this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. how to inject economic growth? that's what delegates who are gathered in beijing will hear at china's annual parliament, with more tax cuts on the agenda. australia's property slump. new numbers out today are likely to show the country's real estate downturn is deepening. and we'll be live to rico in singapore shortly for the latest on what's moving asian markets higher with talk of a trade deal between the us and china coming soon.

a major pow—wow. china's national people's congress, effectively china's parliament, meets for 10 days. the country's leaders will pledge to keep china's economy on a safe footing, as the economy faces its biggest tests in years. they are under pressure to roll out more measures to boost growth, revive weak business and consumer confidence. so the government is expected to set a less ambitious target for the economy this year than last year's 6.5% growth. this is an acknowledgement that a mix of domestic and global factors will continue to weigh on china's outlook. last year china beat that target, but only by a fraction as the economy grew at its weakest pace since 1990. reasons why — the trade war with the us and beijing's crackdown on financial risks, which pushed up companies' borrowing costs and stifled investment.

china's budget deficit is likely to rise from last year's 2.6% of gdp, reflecting lower tax revenue and higher government spending, but will most likely be kept below 3%. and the manufacturing sector, which makes up two fifths of the economy, contracted for the second month in a row injanuary, to the lowest reading in more than two years. jinny yan, chief china economist, icbc standard joins me now. lovely to see you. when it comes to their growth target for the year ahead, what do we think it will be? i agree with what most things, that 6% or around i agree with what most things, that 6% oraround 6%, i agree with what most things, that 6% or around 6%, that wording is very important, to allow for any lower buffers. what i think is really important is the quality of growth. again, there will be emphasis notjust on quantity of growth but quality. in terms of other measures, other stimulus

measures, what are they likely to say? i think a lot of stimulus measures, patrick elite fiscal measures, patrick elite fiscal measures, have been announced. —— partick elite. it is now allowing that 6-12 partick elite. it is now allowing that 6—12 month timelag to happen, and for the impact to show up in the economy. so far we have not seen much of it. that is very much because sentiment is weak at the moment. as you said, the external pressures , moment. as you said, the external pressures, domestic pressures, together with the restructuring of the economy, is a huge challenge to china. we will talk about the external pressures in a moment, mainly that trade war with the us. in terms of the stimulus measures, do you think they will be effective, those that have already been announced, and have been in place to about six months? i think we have already seen some, especially in the banking sector, monetary data showed banks were starting to lend more. however, the form of lending is not particularly what the government wa nts. particularly what the government wants. they want longer term lending rather than short term. what is really also needs to happen is for

the private sector and small enterprises to receive more of the bank credits. that is not really happening as much as the government would like. that is why more measures targeted at the sort of sides of the economy that are not really receiving the credit is being worked on. now, in terms of the trade war with the us, we are hearing that markets are very strong today, on rumours that could be a conclusion, a breakthrough, very soon. talk us through the impact that has had on the chinese economy, and to what extent it has caused government policy to change. and to what extent it has caused government policy to changelj and to what extent it has caused government policy to change. i think the most immediate impact has been on sentiment, that is what gets talked about. the fact that manufacturers cannot see an end to the trade negotiations means that they are not able to shift more parks effectively. if you that at things like car sales, domestically, not just international brands things like car sales, domestically, notjust international brands but domestic rounds, they are very weak because consumers are unable to spend when they don't know what the

economy will look like. obviously the tariffs, the threat of tariffs, it has had an impact but some of it was frontloaded, so a lot of the trade probably happened in the month just immediately afterwards. obviously i think that sentiment wires, you can really tell more recently that it has really had a hit on both consumers and also manufacturers. —— sentiment—wise. thank you to coming in. good to see you as ever. and we will bring you all the news when the chinese authorities do say what their targets are, et cetera, for the year ahead, when it comes to economic growth. let's look at those numbers now. we saw the numbers a moment ago, a real rise for share markets across asia, on optimism a trade deal between china and the us is coming sometime soon, with the report of a breakthrough on both sides. let's go to our asia business hub where rico hizon is following the story.

ricoh, nice to see you. i feel like iam ricoh, nice to see you. i feel like i am saying this all the time. optimism, pessimism, we are up and down, but today there is a real sense we could see a breakthrough so on? well, everybody is keeping their fingers crossed because negotiators, according to reports, are making really substantial progress, and a final agreement is close to being hammered out. these reports from sources from within the ongoing negotiations say that china has tentatively agreed to lower tariffs or eased restrictions on farm, chemical and auto products, among others. chinese negotiators are also offering to speed up the timetable for renewed —— removing foreign ownership limits on ventures and reduce tariffs on imported vehicles to below the 15% rate. they would also increase their purchases of us goods, including a possible multibillion—dollar deal to buy natural gas. in exchange for china's concessions, washington would do

away with most of the trade sanctions it imposed on china last year. if a deal is indeed reached, an agreement could he signed between president donald trump and present xijinping at the summit. president donald trump and present xi jinping at the summit. there seems to be a date now, marched onto seven. so that is about three and weeks from now. —— march 27. lets all hope that it will indeed be signed, for the sake of many market investors. we must put that in our diaries. yes. we will be talking about that on march 27. australia will see the world's biggest house price declines this year. that's according to leading credit rating agency, fitch. a credit squeeze, oversupply and the withdrawal of foreign buyers, including many from china, have sent prices tumbling with consequences for the broader economy. phil mercer reports, from sydney, one of the worst—affected cities.

