for more on this we want to bring in cnn's beijing bureau chief, steven jiang. good to see you, stephen. so, what is likely goal of this visit to china by russia's president putin, coming at a time when, of course, both leaders have criticized israel's military response to the hamas attacks? >> that is right, rosemary. as you mentioned, this visit by putin is under such global scrutiny because it is so rare for him to travel outside of russia these days, especially after that arrest warrant was issued for him for alleged war crimes in ukraine. as you also touched on, this is also happening against the backdrop of geopolitical faultlines, really around the world. remember, the last time putin came here was right before the 2022 beijing olympics when he and president xi cement that no limits partnership that you just mentioned, but it was a few weeks before he launched the brutal invasion against ukraine. a lot has happened since then, including this latest conflict in the middle east. but, if anything, all of these major events have pushed these two leaders even

cnn's beijing bureau chief steven jiang joins me now from the chinese capital. tell us more about china's response to this conflict. >> yeah, michael, that line from chinese foreign minister wang yi has gotten quite a bitf attention because some perceive it as beijing's hardened stance toward israel as the gaza humanitarian crisis worsens. but of course in these official statements sometimes what's not being said is equally important if not more important than what's being said. the one word that's been missing in all of china's statements so far, of course, is the word hamas. even in the initial response to the heinous acts launched by hamas on october 7th the chinese statement barely mentioned the israeli casualties. and the same thing in the coverage in the tightly controlled state media on day one, the state broadcaster cctv's flagship newscast barely mentioned any israeli suffering, instead focused on palestinian suffering after the israelis' counterattack. all of that of course did not go unnoticed by israel and its allies. chuck schumer, the u.s. senate m

good to see you, steven jiang. look, i can't even begin to articulate how many things are on the list of things that these two people should be discussing the fact that these two countries should be discussing it. there has been a lot said about whether or not relations are thawing. how do you see it at this point given that they seem to be quite warm in their meeting? >> yeah, paula. i think this is -- probably the expectations, though, which is sometimes help things to move along and the key takeaway from all these meetings guangyi is having right now is it's increasingly likely that translator jinping is going to -- and also meeting with president biden there. because juan ease trip is very much seen as hashing out the details to pave the way for his leader to visit the u.s. next month. this is happening right now, i think, for both international and domestic reasons. obviously, as you mentioned, with global conflicts growing and intensifying there is this international expectation that the two superpowers need

>> thank you very much, steven jiang live for us in beijing. just hours away from the next vote for the u.s. house speaker. looking towards jim jordan. the latest tensions looking to explode within the gop! >> the republican congressman, jim jordan. if i do don't succeed, then try, try again. so will it be for his bid to be reelected as house speaker. jordan lost on tuesday, a second on wednesday, notably bio margin. and friday he's expected to hold a news conference on what is to be a third runner speaker. jordan is under pressure to drop out with some ugly party, infighting. some republican holdouts who spent hours in closed-door talks with jordan say they have not changed our minds. >> we made the pitch to members on that resolution, as a way to lower the temperature. and, get back to work. we decided that wasn't where we're going to go. i'm still running for speaker, and i plan to go to the floor. get the votes, and win this race. >> the u.s. house is now been out of the speaker since kevin mccarthy was ousted more than two weeks ago. for t

cnn bureau chief steven jiang joins us live with the latest on all of this. what are we looking for here? what are we expecting? what do we have so far? >> yeah john, i think the two strongman's leaders meeting should be soon, if not already. the opening remarks delivered by xi jinping in the bilateral meeting, he made a point of saying that this was their 42nd meeting since 2013, and held bilateral ties have grown so much in the past decade. especially when it comes to bilateral trade. soaring to new heights, trying to hit the goal of 200 billion u.s. dollars annually. this is not surprising, especially in the past few, years as beijing has been increasingly providing moscow with an economic lifeline, because obviously russia very much under severe western sanctions. that's also why analysts say china increasingly holds this upper hand in this relationship. so it's very much a choice that they haven't exerted more pressure for putin to end this bloody war in ukraine. if anything they, have become a lot more in sync. a lot more coordinated on many policy fron

. >> thanks to steven jiang for that live report from beijing. >>> we'll be right back. >>> welcome backin the days since israel declared war on hamas and launched strikes on gaza, close to 60 palestinians have also been killed in the west bank. cnn's becky anderson has the details. >> reporter: 12-year-old abdul rachman can't sleep at night. his sister says he's too scared to be alone. his home in the village of hosra was attacked by jewish settlers. you can see them here in this video lobbing rocks, then firing at the property, shattering the windows. inside the floor littered with glass, scars of bullets scraping the walls, a bleak emptiness. four local palestinians were killed in this attack. on the way to their funeral the following day, two other locals, ibrahim and his son, also shot dead. images of the loss plastered the walls. the mayor's community lives in fear he says, constantly attacked by jewish settlers and he says it's getting worse. >> translator: the situation is so, so bad. you can't even describe it. we're living in the devastating psychological state. none of us can

