as a demonic but that's the way things go even the political prisoners say they feel they've become a sort of bargaining chip but. since the start of the political crisis in 2018 the nicaraguan government has been accused of a long list of human rights violations on the books including locking up government critics in silencing journalists but up a little al-jazeera. still quick recap of the top stories now sudan and israel have agreed to start a process of normalizing diplomatic relations u.s. president announced a deal the 3rd now between israel and an arab nation is part of the agreement donald trump says he intends to remove sudan from the list of state consequences of terrorism after it agreed to compensation payments the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu called it a dramatic breakthrough for peace but the palestinian leadership has referred to it as another step in the back and fissures at the white house with more on how the

deal came about i asked for donald trump but he seems to embrace the idea of making small deals across the middle east rather than previous answers trying to build one all in compass the middle east still he believes that this changes the reality on the ground he already got a deal signed between the united arab emirates and bahrain to recognize israel remember the abraham accords were signed here at the white house just in september just over a month ago and he believes that there are 5 other countries who are ready to sign up to this deal. nigeria's president says 51 civilians and 18 members of the security forces have been killed in days of unrest protests against police brutality have continued with gangs blocking roads in lagos muhammadu buhari blamed what he described as hooliganism for the violence and security forces had used extreme restraint. meanwhile security forces in guinea of dispersed opposition

protest is that with tear gas it comes as a result for the president winning a controversial time in office at least 17 people have been killed in the unrest since sunday's election the commission says 82 year old alpha condé want to round twice as many votes as his main rival. and libya's rival factions have signed a permanent ceasefire agreement but there are concerns that it's unlikely to last the u.n. brokered pact which orders all foreign fighters out of the country comes out of political talks set for next month fighting has been in a low in recent months with both sides entrenched on a front line near the city of sirte so that's it for myself in the team here in london counting the cost is coming up next on al-jazeera stay with us. valorous continue the resignation of president.

some of the women who have become a driving force of the protests. al-jazeera. sam is a than this is counting the cost on al-jazeera your look at the world of business and economics this week what does a victory mean for china we'll tell you about a month a $1000000000.00 democrat plan to confront beijing visit too little too late. because president xi lays out his vision for a rival to silicon valley can beijing develop its own semiconductor industry plus doing business in africa in the midst of a pandemic from job cuts to rising debt our business is coping.

it's rare to see cross party support for anything in washington but one thing is for certain republicans and democrats believe china's president xi jinping is a threat to global stability but how would the relationship change under a biden presidency china's neighbors hope there won't be what they regard as the bevel and of the obama administration biden has had a 2 decade relationship with china he hoped trade would transform the communist dictatorship he pushed for china to join the world trade organization which it did in 2001 between then and 2013 it's estimated 3200000 jobs have been lost in the u.s. though as its trade deficit grew with china. that's been the crux of trump's rhetoric against the democrats blaming them for china's unchecked economic rise or

though the promise to bring back jobs has failed to materialize one trump struck up a personal relationship with she that didn't stop him from lobbing twitter bombs and tariffs at the country critics like his former advisor john bolton both say trump's approach is driven more by self interest he encouraged the building of reeducation camps to imprison we goes and told she had to deal with hong kong protesters how he liked but the administration believes they're in the midst of a new cold war in september democrat senators announced a $350000000000.00 plan to confront china the bill intends to strengthen the u.s. medical supply chain support new technologies like 5 g. and counter china's predatory economic behavior let's bring this all together within the shepherdson now in is the founder and chief economist of pantheon macro

economics an economic research firm located in newcastle in the u.k. good to have you with us so this transfer view of china correct stealing jobs american jobs narrative. well it's a very narrow view of the relationship that the u.s. and china have had since china join the w.t. oh because it's certainly true that u.s. manufacturing has taken a hit chinese manufacturers have gained huge inroads in the american market there's no question about that but of course remember that american consumers have gained enormously from the trade relationship because they've had access to much cheaper consumer goods and would otherwise have been available the problem is that is a classic problem in economics is that the gainers have gained a small amount each through through cheaper products and the losers of lost a lot each because of lost their jobs so that means that you tend to hear about the people who've lost the most rather than those who have gained a little but of course there are hundreds of millions of americans who've gained relative to those who've lost their jobs so the real failure of policy i think has not been the trade relationship of itself it's been the way the politicians have dealt with it they haven't provided sufficient support to people in manufacturing

and to manufacturing companies who the they must have known would be dislocated by the expansion of chokers trying to and those people are being effectively left on their own and they're angry and they're hurt and they have undoubtedly lost out on the other in of a journey in there about in the other side will we talk about jobs being lost in the manufacturing base in the u.s. taking here isn't it also true that it was in fact american elites who move jobs to china where labor costs are cheaper right so blaming china even in terms of manufacturing jobs is now a little bit of an oversimplification here i'm not blaming china and saying is it was a natural consequence of opening china's economy and opening the u.s. open to china through the w t o it was inevitable consequence of businesses would move their activities to where labor was much cheaper and that of course was china where previously they haven't been able to do that on such a great scale so it was an inevitable consequence but they didn't tell the american people about that in advance or they would never support the deal china is the real