desperation is creeping into australia's top of the market. it suffered its steepest fall in prices since the —— since the global financial crisis in 2008. this is a 3—bedroom, 2—storey unit. financial crisis in 2008. this is a s-bedroom, 2-storey unit. sydney is suffering the most. melbourne has felt the pain as well. everywhere you look it is doom and gloom. i am pretty worried. i think it could be facing a 30% fall. they are talking about the difficulty of getting money but i think it is more about the chinese buyers pulling out of the chinese buyers pulling out of the market, which has really brought the market, which has really brought the market, which has really brought the market back down—to—earth. the housing market, which normally makes our economy buoyant and moves forward , our economy buoyant and moves forward, that is shrinking. we will find our economy will shrink as well. there is now an abundance of supply, well. there is now an abundance of supply, including new housing developers like this one in sydney. they were built to satisfy demand which is now faded. the building boom and the absence of chinese buyers tell only part of the story. credit is also tight. it has become a lot harder to get a home loan in

australia, because of tough new regulations, designed to encourage more responsible lending. the credit squeeze is hurting the market. even though interest rates are at a record low. the concern is that tumbling house prices are affect in the broader economy. as they fall, via sets in, and australians spend less on other goods and services. —— fear sets in. as households start to become worried about the future price of what is really the largest asset for most households, the home you live in, you start to become worried about paying off your mortgage and you start to spend less. nobody knows when the slump will end. it is, though, good news for prospect of buyers. falling prices are also gives a first—time buyers, if they can get a loan. —— good for first—time buyers. now let's brief you on some other business stories. the lawyers for huawei chief financial officer meng wa nzhou are suing the canadian government,

its border agency and federal police, alleging their client was detained, searched and interrogated for three hours in violation of her constitutional rights. canada has said it will allow the us extradition case to move forward, but the court must make a final decision. the head of brazilian mining giant vale has stepped down following the collapse of a dam which killed 186 people in the town of brumadinho. fabio schvartsman and several other executives asked to be removed after prosecutors called for their dismissal. at least 122 people are still missing more than a month after the accident. a £1.6 billion fund is being launched by the uk government to boost less well—off towns after brexit. more than half the money will go to the north of england and the midlands to bring jobs and boost economic activity. labour says it is a bribe to influence mps in leave—supporting areas to back mrs may's brexit deal.

an urgent meeting of police chiefs has been called after two more teenagers were killed in fatal stabbings over the weekend. andy moore reports on the latest victims of knife crime. police officers were called to the suburban street at hale barns in greater manchester on saturday evening to find a 17—year—old boy had been stabbed. he was taken to hospital but died of his wounds. yousef makki has been described as a lover bull young man with a great sense of humour. police said his death was incredibly tragic. 217—year—old boys have been arrested. police say they are keeping an open mind as to the motive. —— two 17—year—old boys. in

london, jodie chesney‘s mother laid flowers as police revealed more details about the attack. jodie and her friends were details about the attack. jodie and herfriends were in details about the attack. jodie and her friends were in a park. details about the attack. jodie and herfriends were in a park. two youths were seen in the area. half—an—hour later they returned and she was stabbed in the back. she was a keen scout. herfamily she was stabbed in the back. she was a keen scout. her family called for a keen scout. her family called for a lovely and quirky girl. she was cured, and kind, and she wouldn't hurt anyone or do anything to hurt anyone. she was the most beautiful person i have ever known in my life. 15 people have been stabbed to death in london alone so far this year. jodie's grandmother has called for anyone with information to come forward , anyone with information to come forward, saying too many young lives are being cut short by needless violence. coming up at six o'clock on breakfast, naga munchetty

and louise minchin will have all the day's news, business and sport. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: tornados in the us state of alabama have killed at least 22 people and left dozens seriously injured — there's a warning of more extreme weather to come. a number of men have told the bbc that they were tortured by russian police because they are jehovah's witnesses. officials initially denied the claims, but have now said they will investigate. a senior executive of the chinese tech firm huawei, currently detained in canada, is suing the authorities over her arrest last year. meng wanzhou faces charges linked to the alleged violation of us sanctions against iran — which she denies.

now it's time to look at the stories that are making the headlines in the media across the world. we begin with the metro. it's among many newspapers leading on the latest fatal stabbings of two teenagers, and a plea from home secretary sajid javid for the violence to end. let's move to the ft and the promise from uk chancellor philip hammond that there will be an increase in public spending if mps back theresa may's withdrawal treaty and enable a smooth brexit. the bbc website now: the algerian president abdelaziz bouteflika has now formally registered as a candidate, despite days of nationwide protests against his decision to seek a fifth term. and the washington times reports on the safe landing of an american—built capsule designed to carry humans into space. the dragon capsule just had a test dummy aboard this time,

but it paves the way for two nasa astronauts making the trip this summer. and finally the south china morning post — it explains how the danish toymaker lego is planning a massive expansion in china. more on that to come. it has had a massive expansion in my home, there is lego everywhere. with me in the studio is joseph sternberg — columnist with the wall streetjournal. a you are lego fan? not when i step on them. not when the hoover sucks up on them. not when the hoover sucks up all my labrador eats them. let's look at the front page of the metro. pictures of the two latest victims, oath of them 17 years old, jodie

chesney and josef