being sent to china. i'm going to be discussing all of that with these two, there they are. jose fernandez, a us undersecretary at the state department, he's the leader of the transnational mineral security partnership. and from beijing, einartangen, who's a seniorfellow at the taihe institute. also on the show, i'm going to hear from the big boss of hologic. it's the health care company that found a way to make a difference at the height of the pandemic. wherever you'rejoining me from around the world, once again, a big hello and a warm welcome to the show. what does it take to get your smartphone from the drawing board to your pocket? well, of course, oodles of ingenuity and billions of dollars in research and development, and that's before the raw materials are even stitched together in the right order to build your device. and it's only possible because of our interconnected world.

you know, an iphone sold in the us or europe might be designed in california and built in india using semiconductors made in taiwan from raw materials provided by china. so if any link in that supply chain breaks, it sets up big problems for the rest of the chain. and that's true for smartphones, as it is for pcs, and especially in battery production for those electric vehicles we're buying more and more of. so what if one country decides to make it harderfor others to get hold of some of those critical raw materials? well, that's what china announced just last month. translation: the chinese government implements i export controls on gallium and germanium related items in accordance with the law to ensure that they are used for legitimate purposes in order to safeguard national security and better fulfil our international obligations. for quite some time now, the us side has been abusing export control measures

to continuously strengthen its crackdown on china's semiconductors and artificially segregate the global semiconductor market. it is damaging global free trade, ignoring international economic and trade rules, and trampling on the principle of fair competition. those restrictions came into play from the 1st of august, and it doesn't look like a tit for tat response to the us stopping china from snapping up advanced american microprocessors. it's all part of the so called "chip wars", but both japan and the netherlands have done the same. well, for his part, president biden wants to limit china's ability to develop new weapons and spy tools. now i've mentioned gallium and germanium, but there's also a rush by countries to get their hands on 17 so—called rare earth elements. now, despite the name, they're quite abundant, but they're concentrated in a handful of countries. and they're also a fast growing need for other minerals, such as copper, cobalt, nickel and lithium. and global demand for

those elements, it's expected to double by 2030, with a growing rush to build electric vehicles, along with wind and solar farms. all of this as according to a report last month by the iea — the international energy agency. investment in these raw materials rose by 30% last year alone. that's topping $40 billion. but china, it's still accounts for 60% of all lithium processing. oh, boy, i tell you what, it's a big challenge. 0ne energy expert likens it to the imperial territorial tussles of the 19th century, known as the great game. today, it's a lively contest for natural resources, which may create losers as well as winners. and for decades, china has been striking deals with countries in africa and latin america, rich in critical minerals, and the need for mineral security is being rapidly understood elsewhere as well. we are currently in a new grade game whereby major economic

powers, such as the eu, the us and china, are planting theirflag in places to secure a steady supply of critical raw materials. and today, that's china. why? because china, for two reasons, one, china has dominated the processing of these critical raw materials. so it offers a market to mining companies to export their product to china, where it will be processed. but that's not all. china is also dominating the manufacturing of end applications. so, for instance, your electric vehicle, your battery and your semiconductors. we'll see that the processing of these key raw materials takes place in a single country, which in itself is a big threat. well, my first guest is a man on a mission. he's been tasked with overseeing mineral security for the united states. he also leads the transnational mineral security partnership, known as the msp, which

includes india, japan, the european union, the uk and australia and others, but not china. he's the us undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment. jose fernandez, a real pleasure having you on the show. and jose, let me start with this, it's been suggested, jose, that this recent ban by china on those on those two elements, are a tit—for—tat response to the us ban on the exports of your advanced chips to china. jose, why was that ban necessary in the first place? let's take a step back and understand that what we have in china is a different system from what we have here. the chinese have announced the military civil fusion, meaning that it blurs the distinction between the private sector and the government sector. in many ways, the private sector has to obey, and by law they have to obey the dictates of the prc government. and so what we have

is a situation where there are certain materials that are going right into that prc military complex, and we have to take precautions. but it's a very, very narrow, very, very narrow slice of products, and our trade continues, but, yes, let's understand, we are dealing with a country that has stated that they have the intention to change some of the rules, international trade rules that have gotten them to the place where they are today, which is a country that has developed that has reduced poverty rates, that has benefited from a rules based order that they are now looking to change. the chinese trade ministry accuses the us of abusing export control measures to, well, strengthen your crackdown on on semiconductors. beijing says that you're trampling on the principle of fair competition. jose, how do you respond to that? what we're looking to do, aaron, is to level the playing field.

