the come the u.s. economy surges to a four year high as consumers spend their tax cuts and its forces try to beat a looming tower scout elf has more on the facts and just want to use our business update i'll be back up to talk hour with more of this or you can always check out the website the state of the dot com a shelf of good day. on . earth. home to us of species. own words if you can. get those are big changes and most start with small steps google ideas tell stories of creative people and innovative projects around the

world. news that comes with limited use to religious affiliations and reforestation. community interactive content teaching the next generation of a little touch action. using only channels available to inspire people to turn connection and more determined to build something new for the next generation the ideas the environment series of global three thousand on t.w. and online. at the. second quarter u.s. economic growth comes in at over four percent driven by consumer spending and higher exposed but is it really sustainable in the new era of trade conflicts. should fearne palos be allowed to own critical infrastructure germany's government says no blocks of chinese take. over of

a company controlling the electricity grid. also coming up chinese investment can be a blessing added curse and it can transform whole countries we have a special report from cambodia. this is d.w. business model for us welcome to the u.s. economy is growing as out its fastest rate for four years posting second quarter growth of four point four percent the commerce department said that the expansion is being powered by a rebound in consumer spending in exports and firm business investment analysts believe that president trump's tax overhaul may have encourage consumers to spend their extra money in stores there appear to be confident about the future of the economy as more and more general goods was sold like washing machines or refrigerators congress passed from one point five trillion dollars tax cuts to boost economic growth as a brand from the frankfurt stock exchange down to impressive figures but how did the markets take it. well trading is done here for the week and the routes have

execs close actually where the six weeks higher at the level of trust thousand eight hundred and sixty points the next goal year off investors will be again the thirteen thousand point mark well given the fact that also trading on wall street was receiving the latest g.d.p. figures quite well a slight plus there this has given cheers also here a little boost before the weekend but let me tell you the biggest relieve this week was the meeting between u.s. president donald trump and john claud the news that at least for the moment a trade war between the u.s. and europe is off the table was a huge relief here for investors a lot of these rather splendid figures were published in the us donald trump of course went to phase the t.v. cameras immediately basking in these numbers and attributing them all to himself of course so let's have a very brief listen to what the president said rate in over thirteen years and i

will say this right now and i'll say it strongly as the trade deals come in one by one we're going to go a lot higher than these numbers and these are great numbers. is that true is is that all he's doing is really sustainable. well he certainly did get some credit for this latest development this tax reform you mentioned it gave the economy a boost created jobs increased the consumer spending but what is also very interesting many export oriented companies in the united states seem to be really in a rush lately they wanted to get as much business with china down before they will get hit with very high tariffs so this is another reason why the g.d.p. is that strong this is most likely going to mean that also we could see more interest rate hikes by the fed in the united states something that was criticized lately by the u.s. president from the copen frankfurt thank you. germany's

government is intervening in the sale of critical infrastructure to chinese investors german state bank k f w has agreed to take a twenty percent stake in the high voltage energy network operates a fifty hertz thus fending off an offer from china's state grid but instead it has a strong interest in protecting critical energy infrastructure from foreign influence last year germany adopted legislation making it easier to veto takeovers of strategically important companies amid concerns china may be gaining access to key technologies that way. until it's and joins me in the studio and you've been following this story does germany really need to worry about china switching the power off well i wouldn't worry about china turn up germany's power right now that would kind of be the ultimate black swan event rather i think the german government is actually really kind of concerned about exposure right now i mean china in the last several years has been on

a major buying spree throughout the country will throughout the continent really but definitely focusing in on germany and you have to remember as g.c.c. the power company that was interested in investing in fifty hertz it is a state run company which ments that which means that if it were to purchase fifty hertz then that becomes like giving the keys to the castle to the communist government in china right now and that's something that i think the german incumbent was a little bit reticent to reson to do given the extreme buying spree that china is going through right now you mentioned the buying spree how serious is china's involvement in key industries and germany for example well it is rather i don't to say alarming but it is noticeable when you actually look at how much money they're spending here and twenty seventeen alone they invested thirteen billion dollars in an acquisition spree that saw them take over fifty different companies in key industries throughout the country here in germany now these are companies that are involved in the automotive industry in future technologies like nubile energy biotech and it's all part of

