into infrastructure projects in the balkans but who's profiting in dns. and a new rule requests german retailers to issue electronic goods. for every single sale shopkeepers are up in arms. i want to get jones in this is d.w. business asia good to have you with us trade was a sanctions breaks it free trade under the rules of the world trade organization has come under fire but a new study by the battle's mann foundation found that the biggest beneficiaries of w.t.r. membership are the 2 nations currently embroiled in a major trade war namely china and the us now they are pulling in by far the largest profits and that thanks to their membership in the w t o for the u.s. the study says profits come in at around $87000000000.00 china has an $86000000000.00 slice of the pie and in 3rd place is germany which reaped around

$66000000000.00 in financial rewards for being a member of the w t o nevertheless the world trade organization has come under considerable pressure recently the united states its biggest beneficiary remember in particular is blocking the work of the w t o which includes 164 countries well for more let's bring in now our business correspondent andrea hang in singapore andrea given those figures one can't help wondering why washington and beijing would jeopardize all the success. it would seem like a no brainer monica but one could say that it's because both countries are simply unhappy and frustrated with how the deputy all are handling that exchange dispute and it seems to be a common complaint about. that it just simply takes too long for cases to be a result now with regards to the us china trade war there's obviously

a lot of urgency and delicacy that needs to be used and applied when it comes to resolving it and it just doesn't seem like a lot of people are seeing this on the b.t.o. . and it leaves the 2 parties rather frustrated and in the end choosing to somehow settle their matches so-called out of court if you if you want to look at it that way so it's not a choice if they do end up jeopardizing that extra cash right and of course critics say that the w t o is especially ill equipped when it comes to dealing with the challenges posed by the chinese economies unconventional blend of capitalism and state control do you think the w t o can reinvent itself in time to regain control. i think there is an urgent need for the b.t.o. to update its processes and be the enforcer of rules that it's been appointed to be in the so-called rules based system but they're also being stronger. as

a result of the you know a tussle that the u.s. has with the deputy a with the organization for example the u.s. blocking new appointments to the courts judges have written it if it effectively rendered the dispute settlement mechanism inoperative so because it and if this is because the u.s. claims that it's obvious you often sides with global competitors so it's not become a chicken and egg situation all right andrea hang there reporting from singapore thank you so much. well the new silk road china office smaller countries major investments financially weaker countries could be risking their independence in montenegro china is financing a 1000000000 euro highway will it open up new trade possibilities for the small balkan nation or leave it with a mountain of debt he has our report. a gigantic construction site part of a highway said to run 170 kilometers across montenegro financed with the help of

a 1000000000 euro loan from china this stretch of construction is along the charles river part of a unesco world heritage site some environmental activists say the decision to build here was a mistake there had been 18 alternatives innocent peachy keen for the settlement and why is that we agree a great question none of these is just considering that the financial side and some i didn't know then you should be thinking what a pity that about 100 kilometers downstream is where the chinese financed highway will run directly across a tributary of the charles river. building on this terrain is complicated and expensive the activist believes that the valley route was chosen because it's the cheapest option. up to $4000.00 construction workers from china have been working here during peak construction phases chinese companies are raking in the profits but paying precious little in tax plus all the construction materials and equipment

imported from china are exempt from customs duties the new highway will connect montenegro's adriatic coast to the north of the country in the capital part greta a state agency is responsible for the construction work the director insists that everything's being done in accordance with the e.u. norms and standards it's not your ways but we're on the right path because we want to develop north montenegro that helps the country and europe as a whole. the north of the country is underdeveloped compared to the south. the north has enormous potential in the areas of industry tourism and energy. months is an anti corruption watchdog that keeps a close eye on the montenegrin government. is investigating the financial impact of the 1000000000 euro loan. it's

