to commissioner marguerite, for stagger about where trade relations between the 2 blocks need to go. and the war and ukraine has made getting goods between europe and asia even more difficult . we'll look at a rail road that still running for now and welcome to the show. i've seen busy in berlin. retail sales and factory output in china slumped a 2 year lows in april, while unemployment climb to to your highs and who figures show the growing economic damage wrought by the countries ongoing. coven, 19 locked downs. retail sales in china falling more than 11 percent for the month. that's year on year. a dropped last seen at the outbreak of the pandemic. industrial production, meanwhile, fell about 3 percent. unemployment reached more than 6 percent in urban areas. dozens of chinese cities remain in tight lockdown, including the world's largest port city, shanghai. i my colleagues here for tune and joins me in studio for more. clifford, how unexpected are expected, were these numbers?

well they're, they're certainly surprising and they're worse than the forecasts had predicted. but at the same time, what's really surprising, i think, is just the extent, you know, the, the depth of the slow down. it was obviously partially because it is largely because of the lock down in the, in the major cities, but it hit retail sales which were which the government has long relied on to to problem the economy. things like passenger car sales at em, 47 percent. and then, and that sort of feeds into other areas. for example, you know, the passengers, the car sales falling so much that accounts for so many jobs. so we have this problem with on employment as well. rising and the figures the worst in 2 years. but when you think about it 2 years ago was also pandemic related. you know, so really, these are, these are the worst in, since they've been records in china, particularly because unemployment age is quite recent in china. so we're looking at all sectors of the economy struggling from this, and it's, it's prompting a lot of questions about the depth of the economy. one of the questions is

prompting is what does it mean for western business? so many of them, you know, relying on cities like sion, gen, shanghai, to either manufacturer to ship to both. i mean, what does that mean for them? are they reconsidering what they're doing in china? absolutely, i mean, i give an example. there's a lot of does a lot of foreign teachers in china for example, and i'm one of the head masters of one of the most prominent of foreign schools in china. just left. but he didn't do that. what i'm saying? anything because he didn't think you'd be able to get out of the lock down with had a huge impact on people. and it's called quite a scandal in china and it's, it's not unusual. a lot of people, foreigners working in china and our worried because the level of micro management that's going on with the lock down is incredible. and it means that if you're trying to high hire foreigners and china still needs foreign talent to keep, keep economic growth going, it's becoming a real challenge is the government's almost more inscrutable. and some is, you don't know when a lock down is coming. you don't know if you're going to go to move around or do business. exactly. and it shows up. i mean,

i think it in some ways this is jim pings churchill moment. he's treating it like a like a war on cove is standing ground. exactly. and which means he's been very, very rigid and the level of micro manager is incredible. people, you know, every 3 days get a knock on the door and you're forced to take a test, you know, and this is, this is proving a real problem. and what's the domestic support for that line? know with, in china, i mean, is a disagreement with this hard hard line. you're seeing economic numbers just plummet like this. well, i think this is going to be the factor. it's going to really hit support for the government because they're thinking because on the car isn't as bad as other variance. there's increasingly allowed to, to satisfaction about this. there's a lot of censorship on trying to stop it. is this a phase when we look at all micron and we know the pandemic isn't necessarily a phase, but this beijing see this, perhaps the phase wants to get through this. they'll just turn the economy back on . you know, this is, i think there is a feeling that you can turn it on and off. and this is going to be obviously a test of that. i think, to a certain extent, they can, you know,

because foreign companies are still deeply embedded there. you know, with the supply chain and i'm going to be in vietnam or they, they, these countries just don't have the infrastructure, the john house. they don't have the scale that china and india isn't there. yes. you know another possibility. so i think people are still going to be in china, but i think i think the thinking about china has changed even in germany where it, which is always, which is very, very involved, heavily invested in china, is also now looking at things like we saw volkswagen recently is looking at quite closely at the united states america. that's right. no. so people are thinking, it's less, there's less of a sort of a, a focus on china that there was. so ultimately it, they will, the economy will come back, but maybe in a different way. all right, my colleague did the businesses, clifford coon and thank you very much. and we go now to some of the other global business stories making headlines. we prices continue to rise after

india impose to ban on exports, the world's 2nd largest weak producer after china had filled a gap in markets, left by falling output from ukraine, but halted exports after domestic inflation search to its highest level in 8 years . on the back of rising food prices and rising prices have germans on edge, according to new serve a high inflation, is the main worry for consumers even topping the war in the ukraine and the pandemic. a 3rd of all survey respondents said they were afraid they'll have to adjust their lifestyles to save money. the european commission has lowered expectations for the blocks economy. it forecasts growth in the u, and the euro's going at 2.7 percent this year. that's down from the previously anticipated 4 percent. inflation, meanwhile, is expected to hit above 6 percent this year. that's driven largely by energy costs for falling next year to under 3 percent brussels in washington. we'll set up an early warning system to detect semiconductor shortages. that decision coming out of