let's understand that the military civil fusion that beijing talks about is intended to improve conditions for their trade. so chinese companies are getting subsidies. chinese companies in many cases do not have to pay taxes. chinese companies, in return, have to follow the orders of the prc government. i'll take our chances with the private sector. but let's make sure that we have a level playing field where all companies can compete fairly, where if you lose on any deal, your stockholders will suffer. that doesn't happen with many of the companies that are now, that are being supported by the prc. jose, these rare earth elements, i mean, they're much more abundant than the description suggests, but you're much more likely to find them in places like china, russia, brazil, india, places not typically regarded as as solid partners of the united states. well, actually, that's not true.

i mean, one of the biggest mining countries out there is australia, another country that's very important in this field is canada. but you are right, aaron. you are right in something, which is we have a need, for us to be able to achieve our clean energy goals by the year 2050, we are going to have to increase the number of critical minerals that we have available by six to eight times. and some of those numbers are actually the growth is exponential, 42 times the amount of lithium that you use today, you're going to need by 2050. two thirds in some cases, even more than that is being produced by the prc. we've got to find alternative sources of supply. and the good piece of news is that there are countries out there that are looking for our investment that would like to have the kinds of investments that are environmentally sound, that benefit communities. and so they're looking for alternatives as well, which is why one of my messages as i go around the world is

this is a once in a generation opportunity for many developing countries to benefit from these kinds of minerals. as you know, jose, in the us, there are many people who are calling for more domestic production of some of these key minerals. and there is a suggestion that this partnership, it may bring short term wins, but at the cost of securing domestic production. jose, how do you respond to that? because i'm just kind of wondering here, do you have some of these 17 important minerals under us soil? i very much would reject that kind of a premise. we've been very clear — we are looking to to to to find these minerals in the united states, but also abroad. this is all sources are welcome. what's happened, though, we don't have 42 times the amount of lithium we have today in order to meet our energy goals. no one country can solve this issue, this problem by itself.

so we've got to bring all of our efforts together. and, yes, in the us we will pursue mining. and you've seen already that the president and the number of legislative acts and executive actions has actually been promoting domestic mining in the united states. i mean, that's the balancing act, isn't it? it's a balancing act, but this is not about domestic versus international. this is...we've got to get it wherever we can find it. and that is because unless we do that, we're not going to reach our goal. and unless we're able to find these critical minerals, these rare earths, our clean energy transition will suffer. these minerals will become more expensive, they may become less available, and the the cost will be the cost to our environment. jose, how's the us going to manage to secure some of the key critical minerals that are thwarted by china and other big players? well, i'll tell you what we're

doing now, number one, we're sharing information with the countries that are members of the mineral security partnership. we are going to share investments, we're going to share financing. we are also going to work together on recycling, aaron. right now, for example, for electric vehicle batteries, we don't really use many recycled materials in order to in order to manufacture them. but experts will tell you that in 10 to 15 years, we will use as much as 15% of our batteries will come from recycled materials. so we are working together. and let me end on this, jose, you know, there are some that suggest it's time to start ratcheting down the tensions over these minerals securities. what can you do, jose, to take the sting out of the issue? because at the end of the day, and you've mentioned it several times, we all need to work together in this globalised world.