a difficult task because the government is keeping the financial details under lock and key. millo boxes research shows that construction contracts to domestic firms are only going to companies with close ties to the government he's also discovered that under the terms of the loan an arbitration court in china would have jurisdiction over any legal disputes and if montenegro can't repay the debt in time china would be able to make collateral claims. montenegro is a small country with a population of just over 600000 the average income is around $500.00 euros a month the chinese alone is worth almost one 5th of montenegro's g.d.p. whether the new superhighway will ever reach neighboring serbia is very much an open question. china expert clifford coonan from business joins me in the studio now high cliff it is chinese investment a blessing or a curse from want to make well i think it's a blessing and

a curse in this case i mean clearly montenegro needs the infrastructure it's a small country that's trying to fight its way and to. raise its status within europe at the same time it is a curse and like any loan it's got a risk elements where if they can't pay back the land montenegrin line could become collateral so it works in both ways why is china so generous china's generous because china's trying to build influence it's looking for for china sitting on quite a lot of cash that it needs to invest. and so the silk road is very much part of the us i think so it's trying to build up infrastructure as part of the silk road but it is also trying to build political influence i was interesting in the report we had that china basically came to the rescue with the e.u. just didn't manage to invest the money and a lot of experts say the 2020 will be a critical year for china relations how come well i think we've got this investment

treaty that's going to that's coming up to see whether that gets signed at the moment is a lot of pushback against china against china as an investment power. or because of china trying to export influence as it's perceived in many places so it is going to be a crucial year the balkans is going to be particularly central to this i mean i remember when i lived in beijing it was always because of the links between the former yugoslavia that people from the balkans were very active in the investment community and in in development and that's not translating as we see here the thing is now whether these countries go towards the e.u. or whether they go towards china so i think that's going to be essential as well to e.u. china relations so i think is going to be a lot going on in this area this year and just yes you know we see china making more inroads into europe i think we will definitely ok cliff is going in there china expert and also from business of course thank you so much. meanwhile another high speed rail way has gone into service in china connecting the cities of beijing

and jiang jackhole co-hosts of the 2020 winter olympics the trip used to take almost 4 hours and has now been shortened to under one hour with trains reaching speeds of up to 350 kilometers an hour the train which services 10 stations along the rioters a crucial element of china's on the big project connecting all major sports science . and this may come as a surprise to you given how keen germans are in doing things by the book a new rule coming into force on january the 1st requires retailers to issue any tonic receipts to provide tax authorities with an automatic record of every sale big deal ask the retailer us. that's a burden for this bakery to collect all the sales receipts left behind by customers now the number of unwanted receipts is set to explode starting next month all retailers will be required to issue printed receipts for every single sale. but you know if you can fight this is not necessary with the registers we have today they

have a chip and the tax office gets the data they cannot be manipulated so i don't understand why we now have to automatically issue printed receipts. also somehow fixed up because of. the receipts mean extra cost for retailers so there is plenty of resistance in the trade fuelling a debate among politicians even though the legislation for mandatory printed receipts is a done deal supporters say they are a good way to reduce the temptation of fraud and the alignment snow and electronic cash register is not enough you can still accept cash without using them the only way to really ensure that a sale has been registered is with the receipt and the source code for the transaction if you feel. that. retailers meeting certain requirements can be exempted from the new legislation though this small business is applying for one so it can get on with the baking. it's the

time for new year's resolutions usually we want to be more active and healthy in the new year and some gadgets might help you along the way health and fitness professionals surveyed by the american college of sports medicine say that 2020 is all about where it will take that includes all its watches monitoring hotta level sense calorie consumption and doubling office phones texting devices and more prizes vary but in the end i have to warn you you'll still have to do the hard work all by yourself. and that's it for me on the business team here in berlin then you can always find out more checking our websites.

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a. few months starting january 1st piece of meat. this is. tens of thousands of told to leave their homes those flames close in australia's 2nd largest city a lightning ignited more than a dozen new fires overnight emergency services are struggling to contain blazes fanned by strong winds and scorching temperatures also on the program. 3 years in

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