problem is trying to of course it's the other thing the trump has talked about a lot is the theft of u.s. intellectual property which has been outrageous and. forcing u.s. business isn't a joint venture which they didn't want those sort of things have been going on on a grand scale and it's not just american technology that china stole and syrup in and other countries as well and that i think it's been right of trying to highlight that it's one of the few things he's got right on economic policy that it has to stop so it's not simply just the loss of manufacturing jobs is that it's other things that china has done as well have all sort of generated this this anti china sentiment in the u.s. i didn't mean that you are blaming china but trump is obviously do you think there are $350000000000.00 democrat plan will do anything to counter china's lead in 5 g. an artificial intelligence 'd saw even drug supply chains well up the margin maybe i mean of course in a pre-election platforms from presidential candidates aren't necessarily what

becomes and acted after the election because we have to get through the whole political legislative process and it's all very well for presidents to say they're going to wave a magic wand and do great things but obviously reality can intrude in the form of congress so it's far from clear the president biden if he's elected will be able to do all these things if he were to do it then yeah it would make a difference one of the things that china has done is is used state resources to build up the 5 g. technology the green energy technology the pharmaceutical production technology all of these things have been supported by state resources now it's not the us way to do that on such a grand scale but in the past of course it has been the u.s. way for the federal government to spend on things like research and development which has been hugely important to defense and aerospace and other industries so it's not like the u.s. is only a free market economy of the government never gets involved but over the last few years a government has taken a step back and the travel ministrations has effectively drifted on this sort of policy so it would be a change in the margin and probably it would be a change for the better but there's

a long way to go so given what you've said about the sort of reality check to magic ones what do you think realistically one can expect from a biden presidency. well a return to some sort of normality i think from from the perspective of the west of the world a shift back to something america that they recognize which is not retreating into itself and which is taking a more global view which i think will be very welcome for some of china's neighbors for example who are feeling very threatened by china's activities in the in the south china sea. and in terms of economic policy will see i think a more aggressive approach to dealing with the coronavirus and we'll see a reversal of some of trump's tax cuts as well and we'll probably see a reset or an attempt to reset the trade relationship with china which probably will involve some sort of pause in the tariffs or maybe even a reversal of the tariffs and an attempt to negotiate from a position of of clarity and understanding so that both sides know what the other side actually is trying to do so but not a lot of work to do on

a lot of fronts that's for sure but i do think in terms of the relationship with china there will be an economic research but maybe not a geo political reset because the world has changed over the last few years and china has become a lot more adventurous and aggressive both externally and internally and the u.s. i think us to recognize that that segues nicely into my next question when you look at where china stands today because of the what's happening in taiwan the south china sea its technological lead is it too late for the west to challenge or try and contain china. well depends how you define containment i in nobody wants a shooting war specially the chinese would be my guess but they've they've been given an inch and they've taken any odd because the us a step back from its global leadership role it hasn't pushed back hard against china's actions in hong kong or the way they've been treating the weaker people internally it hasn't supported taiwan as aggressively as it would have done under previous administrations and it's done really nothing to check china's military

adventures in the south china sea which is unnerved their neighbors so a shift back in u.s. policy to a more full throated defense of the states around try. and and more a greater willingness i think to call china out for its behavior internally i think would be a huge change that the chinese have taken american silencers as a reason just to push a bit harder to see how far they can go and the answer is they can go quite a long way and strong because as we know he's he's very fond of dictators and autocrats and so he doesn't do anything about it but i think a vice presidency would be different the certainly the u.s. foreign policy establishment if you like outside troops in a circle who are now running the show but the the the cia and the intelligence agencies i think are very alarmed or china has been doing and would welcome a shift to a more muscular approach from a new administration that see what happens in november then thanks so much in the shepherdson. president she's been rallying

china as tac evangelise to create a hub that rivals tokyo bay and silicon valley it's more than just a rebranding exercise china's greater bay area is already home to some of the country's biggest tech companies their only problem is china's leadership in 5 g. technology and possibly artificial intelligence which is being built on the back of chips from the united states south korea and taiwan washington is could tailing china's access to technology through sanctions on companies like weiwei and he keep vision chips are critical to a whole host of industries in 2019 china imported chips worth $305000000000.00. in the middle of this clash is taiwan it's been hoping to cash in on chip sales to china beijing also has a claim on the territory taiwan's ts mc is one of the biggest chip manufacturers to while away an apple or it's already said it won't sell chips to china she's push