the 2nd e u, u. s. trade and technology council summit in paris. it began yesterday. the 2 sides also agreed to encourage companies to set up ship production of both economies. the coordinate activities and track state subsidies that could till the competitive balance. officials are also planning joint measures against cyber attacks, especially from russia and china. the u. s. and e. you created the counsel at the advent of the, by the administration, seeing it, seeing it as a kind of vehicle for closer cooperation after especially devise a period under u. s. president trump, of the war. and ukraine has made it even more important or correspond in paris when you found a car caught up with you competition commissioner migrate for stocker at the summit was what she said. commissioner sale, thank you for joining us. the eel us trade and technology council is meeting for the 2nd time. it comes almost 3 months after the russian invasion of ukraine. how has the war changed the councils?

by oddities, the war has changed europe, but it is also changed the world. ah, now we have the suit suit i, a crisis i, in many countries, people see fruit in very short supply. so every one is also realizing that these are global metis. so the trade and technology council, of course, focuses on supply change on a how information is being used, a weaponized around the planet. what can we do together? even more having seen the russian aggression in what areas does the trade in technology council plan to target russian queen and technology? well, i think what we have done in the sanctions ah, are very effective, are on ground to both when he comes to the entities used for many population f o propaganda likes with megan, russia to day. also, when it comes to disabling, ah, the delivery of spare parts, ah, ah, i p protects it's,

i tim's on that the sanctions i fictive. and then of course, for ourselves to be better at the work we do on this in conductors to fully support understand, why did we have the shortage to work together for the future to make sure that we remain strong. because i think that's a main task in the do politics of to day. that like minded partners, that we work much closer together than what we have done before. many of the initiatives of the trade and technology counseling were initially directed at china is the trade and technology council targeting china. i don't, i don't think it should be an antique china counsel. ah, we try to push quite a i think a nuanced ah, relationship with china is a systemic rival because we are strong democracies is an economic competitor. ah, but he's also a partner, for instance,

in fighting climate change. we can not fight climate change without having china on board. and i think it's important to, to respect is different sides of the relationship. while at the same time taking the opportunity to make europe stronger. and we can be much stronger in particular, when we partner up with like minded or 80 dobies pairs correspondence on your phone, a car, they're interviewing the e. you competition kamisha, margaret for stagger russia's war in ukraine. is there a mass of wrench into the movements and goods of goods and supplies around the world from bombarded ports to close air space? the hurdles facing logistics companies are significant. one route that still seems to be working is a rail route connecting europe and china. at the moment cargo ships are having to make long detours. russian ports are being shunned as our russian airports. western cargo planes are having to cover much longer stretches to avoid russian air space.

here things can still be transported directly related to soak. road is still in operation the route between europe's biggest inland port induce book and china's economic centers is part of china's belt and road initiative. the new silk road. it's 11000 kilometer rail root carries some 200000 containers annually and partially crosses through russian territory for china and the e. u. it's an important project and for that reason has been largely spared from sanctions. you also shall bomb is enrolled by russian railroads have been put under sanctions to the extent that no one in europe can buy a trade. russian state owned rail bonds with absolute phone calls. what using russian rail or fulfilling existing transport contracts is not prohibited or under sanctions of in the ear commission has made it clear that there were land route between china in europe is also in european interests. of course that could change at any time. here,

everything has already changed. the ukrainian port of mario paul has been comp, wheatley destroyed before the war. it was an important export hub. ukraine originally had 3 big ports. the crimean city of sylvester boy was annexed in 2014 by russia. mar, you poor has been devastated in the latest invasion. and odessa is under russian bombardment. the ports are vital for transporting grain before the invasion. ukraine supplied food for 400000000 people. 10 times the number of its own population production has dropped because of the war. and exporting grain has become more difficult. what was once transported by ship now has to be moved by rail. the problem there obviously is finding enough box cars or great knowledge are both holly, hey, billy hayes, the,

the volumes that used to go out by share the cost on at least double weather in the cargo shipping air or train sectors. the war is presenting logistics companies with challenges. ultimately it's consumers worldwide, who will pay as our show check us out on youtube or under the dw news channel. we have a new special on oil and rising prices. i'm seeing there's like, thanks for watching. ah, with

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w. ah, ah, ah, this is the w news life from berlin. russia agrees true, a deal to evacuate a self study. hundreds of ukrainian soldiers a hold up beneath the steel planted merry. all bold supplies a low and ukraine is mounting a counter attack in hot cave, pushing russian troops away from the city all the way to the russian border. from neutral to nato. sweden's prime minister announces a country will apply to join the military alliance, just days off the fiddler said it do the same. moscow has warned of far reaching.