this region and we get better and better better and . tonight a ten a reg limps of china's on vicious expansion in one of the world's most contested regions we report from the south china sea where the chinese are warning off anyone who comes too close to that building program we continue our look this morning and what china does not want you to see the united states says the superpower is reclaiming land in the south china sea the fact that we're dealing with a situation right now where we the u.s. has to be much more aggressive in dealing with the chinese government c.n.n. has learned the u.s. navy is about to send a destroyer there let's go to our c.n.n. c.n.n. got exclusive access to classified u.s. surveillance flights over the islands. the threat to china is becoming big news the media is beating the drums of war at the world is being primed to regard china as a new enemy china's alarming creation of entirely new territory in the south china sea is one part of a broader military push that some fear is to challenge us dominance in the region. china is building in strips in the so

♪ emily: he is one of the most well-known tech titans of china. kai-fu lee got his start at apple, then moved on to microsoft, and sparked a lawsuit when he left to run google in china. that was before the search engine left the country. facebook and twitter were blocked by the government, and a thriving chinese tech scene sprang up in the void. now he is running a billion-dollar fund to invest in the next tech generation. joining me today on "bloomberg studio 1.0," sinovation ventures ceo kai-fu lee. you came to the u.s. in 1973. you were 12 years old. you moved to tennessee. tell me about what must have been culture shock in that moment. kai-fu: i did not speak a word of english, but the people were extremely friendly, that southern hospitality. i immediately made a lot of friends. in class i was totally lost. they were teaching in front and i was reading my chinese books. emily: somehow you caught up because you went to columbia, got your phd at carnegie mellon. you were working on speech recognition, of all things, which now four decades later is the forefront of new technolog

the coming war on china stay with us here on al-jazeera. with yahoo. with the. with. with. the with. with. the but. with i pity a country that would come up against us. the synergy with their land and sea forces and in our ability to control the battle space and seize the high ground is devastating all countries respect the power of the united states in that respect how dominant we are in this region and we get better and better better and . tonight a ten a reg limps of china's on bishops expansion in one of the world's most contested regions we report from the south china sea by the chinese a warning off anyone who comes too close to that building program we continue our look this morning and what china does not want you to see the united states as the superpower is reclaiming land in the south china sea the fact that we're dealing with a situation right now where we the u.s. has to be much more aggressive in dealing with the chinese government c.n.n. has learned the u.s. navy is about to send a destroyer there let's go to our c.n.n. c.n.n. got exclusive access to classified u.s. s

first state visit to china he hopes to repair the damage done by the deployment of a u.s. missile defense system can also ease north korean tensions is inside story. i am. hello there and welcome to the program i'm laura carlisle president moon day in was welcomes to beijing by leaders she didn't pay moon is calling for a new era in their relationship one based on trust and friendship after months of mistrust and hostility the animosity between the two neighbors was on full display in a south korean photo journalist was beaten by chinese gongs whilst covering the state visit seoul is demanding an apology for the incident well it's the duty this first meeting since the u.s. secretary of state open the doors unconditional talks with north korea but sending mixed messages the white house was then quick to caution that north korea must first improve its behavior woman relations between china and south korea could play a crucial role in organizing talks with the north this meeting is also a chance to diffuse chinese tension surrounding the deployment of a u.s. missile defense system in

with all the major stories we're following stay with us on al-jazeera the coming war on china is coming up and then we'll see in about half an hour. these american bases form a giant news in circling china with missiles bombers warships. if you were in beijing looking out he stood on the tallest building in beijing and looked out of the pacific ocean you'd see american warships you'd see quine is about to sink because there are so many missiles pointed at china you look up the korean see american armaments pointing at china the chinese two thousand years ago built the great wall to keep the barbarians out to not. be a muchness film is to break a silence the united states and china may well be on a path toward a nuclear war is no longer unthinkable. shanghai today is a prosperous international city still run by the communists at least a night. yes there are issues with human rights especially the right to speak against the state and challenge its power i don't range to see professors i'm way way a close aide to the way things are paying the man who changed china your old boss funk

and china they also happen to sit on the u.n. security council and have a vested interest in making certain that not only does north korea comply with existing resolutions which basically ban it from having any nuclear warheads or ballistic missiles but also making certain that their own people in their own territory are facing this accidental threat from north korea there's also the question of trying to make certain that north korea does not find a way of using its nuclear weapons program not just for offensive military operations but also as a way of trying to generate cash for its treasury that is a point which rex tillerson said would have to certainly be negotiated down the road but he basically indicated that going in with a strong tough message when the parties don't even know kim jong il and who's only been the leader of the country for a few years might not be the way of starting the conversation with clearly the americans know how they want the conversation to end and that means north korea can no longer be a nuclear weapons state. the polls have closed in the u.s. state

