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00:00AND A FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA. I WAS ASKING OUR CONGRESSIONAL EDITOR IN WASHINGTON -- WE HEARD PRESIDENT TRUMP SAY DURING HIS MEETING WITH -- RIGHT AFTER HIS MEETING WITH PUTIN, " LOOK, I PRESSED HIM ON RUSSIAN INVOLVEMENT IN THE CAMPAIGN. HE DENIED IT. LET US MOVE ON. " THEN, YOU COME BACK HOME, AND YOU ARE CONFRONTED BY THIS PIECE OF NEWS. WHAT DO YOU THINK CAN BE GAINED FROM THIS? WHAT IS THE " THERE " THERE HERE? WHAT WILL GET OUT OF THIS? EVAN: NOTHING WILL BE GAINED FROM THIS. THIS IS MORE EVIDENCE THAT THE U.S.-RUSSIAN RELATIONSHIP WILL BE CHARACTERIZED BY MANAGED CONFRONTATION. DESPITE WHAT TRUMP MAY ASPIRE TO HAVE IN TERMS OF A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH PUTIN, THE DIFFERENCES ON SYRIA, UKRAINE, AND THE NEVER-ENDING DISTRACTION A RUSSIA GATE IN THE UNITED DATES, IS GOING TO BE A HUGE DOMESTIC POLITICAL CONSTRAINT ON TRUMP ' S ABILITY TO IMPROVE THE RELATIONSHIP. EURASIA GROUP, WE THINK, CONFRONTATION IS THE FRAMEWORK TO USE. BETTY: HOW DO YOU THINK CHINA IS LOOKING AT THIS? EVAN: I THINK CHINA IS LOOKING AT IT AS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE THE MORE TENSION THERE IS IN THE CHINA-RUSSIAN RELATIONSHIP, IT CREATES GREATER SPACE FOR CHINA AND RUSSIA TO WORK TOGETHER. THE FACT THAT, IN THEIR RECENT SUMMIT, THAT BOTH PUTIN AND XI JINPING CALLED ON OR ADVOCATED THE FREEZE FOR FREEZE PROPOSAL, IS JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF RUSSIA AND CHINA TRYING TO WORK TOGETHER TO PRESS THE U.S. ON MAJOR INTERNATIONAL ISSUES. BETTY: YOU KNOW, EVAN, I WILL TELL YOU WHAT, AND I ' M SURE YOU KNOW THIS VERY CLOSELY YOURSELF , LOTS OF NEWSPAPER HEADLINES OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS TALKING ABOUT HOW CHINA IS GOING TO EMERGE AS THE NEW LEADER, RIGHT? IS CHINA GOING TO REPLACE THE U.S. OF A GLOBAL LEADER? ARE THEY AT THE FOREFRONT OF CLIMATE CHANGE? IF THE U.S. GOING TO TAKE THE BACK SEAT TO CHINA? THERE IS TONS OF HEADLINES. IS THAT REALLY TRUE? EVAN: SURE, ABSOLUTELY. BETTY: OK, WHY? EVAN: NO, I MEAN, I DON ' T THINK IT IS TRUE. I THINK CHINA IS NOT GOING TO EMERGE AS A GLOBAL LEADER OF GLOBALIZATION, FOR EXAMPLE, BECAUSE THE CHINESE CONTINUE TO PROTECT THEIR SERVICE SECTOR AT HOME, SO THEY CANNOT OPERATE THE ECONOMY IN A FAIRLY RESTRICTED WAY AT HOME, BUT CLAIM TO BE THE GREAT VANGUARD FOR OPENNESS, TRADE, AND GLOBALIZATION. THE FACT THAT THERE ARE HUGE SECTORS OF THE CHINESE ECONOMY THAT ARE SIMPLY CUT OFF TO FOREIGN INVESTORS, AND EVEN CUT OFF TO SOME PRIVATE TINY CAPITAL, -- PRIVATE CHINESE

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How China Sees U.S. Probe Into Russian Election Meddling

Evan Medeiros, Eurasia Group managing director, discusses the possibility of President Donald Trump's eldest son becoming a subject of investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign. He speaks with Bloomberg's Betty Liu on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Asia." (Source: Bloomberg)

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