that's right, and we are doing all we can to do that. but let's not...just don't think of it as something that we're doing in order to protect ourselves from others. aaron, you could have you could have a natural disaster. and we saw this during covid, natural disasters could affect supply chains. we would all be better off if we can diversify our supply chains. well, on that point, jose fernandez, undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, a pleasure having you on the show. and good luck with everything, and i'll talk to you soon. thank you very much. so what do the chinese think? well, my next guest is american born, but he's lived in beijing since 2005. and his work is all about explaining china and the chinese perspective to the wider world. he's a senior fellow at the taihe institute and the chairman of asian narratives. einar tangen, a real pleasure having you on the show and let's start with this, because as you know, just this month, china began

restricting the exports of two important elements, gallium and germanium, both considered crucial in a range of electronic devices. einar, what's driving that move by china? i think china is trying to send a message, and they're trying to remind the us that the us designs the chips. the chips are fabricated in the east, whether it's taiwan, japan or south korea. but china is part of this global supply chain, and it does have these strategic minerals. it has a lot of them. but, you know, you'll note that it has not been a complete restriction. what they've done is kind of mirrored what the us has done, which is to say that anybody who's exporting has to indicate who it's being exported to and apply through a process very similar to what's happening in the us. and einar there is concern, isn't there, that china is growing dominant in the provision of these, well, certain key raw materials. but as we all know, you know, it's a globalised world we live on, and if china clings to them

too tightly, everyone loses out, no? yeah, that's right. but it goes both ways, when one nation, the united states, which designs these chips, says that they're not going to allow any of these chips to be sold to china or saying that any chips have to go through a process, they have to be applied for. and also is putting pressure on other countries not to sell the chips and also chip making equipment. and then on top of that, recent moves to deny access to american capital by saying, basically, american companies cannot invest in any kind of sensitive chinese technology. so, you know, you're seeing mirror moves on both sides. and of course, einar, this isn't the first time that china has restricted some of its key exports. i mean, back in 2010, china reportedly restricted the export of rare earth elements to japan in the aftermath of a diplomatic incident. but here's the point,

that led to japan massively diversifying its supply chain. i'mjust wondering, einar, is there a risk that china's restrictions here could backfire? well, i don't know that it's backfired. i mean, the same could be true, as i said, for chips and things like that. china is one third of the total chip market in the world of over $180 billion a year. and in essence, the us is saying we're going to do everything we possibly can to prevent you. so china will develop its own chips, they already have. they're not as efficient as the fab factories that are in taiwan and other places. but huawei recently came out with a process where they can manufacture seven nanometre chips, and they're going to continue on that basis. so what you're seeing here, and you're absolutely right, is a breakdown in this kind of thids globalisation supply chain that had been very efficient. how does china persuade international partners, even rivals, that it's

there to be an inclusive player in the global marketplace for critical minerals, rather than leverage its dominance unfairly as as others may see that? well, you can see it, quite frankly, in the kind of trade negotiations that they've had. i mean, rcep, the regional economic comprehensive partnership, which has been signed and is by asean and other countries, this is a very important, you know, thing. and this is an issue about trade. they have not threatened anybody in that regard. and, einar, let me end on this, because when it comes to international attitudes, what are the big shifts needed to allow the us and china to work together more productively without all of this deep distrust? in terms of going forward, there has to be more trust. and, you know, it's like a virus. once i don't trust you, you

will certainly not trust me. and whether it's personal, or business, or country to country, that really takes its toll. so i think for both sides, it would be very good for small gestures of trust to be made. well, on that point einar tangen from the taihe institute and chairman of asian narratives, a real pleasure having you on the show. thanks forjoining me. and i'll talk to you soon. thank you, aaron. a pleasure doing this. ok, so how do you turn around your fortunes in the face of an unprecedented threat? you know, many businesses struggle to survive during the covid pandemic, but for the women's health care company hologic, it was a chance to, well, prove what they could do and live by their own mantra of empowering people to live healthier lives everywhere, every day. a tough call when much of the world went into lockdown, but hologic pivoted its business from women's health to developing mass covid—i9 testing injust a matter of weeks.