. aimed at china from the united states after north korea's latest missile with the government in pyongyang claiming the u.s. mainland is now the bridge will be taking action and help diffuse the crisis this is inside story. hello and welcome to the program today with me this one was bigger and more powerful and it set off the alarm bells in capitals around the world especially in washington after successfully testing a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile north korea says it could hit the u.s. mainland pyongyang's bold declaration and the boldness of its leader kim jong un has done little to ease fears of a nuclear showdown which would inevitably pull in south korea as ever right in the middle so now the white house is today urging all nations to cut ties with north korea we'll get to our panel in just a moment but first kathy novak reports from seoul. following the latest in a series of ballistic missile launches north korea says its rocket weaponry system development is complete and it's finally a nuclear state the day after firing what the north says is its most adva

23-year-old college student from china symbolizes what's been happening there. in the last few decades china has gone from this, to this. it's been the fastest economic transformation in history. and that is having a big effect here in america. from who's coming -- to what they're buying. >> like american dreams. >> it's just not a very subtle dream is it? >> yeah. >> the u.s. has always been a place of refuge for chinese people from all walks of life, including my own family. grandfather thought he would come to america and strike gold. >> right. >> what actually happened? >> if we didn't sell anything, we wouldn't eat. >> tonight how some things have changed. >> shopping. buying. just keeping spending and spending. >> how some stories never do. >> i just keep working in the restaurant. it's a hell. >> and why despite china's boom, are record numbers of chinese still coming to america. >> that's my family here. that's my home. ♪ ♪ >>> over the last ten years money from china has been pouring into the u.s. and making headlines. >> investors from china are putting billions o

but those are the headlines the news continues here on al-jazeera after the coming war on china such of that's a lot by the off. the bat the. with. with. with the. with. the. with i pity a country that would come up against us and the synergy with air land and sea forces and and our ability to control the battle space and seize the high ground is devastating all countries respect the power of the united states in that respect how dominant we are in this region and we get better and better better and. i mean land in the south china sea the fact that we're dealing with a situation right now where we the u.s. has to be much more aggressive in dealing with the chinese government c.n.n. has learned the u.s. navy is about to send a destroyer there let's go to our c.n.n. c.n.n. got exclusive access to classified u.s. surveillance flights over the islands and. the threat to china is becoming big news the media is beating the drums of war as the world is being primed to regard china as a new enemy china's alarming creation of entirely new territory in the south china sea is one part of a broa

today we take a look at why china is building a new seaport in georgia and how local companies there are cashing in on the budgeting trade route ran as a festive feasters gorge on revisit a family owned smoked salmon producer in east london and find out what its owners think about the e.u. . and daniel winter and this is your business update christmas may be done dusted but retailers are still keeping busy just a britain bargain hunters lined up in front of shops for the country's traditional boxing day sales this year the day was rather disappointing as thirty seven percent of shoppers chose to bargain on black friday instead according to a survey more than half of survey takers also thought boxing day sales have lost their luster due to the increase in online shopping. and to the u.s. now so he is on wall street for us so sophie it's being a happy holiday for online retailer amazon. yeah and the ateneo would step in come as a surprise to investors i mean think about where you probably have large mall store at least some of the open christmas presents i guess it was amazon if that's

with another news update after witness stay with us. the been sent over from china to clap we don't need chinese granato more than half this nation views china as an adversary. we have to have tougher standards on what they import into this country i do not want my job. done. consumers across america a word or phrase the going to go to the toy store and have to buy chinese were left to find a toy that safer than. the t.v. on the not that it's rather than done. i . do like what you see that looks like a squid necklace the one up there is actually two dragons one below the supposed to bring a really good well and the one next to it brings a lot of good luck and that one. they and they all mean good luck in one way or another so where is the stuff all found itself in china we have a social want to come and take a look from contaminated soil used to poison toothpaste and save shrimp many americans may now be made in china as a warning label should a market partition greatly restrict chinese imports i start with the bait so i my dad's always been telling me china is going to be a power y

