call for a ceasefire. he is not going there at all, but not even close in his comments tonight. >> let's bring in ambassador -- former ambassador michael orrin. ambassador, i'm wondering, to dana's point, what you made of the president's comments about israel. >> i couldn't agree more with dana. it was extraordinary. at least half the questions were not about u.s.-china relationship, rather america's policy toward israel and the gaza conflict. i think in contrast to what has been said in recent days that america's policy toward this conflict has weakened the position in the world, i think on the contrary, it is a position of power. america, after a long period of isolationism is willing to project power on a massive scale, these two large striker forces, is willing to stick by an ally in the face of growing international pressure. i think it sends a message about

america's commitment to taiwan. i think it says something about america's ability to provide power again. the president came into this conference stronger because of this position, and he reiterated it tonight in the face of these pressing questions from journalists saying are you going to put a time on the? are you going to agree to a cease ceasefire? he said no. i think that strengthens america's position vis-a-vis china, russia, and the rest of the world. very powerful thought. >> investor, he made two remarks that i think are going to get attention. one he talked about believing there are 50 to 100 hostages there. that's obviously lower than the 240 number. obviously nobody knows exactly how many hostages there are because none of these groups, hamas, jihad, others who may be holding hostages, have been given any proof of life. there's plenty of people who are

missing. it's not clear if all those people are being held hostage. i'm wondering what you make of that number. and also he seemed to say something about israel having agreed to a pause. and then he stopped himself, looking at the secretary of state, antony blinken. i don't know -- he said, i think that the pause that the israelis have agreed to. i assume he's talking about any potential pause that might be part of a deal for hostages coming out, being negotiated with qatar. >> that's the way i understand it, anderson. there's been lots of press reports about a proposal to have a pause, three to five days. it's not quite clear -- to release a certain number of hostages, young people, sick people, and old people. the israeli government has firmly denied this and refused to comment about it. and i think that's what the president was referring to. the absolute number of hostages remains around 240.

>> david culver, president biden just doubled down on referring to president xi as a dictator. wondering what you made of his remarks tonight? >> it sounded like he had stepped away from the mic a bit when he was asked that, so i was trying to listen closely. so, he did clarify that he stood by that title. i think that's going to be interesting. in the sense, anderson, as i want to see what, if anything, state media will do with that in a day or so. if they choose to totally ignore it and not make any mention of it, it suggests the narrative coming from the top and from xi jinping is to stay focus, keep the relations warm, and move in a direction of open and honest communication. if they start to make a big deal about that in the coming days, it will suggest that there are still issues with this relationship. but it is far from rosy. and there is perhaps going to be more division to come. so, i am curious to see what

will be made of that in the coming days. >> mj lee, i want to go to you. i believe you're the one that asked the question. it was off mic so it was hard for our viers. explain what you asked. >> the question i asked president biden was whether he still considers president xi a dictator, given this was a comment he had made earlier this year. and given that obviously the two sides have said that there was a lot of progress made in the relationship. and president biden said, yes, he still is. that hasn't changed. i thought that was incredibly noteworthy, sort of, signaling that even while there is some progress on building up those diplomatic channels and making sure that there is an improvement in the two countries' relations that there are some things that are fundamental to china that he isn't going to forget. he also said when he was asked by a different reporter whether

he would trust xi jinping, he said he believes in the ethos of trust but verify. so, i thought that was incredibly noteworthy. and anderson, something else that really struck me during this 20-minute press conference is how much we are seeing president biden and the biden administration having to answer questions about israel and israel's conduct in the israel-hamas war. we saw the number of questions that he received from reporters about the civilian death toll in gaza. of course i asked him a question at the end about whether he feels confident that there is a hamas control center under the al shifa hospital. and he said, yes, he does feel confident, i think we are just seeing signs of how much this conflict is following the president around. when i walk into the white house every day for my job, it is pretty typical to be able to

