Rachel Abrams

The words themselves might seem like not that big of a deal, but in effect, they are a huge deal diplomatically.

Which I can imagine is exactly what China is hoping for.

It seems like there are a couple reasons why you might think that Taiwan would be higher up on the president's priority list, so to speak.

Like, one thing we haven't mentioned yet, of course, is the technology, the chips that are related to AI that Taiwan is a big producer of.

For that alone, you'd think that perhaps the president would be very keen to discuss Taiwan.

I think for myself and probably for a lot of other people, AI, perhaps more than many of these other issues on the table, feels really front of mind.

This technology, it feels like it is racing out in front of our security, maybe even our understanding of it.

And so are we imagining that we will see any kind of real action on this front from these two leaders at the meeting this week?

Obviously, both the U.S.

and China are in this race to win the AI battle.

And maybe because of that, they don't want to do anything that would restrict their growth.

But David, doesn't it feel like they each have at least some kind of vested interest in putting some kind of guardrails around the other one?

Well, let's talk about that.

How does the war in Iran fit into all of this?

So are you saying that you think the war is likely to maybe take up more oxygen than some of the other super-pressing topics that you've described to us, like nuclear weapons, AI, etc.?

You know, David, you said at the beginning of this conversation that these summits are often about a demonstration of strength back home.

And that at this summit in particular, it does not seem like there's going to be much headway made on some of the thorniest and most urgent issues of our time.

So I wonder what you think will feel like a win to both of these men at the end of the day.

David, thank you so much for making the time and hope you have an easy trip.

Here's what else you need to know today.