♪ emily: he is one of the most well-known tech titans of china. kai-fu lee started at apple, then microsoft come been sparked a lawsuit when he left to run google in china. facebook and twitter were blocked by the government, and a --ing chinese tech is seen now he is starting a fund to invest in the next generation. joining me today on "bloomberg studio 1.0," kai-fu lee. you came to the u.s. in 1973. you were 12 years old and moved to tennessee. tell me about what must have been culture shock in that moment. kai-fu: i did not speak a word of english, but people were extremely friendly come a southern hospitality. -- friendly, southern hospitality. i made a lot of friends. i was reading my chinese books. emily: you caught up, went to columbia, phd at carnegie mellon . it were working on speech recognition, which is now the forefront of new technology. kai-fu: also artificial intelligence, machine learning. it was an exciting age when there is so much unknown and naÏve optimism, but it is gratifying to see that coming to the real world. you join apple in 1990. how closely did you

especially when it comes to electronic. gadgets. and following the new silk road why china is sinking two point five billion dollars into a port in georgia and how local companies there are trying to cash in on the new trade route on their doorstep. this is e w business i'm going to the office in berlin welcome china and pakistan will look at extending the fifty seven billion dollars china pakistan economic corridor to afghanistan as a part of china's ambitious bells and road plan linking china with asia europe and beyond china is trying to position itself as a helpful party to promote talks between pakistan and afghanistan both uneasy in a ever since pakistan's independence in one thousand forty seven that's what chinese foreign minister one year had to say on tuesday. china and pakistan are willing to look at including afghanistan other bases of the void when neutrally beneficial principles discussing appropriate means to extend china pakistan economic corridor sure afghanistan. is shit. and this corridor will become part of what is known as the new silk road it takes its name from an a

missile defense system and good china the threat from north korea will be high on the agenda as will trade novak has the latest. south korean president says this trip is very much about rebuilding trust between china and south korea there was a dispute over the u.s. missile defense system known as that south korea says it was installed on south korean soil to protect against the threat from north korea but china had concerns over its strong radars posing potential security risks it says against china but in october the two countries agreed to move past this dispute and it's hoped that this meeting between the presidents will allow the two countries to focus more on other issues including the threat from north korea both countries have a border with north korea and want to prevent war on the korean peninsula at all costs particularly when the united states at times has reminded north korea that the military option remains on the table u.s. secretary of state rex tillerson said that china is putting preparations in place for the potential influx of refugees from north korea so when pre

quarterly report on china. economic growth there will moderate in the next two years. the policy titans. gdp at 6.4% next year and -- next year and 6.3% the year after. a new leader after a bitter campaign. the 65-year-old union veteran was part of the previous scandal-ridden regime. he is also one of south africa's richest people and was a when police code 34 striking miners. global news 24 hours a day, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. this is bloomberg. those tax cuts are moving a step closer. republican leaders say may have the votes. let's get to washington reporter jackie in sydney. why is it so critical here? collins'ssusan announcement is a sign that the republicans have all but tonched the votes necessary pass this measure. although one republican senator, senator jeff blake has support for the bill. republicans can only lose one from their party, in order for this bill to pass. that is given that senator john mccain will miss this vote. according to bloomberg's map, we do believe that senator republicans do have the votes nec

china will revive the local economy. this is the business. facing a barrage of criticism for the liberal is slowing down old models apple now says it will reduce the price of battery replacements to regain customers trust. some users had long suspected the company was using their regular software updates to slow down all right phones encouraging consumers to buy newer models apple admitted the procedure but says it was done to prolong the life of aging batteries the company has had eight separate lawsuits in the u.s. filed against it over the matter and has additional legal trouble in israel and france. now today marks the last trading day of the year and what a year it was donald trump took office to move markets with his isolationist agenda tax plans b. w.'s diesel gate scandal continued to make headlines for the third year running big cones roller coaster ride mesmerized investors all the while global growth and low interest rates boosted corporate profits and commodity prices adding almost nine trillion u.s. dollars to the global stock markets so let's take a look back it's t