their tests have been used all around the world by hospitals, clinics and other health care providers. so i decided to catch up with its big boss. steve macmillan, a real pleasure having you on my show. and steve, let's start with this, because on this week's show, we're looking at the global race for critical minerals. now, you're a tech company making medical devices, and some of these, well, some of these minerals are critical in health care technology. so, the question is, steve, how concerned are you about this tit for tat battle between china and the us and this this so—called chip war? yeah, i think it gets increasingly concerning for all of us, and i don't think it's positive. you know, i think i grew up in the era where it felt like the world was coming together, and all the magic that really i thought we were going to be in a more peaceful world, and that global trade was going to be the great uniter of the world. and right now, it feels like we really are fracturing. well, let me just briefly talk about that supply chain, because the chip supply route, that had an impact on your business.

how tough was that, steve, and is it any better? has it improved? yeah, the chip supply chain was a massive issue for us, and it has improved. we've established much stronger relationships, directly, with the key vendors, and we're now largely behind it. and frankly, it'll strengthen us for the future because we've learned more about the supply chain of chips. but i think for us, the interesting challenge was we had just come out of the heroic efforts of covid, where we thought we had solved every supply chain issue known to mankind. and then we walked right into the chip issue, which was yet another one that was certainly a challenge, but is now at least in the rear—view mirror for us. and as we've been hearing, steve, i mean, the global demand for these minerals is increasing hugely. i'm just wondering, to what extent does the medical tech industry use rare minerals? because no doubt there's going to be increased demand for those minerals in your sector. at the end of the day, the medtech industry is a tiny piece, like we're less than i%

of global chip demand. so it's small from a total volume standpoint, but so critical in terms of the products we make are so needed by the hospital systems and doctors around the world. before the pandemic, i mean, steve, your company was mainly mainly focused on women's health. how were you able to to pivot the business so quickly to covid testing? you know, the fascinating part is our core business literally just dried up because doctor visits stopped everything else. so we shifted the entire company or the entire diagnostics division to focus on covid. but it actually played to our core competency in that we develop the most accurate, sensitive and specific tests on the planet. let's talk a bit about the covid pandemic. i mean, steve, this was a pivotal point for your company.

can you just briefly describe what it was like inside hologic, you know, at that time? it was probably the most frenetic — but i'll say that in a positive way — experience that i've ever had in my professional career. i got a letterfrom prime ministerjohnson, from the prime minister of new zealand, and every country and frankly, in the united states, every governor, were all reaching out, our customers were reaching out. and what i was so proud of, and i think that this bizarre juxtaposition that we were in this frenzied activity, while much of the world went into lockdown and was staying at home. how did you manage to scale up production quick enough to meet all of that demand? it was an incredible effort across the whole supply chain. we had to go to our vendors to get more labels, more tubes, more, you know, just every little element of the supply chain. but i think what we saw,

you know, the caps, swabs, if you remember all the shortages around the world. but i think with that sense of purpose, all of our vendors also came together and rallied themselves and put on extra shifts. let me ask you this, steve, technology, it's constantly evolving. how much are you investing in al to help with things like medical screening and and how would that work? we've been investing a fair amount in al, or really, i'd go back to what we called machine learning. and if you think about a lot of what we do and a lot of what health care can do is pattern recognition. so, for example, in cervical cancer screening, pap tests, it's looking at the slides, it's looking for abnormalities. the same is true in breast cancer, looking at at mammograms. and so this is one of these great things where machines

or ai can very much accelerate and reduce the workload and not replace the radiologist, but instead of the radiologist having to go through it, that the machine can quickly screen it, give it to the radiologists and say, "hey, go look at slide number 32. "there's an abnormality right there." instead of the radiologist having to look at everything. the other magic that i think ai will bring to health care is this massive thing, and we know that poorer countries in the rural areas oftentimes don't have the leading edge health care. if you think about it, ai, should be able to dramatically reduce that gap because you're going to have doctors out in rural areas who will start to have access to more information than what they've ever had. any concerns about al at all? you know, tonnes of concerns about a.i. in terms of societal implications, in terms

of everything from cyber hacking or other stuff. but i think there's enormous positives that if channelled properly and i think particularly in the health care space where it's a regulated environment, i think we'll be able to navigate that pretty well. but clearly, the implications on a broader societal level can probably keep you up at night. and steve, let me end on this. i'm wondering, what would you like the future of hologic to look like? the future of hologic, as we think about it, i think, is i, i want to look forward ten years from now years from now i hope that global women's health has made significant progress. and deep down, what we at hologic and our team here hope is that women's health will be in a better place and people will say, you know, part of the reason it's in a better place is because the team at hologic helped us get there.