hear protests of some kind that is related to this conflict. it wasn't that long ago that the entrance to the white house had fingerprints, handprints that were supposed to mimic blood stains with words like genocide joe. here in san francisco, while the president has been here to attend the apec summit, just last night when we were walking around the city of san francisco, we saw a really sizable rally, protest, pro-palestinian protest. many of the signs specifically mentioning president biden. i think this moment here sort of captures and really brings to light how many questions president biden himself, u.s. officials are getting about this conflict as increasingly people, including in his own administration, are starting to voice serious, serious concerns about israel's conduct. anderson, if i could just note one more very interesting moment that stood out to me and helpful

because i was sitting so close to the front row. i was in the second row, the first row of reporters in this press conference. when president biden was asked about the ongoing hostage negotiations, he said that he was mildly hopeful. he started to talk about a pause that israel may have agreed to. then he looked over at secretary of state antony blinken who was sitting in front of him and made some remark about how perhaps he shouldn't get too much into the detail. secretary blinken shaking his head no, definitely do not get into too much detail. i thought it was a really interesting moment that captured just how sensitive these negotiations have been. the president, of course, has been sort of optimistic all along, at least in what he has said in his public remarks, that he will ultimately end up seeing niece these american hostages and others get out. the negotiations are ongoing.

you can tell from the interaction that those talks have been incredibly sensitive. >> i'm wondering what stood out to you in the president's remarks. you have done a study of president biden. you wrote a great biography of the president. talk about what you saw and how he performed. >> i was struck by his returning several times to this idea of being blunt. he said it on a multiple -- on a range of issues, talking about china. he said the importance is for us to be blunt with one another so there's no misunderstanding. that's especially important when it comes to china because xi jinping consolidated so much power at the top that the biden administration isn't confident that when they go through other channels that they are getting a clear message to him. so he said this rather unusual thing. to tonight he said, we talked about the idea that i should be able to pick up the phone and call him and he should be able to be able to directly call me.

i will take the call. if there's a core concept in biden's diplomacy , it's the ida of being candid, being clear. perhaps a little bit too candid sometimes. mj was drawing attention to a moment when he almost perhaps said something they are still working through privately. he was candid when he talked about what he discussed with net yaen netanyahu and the israeli government. he is not shying away from the points of disagreement in any of these crucial issues. it highlights, frankly, how broad a range of complex issues this administration is contending with at one time. >> certainly, his talk about a two-state solution obviously is at odds with a number of members of the netanyahu government. include ging the prime minister. >> currently, it seems as though that is true.

i interviewed the prime minister over the weekend specifically on a notion of a post -- what go saturday -- gaza would look like after the war and whether he would support the palestinian authority going in there. he pushed back on the notion that they have the capability to do it because of all of the negative attributes that have been pretty well documented. he doesn't necessarily mean no two-state solution. it means maybe the -- the entity that the biden government -- the biden administration says should go in to gaza, even though they were there for not very long before hamas ended up taking over in the mid 2000s. he is pushing that. if you take a step back, you mentioned this tonight,

anderson, it's because he wants to make very clear that israel has no business staying in gaza after the war. there should be no occupation at all by -- he didn't say israeli troops, but by israel. i think what he meant was governing. >> how do you think the president's comments about a two-state solution are going to be received by netanyahu and his government? >> maybe by members of the government won't be thrilled. let's talk about the israeli public. the israeli public will be open to any realistic venue that will change the status quo, perhaps a peaceful resolution. there's skepticism among the israeli people who said the head of the palestinian authority is in the 18th year of his term. he knows hamas would win on the west bank as well. israelis are saying, we will

have a palestinian state there. it could turn into gaza. it's going to be 20 times worse, because it's the longest border israel has. not just in rocket range, but in rifle range. they would have to find a legitimate and stable leadership there that is willing to sign on the dotted line of a peace agreement and actually keep it and keep it in a peaceful way and convince the israeli public of that. i think it's worth exploring. i would wish the president the best of success with it. it won't be an easy task. people have tried it in the past. i think the israeli public will be open to any opportunity for peace. >> appreciate your time. all our panelists as well. we w will be rigight back.

the leaders of the two largest countries broke a lengthy chill today. for now, with the first chapter written, the news continues.