china's internet millions — as the country hosts its big web conference will censorship prevail or will the great firewall be opened to outsiders? chasing china. one of the country's leading businessmen tells the bbc foreign tech firms must accept china's laws if they want to compete there. open to the world, open to twitter and facebook and google? and on the markets today we are seeing declines across the board in asia following a downbeat session in the us. we'll explain why traders are selling. should luxury brands be able to stop retailers from selling their products on online marketplaces such as amazon and ebay? that's the question at the heart of a decision being made by europe's top court today. it's a battle that's been ongoing for a decade and could have wide ranging consequences for internet shopping. the test case was initially bought in germany by coty, the multi—billion—dollar us beauty company whose luxury brands include marc jacobs, calvin klein, rimmel and chloe. coty argues it should have the right to choose who sells its products and how. that would allow the fir

very much agree with what brian was having to say here i mean particularly china i mean we've seen this in history over and over again a rising power either you you know back off and let it happen you deal with it or you have a war ok and it seems to me out of the three options here this administration is actually telling us get ready for a confrontation i don't think it's really necessary but that's what it looks like go ahead mike. yeah peter so thank you let me focus like you just did on china for a minute i thought it was a little too strong the report in terms of how it talked about china i think there should have been a statement to acknowledge just how far china's common how much progress it's made and and the order of the international order that you and brian were talking about did help make it possible so it was american strategy in conjunction with other countries including the soviet union but also our allies that created a un system and then in the west that created an economic system that facilitated china's rise so whatever china's rise has become it was partly our d

mentioned china twenty four times in the report mentions china twenty four times all of them in a bellicose aggressive way it mentions russia in a in a bellicose and aggressive way there's no kind words for either china or russia iraq and north korea rogue states and of course non-state actors terrorism is the third dimension of the threat to america and so you have the trump administration sort of bringing together the america first or overarching sort of agit prop of the trump election campaign with this idea that the rise of china or the reemergence of russia now back on its feet means that america is receding that america is being humbled that america is the victim that america is threatened and so i think what trump has actually done is articulate the not just the possibility of a new cold war but the logic of a new cold war and thus it becomes almost official in washington and. things will follow from that ok well that's a very interesting takeaway mike what was your reaction to it because when it was over a year ago i think it was when we still had candidate trump and he was. in the

fair and ultimately will not reveal any results. also talks about jeff sessions and china and their role in dealing with the north korea situation and also talked about his electoral victory and defended the fact that he won the electoral college and not the popular vote. what's interesting about this interview, ana, is the way this came down. while the president was at his golf club in south florida, in west palm beach, it's actually not mar-a-lago, trump international golf course, he happened to be there as mike smith from "new york times" was there. and ruddy said the interview was impromptu thing. listen to how it all went down. >> it wasn't certainly the plan. michael was a guest of mine with a couple of other people, including andrew stein, president of manhattan, and the president enjoyed his conversation with michael. and they did an interview of quite a lengthy interview. but you know the president is a guy who likes to speak his mind and don't necessarily follow protocols all the time. >> and an example of how he doesn't follow protocols all the time is t- time, which chri

thousand kilometer or a late china will revive the local economy. also on the show venezuela's crippled socialist economy forces many to leave their country but the flow over it cannot make refugees is now creating pressure in neighboring countries. this is d.w. business i'm going to office in berlin after facing a barrage of criticism for deliberately slowing down old arrived phones apple now says it will reduce the price of battery replacements to regain customers trust some users had long suspected the company was using their regular software updates to slow down all right phones encouraging customers to buy newer models apple admitted the procedure but says it was done to prolong the life of aging batteries the company eight separate lawsuits in the u.s. filed against it over the over that matter and has additional legal trouble in israel and france. let's bring in our financial correspondent julie benz who is standing by in frankfurt only how damaging is this next little mini scandal for. i don't think it's going to be a game changer you're talking of a mini scandal i don't think o

interviews of the year in a special edition of talk. at this time. donald trump accuses china of secretly selling oil to north korea. i know there are more kyle this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up. celebrations on the streets of liberia with the announcement that football legend george where will become the next president. thousands marched through peru's capital to protest against the pardoning of a former leader a sentence for murder and human rights abuses. and tech giant apple apologizes off to millions deliberate slowing down of old i phones. here's president donald trump accused china of violating u.n. sanctions against north korea by not cutting off oil supplies to pyongyang trump has tweeted caught red handed i'm very disappointed that china is allowing oil to go into north korea there will never be a friendly solution to the north korea problem if this continues to happen a white house correspondent kimberly hulk it has more from washington d.c. . china's denying the accusations that the president made on twitter you have to sometimes decipher why and what h