a larger campaign by the chinese government where they say they want to. have reached the world's pinnacle by twenty fifty in terms of high tech development and it really does look like they see german know how as being a key component of that success if they are allowed to get that far. in the know how is one thing but is the president of china using this kind of influence it has over foreign companies strategically well it depends really on who you ask on china has had kind of a well a rather varied reputation when it comes intellectual property worldwide for a long time it's used as economic soft power to get access to european and american patents and intellectual property in many countries and various companies have accused them of abusing doesn't that soft power with some of the regulations that they impose on foreign companies wanting to do business within china so there nessus not there is necessarily a precedent for them abusing the soft power in terms of like military military goals like turning off the power as you suggested earlier however there is

a president for them using that economic leverage they have to gain access to intellectual property in a way that kind of rubs many europeans and americans the wrong way briefly if you can how will john i react to this rather hostile move in well i'm not necessarily certain it's hostile you have to remember if you look at some of the chaos that we're seeing coming out of the white house right now and out of washington. china is increasingly realizing that it can't rely on the u.s. in terms of supporting its economic backbone and instead it's turning more and more to europe and we're seeing some strange below the photos being created between germany and china they might necessarily have the same goals when it comes to human rights when it comes to social democracy but they're in their economic goals their goal their interest in free train are definitely allied so i wouldn't see i would expect that strong of a response from china thank you very much. china is indeed cementing its position as a global economic superpower and quite literally the country invests in

infrastructure projects around the world especially in africa and asia in cambodia for example chinese investment has totally transformed the one strike will result of seasonal vill d.w. south east asia correspondent bus and hearty filed this report like every day is preparing his little khmer western restaurant for dinner time. and like every day he knows that he's unlikely to sell out all the delicacies he's putting on display . sales for composing in business owners like who have slowed dramatically since the coastal town of sihanoukville has been overwhelmed by chinese tourists. who come and. they come here but most most of them they go to chinese restaurants while his last sixty to seventy percent of his revenue some of the chinese own restaurants down the street are pursing at the seams. the main attraction for

chinese tourists in sihanoukville the casinos. gambling is a favorite pastime for many chinese but it's illegal in mainland china here however casinos are springing up like mushrooms. alongside luxury apartment blocks at prices ordinary composed ians could never afford. by any measure cambodia is a poor country but its economy is growing fast and largely that's due to the massive amount of chinese investment pouring in and much of that money goes into construction projects like the one you can see here by the end of last year chinese construction contracts in cambodia were worth some seventeen billion dollars and that's almost as much as the country's g.d.p. itself. the influx of chinese money is a blessing for those components who managed to land a job here they can earn two to three times as much as others.

i know and he's rich now but at least i'm no longer poor. i used to not have any savings at all now i have some money at home maybe one or two thousand dollars things have definitely improved compared to when we were poor. we are about it. others have found work at one of the mostly chinese factories that have opened in the special economic zone close by what attracts investors here is the cheap labor but with demand for workers on the rise so are the wages. i predict in the next ten year maybe the minimum wage is about two hundred dollars two hundred thirty or two hundred fifty dollars so. be less competitive in the world market so the problem can go to how to. sew and how to do very hard work but that because most people they leave the school. a grade six grade a

grade so that the problem of how to improve the value added because but activity is a low. before the moment the component economy is benefiting from china's investment push even if. not everyone is happy about it feel the heat wave sweeping europe has led to long delays at the channel tunnel which links britain to mainland europe temperatures. conditioning aboard some of the trains but the brits are facing the heat the typical stiff upper lip and the continental treats ice cream makers say sales are soaring. and that's it for me and the business team how well have you up there in the textile business public.

view. when life is hanging by a thread. such an. image trip to work can be a harrowing experience the mining town of children in the republic of georgia has fallen on hard times and the local residents are having

a tough time making ends meet. next d.w. . we make up over a week what does of half of the under budget cuts we ought to seven seven percent. want to shape the continent's future to. be part of it and join african youngsters as they share their stories their dreams and their challenges. the seventy seven percent of. platform for africa is charging. iraq. once and isolated to conquer six now

a major power in the middle east. your bones influence continues to grow politically economically and above all militarily. does iran truly want peace. the country's opponents have their doubts to isolate. iran from congress and. our stars of august fifth on g.w. . it. to. zero in a very warm welcome to focus on europe with me peter craven and we begin with this question to the full veils worn by some muslim women in european countries stand for oppression and isolation or are they perhaps the symbol of self-expression

garments like the new cab remain relatively rare here in europe but they've.