hello and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai. we start in the us, where firefighters in los angeles are making progress in battling wildfires across the city. one smaller fire was contained on sunday, but two of the largest blazes are still raging. 2a people have died 2a people have died according to officials. according to officials. there are fears of more there are fears of more devastation to come devastation to come as strong winds are forecast as strong winds are forecast for the coming days, for the coming days, raising the threat raising the threat that fires could spread. that fires could spread. private forecaster accuweather estimates that the disaster private forecaster accuweather estimates that the disaster will result in losses will result in losses exceeding $250 billion. exceeding $250 billion. california's governor, california's governor, gavin newsom, said in gavin newsom, said in an interview with nbc news an interview with nbc news that this could be that this could be the costliest disaster the costliest disaster in us history. in us history. is or will it be the worst is or will it be the worst natural disaster in the history natural disaster in the history of the united states? i of the united states? i natural disaster in the history of the united states?- of the united states? i think it will be in _ natural disaster in the history of the united states?- of the united states? i think it will be in _ of the united states? i think it will be in terms _ of the united states? i think it will be in terms of- of the united states? i think of the united states? i think it will be in terms _ of the united states? i think it will be in terms of- of the united states? i think it will be in terms ofjust - of the united states? i think it will be in terms ofjust the costs— it will be in terms ofjust the it will be in terms ofjust - of the united states? i think it will be in terms ofjust the costs— it will be in terms ofjust the costs associated with it, in costs associated with it, in

terms _ costs associated with it, in terms _ costs associated with it, in terms of _ costs associated with it, in terms of the scale and scope. terms of _ costs associated with it, in terms of the scale and scope. governor newsom also signed an executive order on sunday, which suspends some environmental laws aimed at helping los angeles rebuild faster. much of the focus should be on constructing buildings that can withstand future threats according to our next guest. kate cotter is the founder and ceo of the resilient building council in australia, a country that frequently experiences wildfires. she said the damage in los angeles was eye watering. us, angeles was eye watering. la fires angeles was eye watering. l}; fires are absolutely catastrophic. we haven't seen single var events in australia, more than a few thousand building losses. cmac go over 10,000 building amount isjust eye watering, it is so devastating. so what we find is similar is fires and homes down in the same way, they need the same things, fuel and wind and both countries have got those

things that make them fire prone. what is i guess different is that la has got very dense populations within very dense populations within very close breach of that risk, and with the high winds and canyons and things, the los angeles landscape has added extra risk that has caused these fires to destroy far more property than we have seen in events in australia.- events in australia. speaking ofthe events in australia. speaking of the structures _ events in australia. speaking of the structures in _ events in australia. speaking of the structures in la, - events in australia. speaking of the structures in la, what| of the structures in la, what makes homes fire resilient to mark what materials are these homes in la made of that makes them so vulnerable? yes, i think there are some good materials being used, fibre cement sheeting, concrete and steel are all noncombustible materials. some ofthe noncombustible materials. some of the hardwood _ noncombustible materials. some of the hardwood has _ noncombustible materials. some of the hardwood has more - noncombustible materials. some of the hardwood has more fire i of the hardwood has more fire resilience to them than softwood timbers, but we do see shingles and asphalt roofing which can be very vulnerable to fire. ., ., “ which can be very vulnerable to

fire. ., ., ,, ~ , fire. how do you think these homes have _ fire. how do you think these homes have been _ fire. how do you think these homes have been built - fire. how do you think these homes have been built with| fire. how do you think these i homes have been built with fire resilience is seemingly not in mind? ., . ., , mind? one of the challenges particular— mind? one of the challenges particular with _ mind? one of the challenges particular with this _ mind? one of the challenges particular with this fires - mind? one of the challenges particular with this fires in i particular with this fires in la is the embers have reached to those densely populated areas that are quite urban and fire resiliency might not be top of mind in those communities, they are not out in the forest themselves, surrounded by the very visible risk, so it is again about adjusting what is happening in terms of risk today to our education and how we can better inform people that might not be able to actually see that risk themselves and do not have an understanding of it. uk chancellor rachel reeves says she has secured deals in china that would be worth over $730 million to the british economy. she said she wants a long—term relationship with china that is "squarely in our national interest." her trip to beijing has been criticised by conservatives as it comes during a time where soaring government borrowing costs threaten to squeeze public finances. in seven days, donald trump returns to the white house

and leading up to that. we'll be looking at how his presidency may affect businesses and economies in this region. during his first term, mr trump started the trade war between the world's two biggest economies, slapping tariffs of up to 25% on thousands of chinese goods. the biden administration kept most of them in place. for his second term, mr trump is proposing even higher tariffs — as much as 60%. if rolled out, they come at a time when china's economy is battling multiple headwinds. stephanie gave us a sense of how damaging the tariffs will be. ., , how damaging the tariffs will be. . , ., , ., ., how damaging the tariffs will be. ., , ., ., be. the last administration has been following _ be. the last administration has been following one _ be. the last administration has been following one with - be. the last administration has been following one with these l been following one with these tariffs as he already said. on average chinese exports are right now tariffs at 23%, so, yes, if we look at 50 to 60%, this is a higher number, but there are also a few differences. number one, it doesn't come as a surprise. the trade partners and