hour's time with your world news update right now though the kaiser report discusses china's ban on foreign waste and the impact it will have on the u.s. stay tuned for that. hello i'm max kaiser this is the kaiser report you know the world is a finite place. in mary's capacity to generate garbage seems infinite oh my god how are those two going to work how do you square the circle so maxwell the circle is not being squared in fact there's a finite amount of space even in the financial system where many think you can print an infinite number of dollars well china saying yankee go home to all american toxic waste whether it is actual trash trash garbage trash sort of stuff or trash us treasury bonds so they don't want any of them here's the first headline recycling chaos in us as china bans foreign waste and they set out to look at the classical virtue signaling sort of you know portland oregon couple and what it means to virtual signaling essentially it's going to get a lot more expensive to signal your virtue like many portland residents such ish and arlene carr are serious recycle

. jack ma shares his insight into alibaba and the future of business in china and around the world. >> i believe when trade stops, war starts. rishaad: haruhiko kuroda makes the case for stimulus in japan as other banks pull back. >> prices are not right. here, there's a kind of differential mindset. rishaad: australia's president and treasurer's goes into depth on diplomatic and economic goals. >> we look to beijing to bring the pressure to bear on the regime in pyongyang. >> going forward, we see better days ahead. rishaad: the imf's christine lagarde looks forward to the year to come. >> this region, asia, is going to continue to be a global growth engine. rishaad: it is all straight ahead on this special edition of "bloomberg best." ♪ rishaad: hello and welcome, i'm rishaad salamat on this special edition of "bloomberg best." we look back at 2017 in asia, revisiting the year's most interesting interviews with newsmakers, policymakers, and leading figures in business. let's start with stephen engle's ' in-depth conversation with alibaba's jack ma. we were granted rare access to him

his insight into alibaba and the future of china. >> i believe when trade stops, war starts. >> haruhiko kuroda makes the case for stimulus in japan as other banks pullback. there's a kind of differential mindset. >> australia's president and treasurer discusses the diplomatic and economic goals. >> we look to beijing to bring the pressure to bear on the regime in pyongyang. >> going forward. >> and christine lagarde looks forward to the year to come. >> this region, asia, is going to continue to be a global growth engine. >> it is all straight ahead on this special edition of "bloomberg best." ♪ >> hello and welcome, i'm rishaad salamat on this special edition of "bloomberg best." we look back at 2017 in asia, i revisiting the year's most interesting interviews with newsmakers, policy interviews, n business.rs i let's start with jack ma. rare accessted to him in his headquarters in china as the company's celebrated its 18th birthday. it enjoyed massive growth in 2017 and a rapidly evolving ecosystem of chinese technology companies. jack ma spoke with stephen engle about c

african nation now. but that announcement so begins a new era and south african politics. china has criticized the u.s. president for calling it a strategic rival when he outlined his new national security strategy on monday beijing is calling on donald trump to except it's growing and fluence our white house correspondent kimberly hocket reports from washington populism has been a hallmark of his presidency and donald trump again struck that note as he announced his strategy for u.s. national security is an approach he says began when voters rejected the security policies of his predecessors on january twentieth two thousand and seventeen i stood on the steps of the capitol to herald the day the people became the rulers of their nation again in a rambling and often disjointed address trump skimmed through the substance of his plan including highlighting a desire to pursue an almost cold war like mindset identifying china and russia as key u.s. adversaries despite working with russia recently to avert an attack in st petersburg area sieved a call from president putin of russia thank

their jobs. and then our series following the news this week why china is sinking hundreds of billions of dollars into large infrastructure projects in africa. this is a business. the robots are coming that's the headline that we've heard a lot. pete internet and systems learning fast with artificial intelligence have brought the dream of many people closer. to reality that robots will work for us serve us and even think for us this dream is also a nightmare for many workers who fear they could be replaced by a machine that is smarter and faster. and we all thought. these robot soccer players doing world for rookies but maybe they'll improve through learning. miro the robot dog can already do that he can learn the floor plan of an apartment and fetch help if necessary he also makes cute little noises and likes to have his back scratched but without the inconvenience of walkies and feeding times. twenty seventeen pepper got a lot of attention with his coffee service he serves a hot drink of choice without bothering the client with small talk. you get it and you get back it's a.