for technology independence will see china build 70 percent of the chips it uses by 2025 that's up from 40 percent this year still china's chip industry has a lot of ground to make up and could be at least 10 years behind western technology let's bring in our regular tech guru from new york daniel ives is the managing director of equity research with wedbush securities joins us via skype good to have you with us so there's a concern that whenever china chooses a corporate champion it's difficult to see where the state begins and ends right but getting it's a slippery slope because right now it's called tech war between us and china. are reading this isn't me a big dynamic there are over the next year which can have been bookish and poor boy and i think right now it's a big focus for a messrs. and china plans to spend billions when it comes to getting through tax

cuts and subsidies to try and speed up its semi conducted design and manufacture a base how far is china when it comes to that sector how far behind i should say near right now it's an arms routes when it comes to semi's as well as overall inside she and i think really what you're seeing over the next few years you're going to see significant investments you know upwards of 2 to 3 x. in china because there's of the coupling going on across tac not just in sami's in harder but also software and i think this is something that we're going to see play out and there's me clear winners and losers but right now i mean there is sort of full steam ahead and that's something that's a shot across the bow especially to traditional tech companies in the u.s. situations a bit different we talk about 5 g. an artificial intelligence how far behind is the u.s. i did today i will call it 18 months and i think that would you may be conservative

in terms of 5 g. you clarified terms of china well 'd ahead 'd and i think it's peaks to really what you've seen with the way in even the broadcom qualcomm 10 to merger from 2 years ago that got put on ice i think this is something when it comes to 5 in my opinion covering tech 20 plus years most transformational technology that i've ever seen right now china clearly leads that raise you're going to see the u.s. try to narrow the gap that's going to be the issue over the coming call it 6 to 12 months as is raise for 5 g. . where we say perhaps in the u.s. that the state will need to step in more and then when it comes to 5 g. in the u.s. we're going to have to see significant investment you're seeing it from a carrier perspective the brides in the t.n.t. the apple just launched an i phone 12 in terms of 5 g. but this is something internal really take the course of 2021 to fully. random

times not on the side which i think you can to see more more consolidation in the u.s. around side g. and you can def i have seized more government infrastructure around 5 especially with china's doing on the superhighway so then if you look at the bottom line then we've got quite a lot of state involvement when it comes to the chinese side perhaps we're going to see increasing state involvement on the u.s. side when it comes to other sectors like 5 g. and a i is the free market system failing them again that's an interesting question i mean when you say math 5 g. you know especially with china's done right now it's such an arms race that you're starting to see more and more involvement from the government side of course we've seen that in china i think over the course of the next 2 to 3 years you'll start to see clear on the private side winners and losers but for right now to really get that jump start you need to see more government infrastructure because this really

comes down to next call it 2 to 3 years you're going to have that window that opens up and naturally the opportunity not just in the u.s. and china but across europe middle east and you know other sort of packets of geographic strength has received 5 g. takeoffs and for countries like taiwan they call it in the middle of all this right they're going to have to get up some of the biggest customers at least when it comes to the chip maker. and see. yeah they're caught in the crossfire it's an all western standoffs and i think that's where you're seeing quali and others caught between u.s. and china it's a gup on just special what we've seen happen in the us for them but i think it just speaks to in this cold war between us and china you know when many components within taiwan are caught in the middle i think it speaks to the overall supply chain in terms of where taiwan fits i mean that's going to be a big question mark going into next year i'm going to ask you about google so if

you think of the government's case against it i think it's a 1st shot across the bow as you're going up on the d.o.j. to to google i mean to see this bell wavers big tech battle continue to manifest i think a lot of it depends on if you see a blue wave from an election perspective that could give more you know caught antitrust momentum i think right now it's all about law changes in legislation but no doubt i think this is does it contain risk by the has to 1st step in which to me a multi-year battle 'd against big tech with google front center it's going to be interesting that's for sure thanks so much for your analysis i think it's back to on this. now african countries have reported more than 1000000 coronavirus cases and some 23000 deaths the health crisis is forcing countries to choose between servicing their debts or spending on health services that's according to the i.m.f. while african nations have stepped up funding they need more help from rich nations

and private lenders i.m.f. managing director chris telenor georgieva says african states still need $1.00 trillion dollars in financing through 2023 but there's a shortfall of 345000000000 the pandemic coupled with a collapse in commodity prices and the plague of locusts have hit the african economies particularly hard putting 43000000 more people at risk of extreme poverty according to world bank estimates millions of jobs have been lost to the pandemic so how are businesses coping against this backdrop joining me now via skype from paris's amir ben the ahmed amir is the president and founder of the africa c.e.o. forum good to have you with us so you've had to cancel this year's africa c.e.o. forum is enough being done to support businesses and jobs. i would say it's. a glass. kind of situation a bit later he showed that there is

a long journey for our governments to. build stronger economies and more resilient more of the need to be if you look at what has been a. little scared by world economies there was about 10 trillions invested in financial support in western europe for trillions of own these has been done through various type of measures stated state backed ringback loans. suspension of taxes. financial support for independent and all of these basically has. about 15 to 30 percent of g.d.p. germany has a best 30 percent of its g.d.p. . being responsible and if you look at this situation in africa it's much different most ambitious ratio i mean probably south africa have an 8 percent. g.d.p.