steven jiang is live for us in the chinese capital with the latest.e us through the meetings and the expectations. >> reporter: we've not heard much from either side. he has more meetings coming up in d.c. it's increasingly likely that xi jingping is going to the u.s. next month to attend the apex summit and meeting with president biden there. a main mission of the trip is widely seen as to pave the way for its leader to go to san francisco next month, as he hashes out all of the final details with his u.s. counterparts. the reason this is happening right now, is not coincidental. we mention global conflicts are a growing and expanding. there is some global expectation that the two superpowers need to put a floor on the freefalling relationship because a lot of these issues cannot be resolved or addressed without them somehow seeing eye-to-eye on some of the issues. that includes the gaza conflict. also, remember, there are domestic reasons here xi jingping is facing strong economic headwind. he needs to show the domestic audience he is capable of man

. >> all right, thank to steven jiang live from beijing. >>> still to come, as israel expands its gazaperations, the u.s. sends a second carrier group to the region. we will look at the message washington is hoping to send. >>> plus could a trip to israel be on the horizon for the u.s. president? more on the invitation extended by prime minister benjamin netanyahu when we return. the power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. and that's a good thing? great in my book! who are you? no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up to keep you online. only from xfinity. home of the xfinity 10g network. the power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. and that's a good thing? great in my book! who are you? no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up to keep you online. only from xfinity. home of the xfinity

. >> steven jiang in beijing thank you. >>> u.s.ng to receive a classified briefing on wednesday afternoon on gaza. the group saidly u.s. senator and majority leader chuck schumer who met with israeli official isaac her zog. it will includes the defense secretary and chairman of the joint chiefs of staffs. >> and house republicans gather behind closed doors in washington this evening, they'll number their 13th day of operating without a leader. ohio congressman jim jordan expected to force a floor vote on tuesday, as he tries to become the next speaker of the house. >> jordan was dominated to replace kevin mccarthy who became the first speaker in history to be ousted. by his pony party. jordan seems well short of the votes he need to win that gavel, but he appeared optimistic. >> i think we'll get 217. >> but you'll only keep running if you get 217 votes? >> i think we'll get -- watch yourself. watch yourself. i think we'll get 217 votes. >> one senior house member who opposes a jordan speakership tells cnn he thinks there are rough

cnn's beijing bureau chief steven jiang joins me now live. good to see, stephen.at more do we know about the meeting between putin and xi, and what have we heard from the two leaders so far? >> yeah, rosemary, was still waiting to hear more details on the behind closed doors session between the two strongman leaders. fought in xi jinping's opening remarks, as seen on state television, he made a point of saying this was their 42nd meeting since 2013. and how bilateral ties have grown so much in the past decade, especially when it comes to bilateral trade, soaring to new highs in the past few years, on track to hit their mutual goal of 200 billion u.s. dollars annually. that's perhaps not surprising, giving beijing is increasingly providing moscow with economic lifelines since russia very much under severe western sanctions after putin invade ukraine. but despite that won despite beijing's claim of neutrality, the two sides have become a lot more in sync on multiple policy fronts, not just economically, but also politically and militarily, and in terms of their glob

let's bring in steven jiang. there will be a lot of sympathy around the world for that strategy but perhaps not the time -- perhaps israel is not in the frame of mind to even consider any sort of negotiation or peace deal when they are on the attack. >> reporter: that's right. what xi jinping said in terms of a ceasefire and the two state solution being a fundamental way out of this crisis not new and not surprising. he also said in this meeting with the visiting egyptian prime minister where he said that china is ready to work with arab nations to promote a more comprehensive and lasting solution to this issue. and the special envoy to the middle east actually has arrived in doha and just held talks with russia and qatari counterparts, very much reiterating his top leader's comments. but as many analysts pointed out, the problem is right now with the chinese response seems to be disconnected from reality. and also they say this kind of response not unlike what china has said after the russian invasion of ukraine

our thanks to steven jiang joining us live from beijing. thanks for joining us. we'll be back with a very short break. do stay with us. >>> welcome back, everyone. in washington, u.s. aid for israel is just one issue under threat from the chaos currently engulfing the house of representatives. it remains effectively paralyzed without a speaker. almost two weeks after republican lawmakers ousted kevin mccarthy from the job. multiple sources tell cnn house republicans are divided over a backup plan if conservative republican jim jordan fails to win the speakership on a second vote. the most popular plan is to grant more power to the interim speaker, patrick mchenry. jordan has scheduled that second vote in the coming hours after he lost the first vote tuesday when 20 republicans voted against him. he is now scrambling to win over those republicans. >> we're going keep going. i've had great conversations, great discussions with our colleagues. and frankly, no one -- no one in our conference wants to see any type of coalition government with democrats. so we're going