why china is so interested in building billion dollar trade links with africa and that christmas consumption binge is over again but many are returning items they were unhappy with and retailers are starting to take stock of their a. i'm daniel winter and this is your business update it's europe's largest association of hackers and it's holding its annual congress this week and the chaos computer club has been keeping tabs on surveillance privacy and data security issues in more than thirty years since its founding its annual meet ups have grown even larger and the lights event is no different topics this year will include the latest cyber threats and data privacy issues and this will also participate in digital activism seven edward snowden is this year's keynote speaker. and you may have noticed something that the lighting is very dim because unusually for vents like this no one wants to be in the limelight. events that like to trade fair grounds don't usually have such a clunker stein and secretive feel some areas are right off limits to t.v. cameras it's the first time the ve

print an infinite number of dollars well china saying yankee go home to all american toxic waste whether it is actual trash trash garbage trash sort of stuff or trash us treasury bonds so they don't want any of them here's the first headline recycling chaos in us as china bans foreign waste and they set out to look at the classical virtue signaling sort of you know portland oregon couple and what it means to virtual signaling essentially it's going to get a lot more expensive to signal your virtue like many portland residents such ish and arlene carr are serious recyclers their house is coated with recycled bluish white paint they recycle their rainwater compost their food waste and carefully separate the paper in plastic they toss out but recently after loading up their prius and driving to a sorting facility they got a shock. the fellow said we don't take plastic anymore satish says it should go in the trash so apparently china has said boss the from january first is the official date no more foreign waste to. they accept you know all those container ships plastics and cardboar

, we focus on emerging markets as china follows the fed's lead and tightens monetary policy. this is "bloomberg real yield." ♪ jonathan: from new york city, i am jonathan ferro. this is "bloomberg real yield." at j.p. morgan asset management headquarters here in new york city for the year that was and the year ahead. in 2017, it was definitely the year for emerging markets. we have seen em credit rip higher. to develop -- outpacing the develop market. still with us is bob michele, global head of fixed income, and joining us is pierre-yves bareau, the head of emerging-market debt. when you think about the things to fear in 2017, one of them was emerging markets. we were all thinking about this relationship between the united states and china, the potential for trade wars, and the idea you want his dear clear of em in a big way. that was a bad call. what happened? pierre-yves: growth is good for em. i think people tend to forget that. when you look at history, it's always good. an 2018 18, it seems the growth environment is still very conducive. growth is good. moderate inflation is

out russia and china how will these plans for u.s. national security affect its international staff this is inside story. hello everyone i'm kemal santa maria we know it is all about america but donald trump's latest announcement on national security has showed he still has a wary eye on the international stage most notably china and russia yes iran and north korea are still seen as threats but china and russia trump says they are competition this was all part of the unveiling of trump's national security strategy in a speech in washington on monday in it he criticized pasta administrations for not looking out for the interests of american citizens and made it clear that his way forward would involve competing with other countries rather than cooperating with them as much in the president's own words quote we will stand up for ourselves and we will stand up for a country like we have never stood up before but in putting america first other countries were also put on notice here is donald trump on china and russia. we will attempt to build a great partnership with those and other cou

. >> mike: rich edson in beautiful west palm beach. many thanks. china could overtake the u.s. has the world's largest economy in 15 years. that's a prediction and a new report that foresees an economic explosion in asia. corresponded doug mckelway looks at the numbers tonight. >> china, china. >> if it seems president trump is preoccupied with china there may be good reason. the new study by the center for economics and business research in london finds that china will overtake the u.s. as the world's leading economy by the year 2032. the white house's national security strategy released last week mentioned china no less than 33 times. it warned of china's multiple growing threats from military, cyber spying, currency manipulation, and intellectual property theft that is "valued at hundreds of billions of dollars every year." it's an imbalance that president appears determined to fix. using both-caret -- >> encouraged by my conversations with president xi president xi." and stick. >> committed to the long-term. sorry. >> predictions of economic growth can be unreliable and china's eco