some of the largest economy have reacted and vicious and they have reacted swiftly moro south africa i mean have talked about it in the various lands. billions of $1.30 i think will 20 or so africa are they have meant the same kind of measure it's about their face see different challenges 1st of all because the. horse less the way spanish and the way we intervene center banks don't really money every 2 weeks to play with. there's also a rising debt question or a lot of african countries so they have. i mentioned margin of intervention. much less important but i think one of the most important problem is. a level of sector and in most of never going. the problem is and this situation makes government interventions very complicated and it has unfortunately

a very dark and back on. the state of actors of the economies in the sense of the millions of people who are business right the government interventions as you rightly stated there are very complicated when you look at organizations like the i.m.f. they calling now in the private sector to step in and try and help with the funding shortfall but is that an easy proposition to make to the private sector when you look at countries like zambia which are facing the possibility of a default on that. yes that's true but to. assembly and also who are to a country set up especially stretched a situation you have probably 6 or 7 countries in africa that are in the same situation but if you look at that's a whole lot more 'd than 30 countries have not lived through that at least sentient initiative so. the situation is not as bad as it looks.

any you also look at the recent trends within the last 10 years a lot of countries have been able to go on the markets and attract private investors and send it out that's the issue tenure of the group around 4. point 5 percent with great success but in order to do so be a need to be very careful in their relationship with investor and a need to fight back submission they need to grow their fast base and they need to formalize the informal sector are talking about previously so has anything then given what you said has anything changed in terms of africa's attractiveness to private equity because before the pandemic it looked like private equity was turning its attention to the continent. that's true yes definitely again who happened to the situation if you look at the figures of the q one beast you're

. basically you have the same boat in the transaction around 88 but carry. 'd value of the transaction have decreased dramatically in the 7 minute this. semester so it's a 20 percent decrease and also when you look at the amount of money raised. 1.7000000000 last year or 2. point 1000000000 this year or so and so it's so significant decrease but. there are some barrier 'd to cater for the future 1st of all when you do have to bring about this investment you see that there's a clear. road to investing in sectors of the future health care and as usual if i mention the sector and i don't know if you have seen last week there was a very big acquisition by us company strike they wired for $200000000.00 space

documentary and internet company so it definitely generates some review that type of. industry i think in the coming months so how business is then coping and till those coming months pick up as we hope. basically we as you know i don't know if you are this we are conducting a new c.e.o. for every year a partner or a survey we are the light we are surveying 200 of the most important companies in africa to try to understand their. expectations from a profit but he sees their trust in the economy their business great iraqis and of course this year 95 percent of. care themselves back about her current situation but they are the strong faith in the recovery of the economy about 60 percent of

them being that the economy recover in 2021 and more importantly we are seeing a rising percentage of the us that have a strong or. if the long term future and a secure or better course last year 73 percent now it is 80 percent so. the resilience is definitely has been fascinating talking to you thanks so much thank you and that's our show for this week but remember you can get in touch with us via twitter use the hash tag a.j.c. the see when you do or drop us an e-mail counting the cost of al-jazeera done that is our address there's more for you on line with al-jazeera adult column slash c.t.c. that will take you straight to our page which has an entire episode for you to catch up on. that's it for this edition of counting the cost i'm sam is a than from the whole team here thanks for joining us the news on al-jazeera is

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potential i think or what but it's not that i think of young people need to do to get to the island and do something that they come apart tell me it's impossible i think that the challenge. the reason the challenge conjured up. my name is mendacious all and this is my jam. my nigeria on al-jazeera. it's the u.k.'s biggest hospital with eventual capacity for 4000 covered 19 patients built inside a london conference center it took just 9 days to construct with the help of army engineers dramatically expanding the critical care bed count and other similar sites on the way the actual london numbers could be much higher than advertised researches say that huge gaps in testing capacity that the government is now trying to close extrapolate that across the country and the spread of corona virus appears

far wider than anyone thought. they wanted to do a deal and that was it particularly nice because they essentially better war with israel. donald trump announces a u.s. brokered deal for sudan and israel to normalize relations palestinians call it a new stab in the back. they are money this is al jazeera life and also coming out today it's a good day for the libyan people. a historic day libya's warring sides signed a year.