diversification of supply chains has already taken place over the last year. so from that angle, if you compute the potential impact these new 60% could have, we come to a point where we see it down to only 35% effective tax rate. and also, of course, than talking about the impact on the economy being also watered down to 0.5%, which is something we have incorporated into our gdp growth targets are just 4.2% for the year ahead. are still

administration. we are still waiting to see china's gdp is from 202a. your view going forward is 4.2%, correct? from 2024. your view going forward is 4.296, correct? forward is 4.2%, correct? yes, ad'usted forward is 4.2%, correct? yes, adjusted for — forward is 4.2%, correct? yes, adjusted for .7 _ forward is 4.2%, correct? yes, adjusted for .7 24.2% - forward is 4.2%, correct? yes, adjusted for .7 24.2% because | adjusted for .7 24.2% because of the impact of these trade tariffs by 0.5%. on that angle, tariffs by 0.5%. on that angle, tariffs are one element impacting growth, but of course china has been taking notjust on the tariff front, but also over the last year given it had a lot of headwinds already on growth, a lot of measures that will come in and stimulate growth going forward. and you megaport on paroo's coastline is part of the belt and road initiative will increase the trips to asia this month. this sailing times by ten days and bypasses north america entirely. huge unmanned

cranes lune river paroo's chinese funded port. a symbol of beijing's growing influence south america —— peru. situated on the edge of peru's coastal desert some 50 miles north of the capital, a small fishing town looks set to become a major hub for trade in a region the us has long considered its own backyard. this giant newport is a game changer, not just for peru, but the wider latin american region, and at a time when the newly elected president donald trump is looking to clampdown on trade, china has set its eyes on peru, making peru a strategic base on the global geopolitical chessboard. the man overseeing the port �*s operations, mario, says the port will dramatically speed up trade that will bypass america entirely. you speed up trade that will bypass america entirely.— speed up trade that will bypass america entirely. you are going to have expressed _ america entirely. you are going to have expressed to _ america entirely. you are going to have expressed to shanghai. j to have expressed to shanghai. it is a huge opportunity for south america because right now

all the materials that you export to asia, you have two go to mexico for then you cross the pacific ocean. but despite the pacific ocean. but despite the promises _ the pacific ocean. but despite the promises of _ the pacific ocean. but despite the promises of growth, i the pacific ocean. but despite| the promises of growth, some the pacific ocean. but despite i the promises of growth, some in the promises of growth, some in the local community feel left behind for the fully automated port so far offered few jobs. the nearly $1.5 billion port majority owned by china's costco shipping, is china latest belt and road project. trial has overtaken the us as group's name trading partner, a trend that could widen across latin american countries, as donald trump threatens tariffs under his america first policy. critics mourn an overreliance on china and jeopardising the existing relationship with the us would some of trump apartment aids pushing huge tariffs on old merchandise

coming through the port. but for peru's ministerfor coming through the port. but for peru's minister for foreign trade, ursula lyon, it is not a cause for concern. translation: our agreements _ cause for concern. translation: our agreements enhance - cause for concern. translation: our agreements enhance our- our agreements enhance our competitiveness without compromising other markets. peru must navigate a balancing act. for now, the port stands at both the beacon of opportunity and a source of uncertainty in a world bracing for items trade tensions. apple's water directors recommend investors voted as a shareholder push to abolish its diversity programmes stop it comes at a conservative think tank repose that the company dropped dti as it reduces the risk of possible litigation. apple called move unnecessary in every country filing. it is in every country filing. it is in stark contrast to have met and amazon who have back on

their dti efforts. —— dei efforts. the bbc has found that some workers at chinese fashion retailer shein�*s suppliers in guangzhou are working nearly 75 hours a week. that's nearly double the number of hours allowed under china's labour laws. in response, shein has come out to say that it requires all supply chain partners to to adhere its code of conduct. it added that it works with auditors to ensure compliance. you can find the full story written by my colleague laura bicker on our website. it is on our mobile app as well. that is it for this edition of business today. thank you as always were watching. i will be back at the top of the hour for new state where we'll be back with more coverage of those fires. sport is next.

hello and welcome to sportsday.

iam olly i am olly foster. manchester united hit the spot in the fa cup, knocking out arsenal on penalties. ten—man barcelona hit five past real madrid in the spanish super cup. and a desert rose: justin rose's great britain and ireland team win the team cup in abu dhabi. hello, and welcome along to the programme where it's been a gripping day in the third round of the fa cup. the two most successful sides in the history of the competition were facing each other with the 13—time winners and holders manchester united knocking out 14—time winners arsenal on penalties. that's after the game finished i—i. they won the shoot—out 5—3 with joshua zirkzee scoring the winning kick after united's turkish keeper

altay bayindir had saved from kai havertz.