well, on that positive point, steve macmillan, the big boss of hologic, thanks very much for your time. good luck with everything and we'll talk to you again soon. thank you so much for having us, aaron. we appreciate it. well, that's it for this week's show. i hope you enjoyed it. don't forget, you can keep up with the latest on our global economy on the bbc website or the smartphone app. of course, you can also follow me on by by me. i'll by you back. thanks for watching. i'll see you soon. bye bye. hello there. certainly was quite an eventful start to our weekend with storm betty pushing north, bringing heavy rain and strong winds. a pretty grey and blustery start in northern ireland. here we had 46 millimetres of rain from storm betty, but the story improved and actually we had some sunshine and some warmth coming through by the end of the afternoon, temperatures in lincolnshire peaking at 25.9 celsius.

so this was the story then on saturday with storm betty anchored to the north west, starting to drift its way a little bit further westward. so as we go through the day on sunday, we will have more cloud the further north and west and a few scattered showers to begin with. and then into the afternoon, perhaps some more showers developing across western half of england and wales. further east, drier settled with some sunshine and temperatures, well, 17 to 21 degrees for scotland and northern ireland, perhaps peaking at 2a or 25 degrees, 77 fahrenheit for england and wales into the first part of next week. low pressure will move in from the north and it will bring showers or longer spells of rain across scotland and northern ireland. some blustery winds as well. for england and wales, it stays largely dry with showers fairly isolated and with a south—westerly wind direction, those temperatures will start to climb and to feel quite pleasant. in actual fact, temperatures peaking at 26 degrees here, 16 to 21 under the cloud and the rain.

a similar story as we move into tuesday. always the risk of some showers continuing into the far north and west and a few along west facing coasts. but there'll be plenty of sunshine and plenty of warmth. it will feel quite pleasant. once again, those temperatures peaking widely into the mid 20s across central and southern england. but by the middle part of the week we are expecting a change of weather front could potentially bring some wetter weather and as this drifts its way steadily eastwards, the wind direction will swing around to a fresher northwesterly. so that means that we're going to lose some of that warmth. the russet tones disappear back to the near continent. it will be a cooler story towards the end of the working week. so further north it looks likely it will stay cool and showery at times with temperatures mid to high teens. but even across england and wales a noticable

difference to the feel of the weather, although we might not see that much rain in the far south east.

millions of people around the world will watch the highly anticipated women's world cup final, while issues of pay and equality and inclusion still loom large. it's been a remarkable tournament so far, it has broken records, inspire new generations of fans and sparked conversation about opportunity and equality. and for the first time, 32 teams played in the

month long competition co—hosted by australia and new zealand, and drew fans from all over the world. the women's world cup wraps up on sunday with a tantalising grand final between england's lioness it and spain. it's less than ten hours from kick—off as england hopes to make history. dan roan has more on the significant moments in english women's sport. a, moments in english women's sort. �* . moments in english women's sort, ., , , moments in english women's sort. . , , ., , sport. a real sense that this could be _ sport. a real sense that this could be a _ sport. a real sense that this l could be a once-in-a-lifetime could be a once—in—a—lifetime defining moment notjust for defining moment not just for this defining moment notjust for this team but english sport more generally. the lionesses have already made history, they will become the first senior england team to walk out for a world cup final on foreign soil ever, and if they can add a world title to their european crown it would be an outstanding achievement when you consider the fewer resources they have had compared to the us, it would establish them as a dominant force, it would be a client not

just for these players,