CBS’s Tony Dokoupil to Anchor from Taipei as Networks Cover U.S.-China Summit from Both Sides of Taiwan Strait

CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil will broadcast from Taipei this week after failing to obtain a visa to China in time. American broadcasters are planning extensive coverage from the Chinese capital surrounding this week’s summit. NBC News’s Tom Llamas would be anchoring from Beijing, as will ABC News’s David Muir.

On the CBS morning planning call Wednesday, plans were discussed for Dokoupil to broadcast from the Taiwanese capital, according to a person on the call. Two people who had been briefed on the issue said Dokoupil had not been able to get a Chinese visa. It is unclear whether the block on Dokoupil’s Chinese visa came from a late application or another issue.

CBS News declined to comment on why Dokoupil is not in Beijing. The Chinese Embassy in Washington didn’t respond immediately to inquiries as to why Dokoupil is not in Beijing.

U.S. President Donald Trump in China. The person at the network added that Dokoupil’s presence in Taipei highlighted the importance of Taiwan, which is set to be a major topic at the summit. Semafor reported that the setback comes as CBS Evening News, already in third place, has continued to see its ratings slide.

Managing editor Charles Forelle said last week: “We don’t think that we want to move 10 degrees to the right and find the center. ” The network’s strategy has been shaped by the political and business interests of the Ellison family, which depends on Trump’s blessing to complete a merger with WarnerMedia. Executives have cast the approach not as a rightward move but as seeking a wider center.

Critics have focused on the fact that editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and her team lack experience in running a television network, which can be heavily reliant on complex logistics. Semafor first reported Sunday that NBC News’s Tom Llamas would be anchoring from Beijing.