captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for saturday, september 28: the latest on the impeachment inquiry; in afghanistan, low turnout for the country's presidential election; and a look at china trade in part three of the newshour series, "china: power and prosperity." next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: bernard and irene schwartz. sue and edgar wachenheimii. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the j.p.b. foundation. rosalind p. walter, in memory of george o'neil.

barbara hope zuckerberg. corporate funding is provided by mutual of america, designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why w your retirement company. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new york, hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: good evening, and thanks for joining us.ks f more stories today that may all become part of the impeachment inquiry-- the use of a highly classified computer system to shield the president's conversations, mr. trump's lack of concern when he met with russian officials in 2017, andn the resignation of a special envoy to ukraine. cnn reported that the white house tightly restricted access to the transcripts of phone calls president trump had with

foreign leaders, and stored them in a highly-classified computer system which is often reserved for code word-protected secrets. according to several current and former officials, the record of the conversations with world leaders including vladimir putin and members of the saudi royal family were moved into this highly classified system after leaks of notes from other calls early in the president's administration. th"washington post" reported that the president told the russian foreign minister, sergei lavrov, and russian ambassador sergey kislyak in a 2017 meeting that he was unconcerned about moscow's interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. this was according to knowledge of the conversation by three unnamed form u.s. officials. at the same may 2017 meeting, the president also disclosed highly classified information about a source of intelligence on the islamic state. and late yesterday, the statee department's special envoy to ukraine, kurt volker, submitted his resignation. volker, according to the whistleblower complaint that

sparked the impeachment inquiry, met with ukrainian officials after president trump's phone call with ukraine's president to help "navigate" mr. trump's demands. the president played golf today and tweeted attacks against democrats for launching an impeachment inquiry. the president's personal lawyer, rudy giuliani, who is also named in the whistleblower report, sent out his own stream of tweets claiming that the house democrats should be investigating former president obama's cabinet members and former vice president and democratic presidential candidate joe biden. polls closed in afghanistan y after insurgents and delays threatened to keep voters from choosing their next president. the government said there were more than 60 taliban attacks across the country. heightened security at polling stations reportedly prevented major attacks. incumbent president ashraf ghani and chidf executive abdullah abdullah, who are partners in the current unity government, are expected to lead the field of 18 candidates. if no candidate gets 51% of the vote, a second round between the top two vote-getters will be held. preliminary results are not

expected before october 17 and final results not until november 7. we'll have more on the election and what's next for afghanistan later in the program. the kingdom of saudi arabia unveiled a new visa scheme yesterday that will open the ultra-conservative country to foreign tourism. the plan allows for stays of up to 90 days and marks the first time that foreigners may enter the country for the sole purpose of tourism. citizens of 49 countries will be eligible for visas that the t kingdom hopes will help diversify its oil-reliant economy. but saudi arabia warned future visitors today that it will issue fines for 19 offenses related to public decency, such as immodest dress and public displays of ction. the tourism announcement came just days before the one-year anniversary of the murder of journalist jamal khashoggi. he was a saudi journalist and a u.s. permanent resident who was murdered at the saudi arabian consulate in istanbul. former president of zimbabwe robert mugabe was laid to rest in his rural hometown today. he died september 6 at a hospital in singapore. mugabe was forced out of office after the military took power in

2017. he was the first leader of zimbabwe after an end to white- minority rule of what was then rhodesia, and he remained in power for 37 years. mugabe's family said he wanted to be buried at home rather than at the capital. they held a small private gathering before he was buried. his coffin was draped in zimbabwe's flag. mugabe was 95 years old. police armed with tear gas and water cannons put an early end to a government approved pro- democracy rally in hong kong today. thousands of protesters threw bricks and molov cocktails at government buildings while marking the fifth anniversary of the start of t 2014 umbrella movement. members of that demonstration occupied downtown hong kong for 79 days in an unsuccessful attempt to convince the government to allow democratic reforms. tensions between the pro- and anti-government sides are expected to rise on tuesday when beijing celebrates the 70th anniversary of the founding of china's communist party. violence in haiti escalated yesterday as protesters continued to call for the ouster

of embattled president jovenel moise. opposition supporters ransacked a police station, threw rocks at officers and buildings, and burned barricades. the protesters charge the government has failed to investigate accusations that the president's allies embezzled or wasted billions of dollars from a venezuelan aid program. thiss the third week of demonstrations that have forced businesses and public services to shut down. the protesters have pledged to continue until president moise resigns. former ambassador joe wilson, who became the center of a political firestorm afterpo disputing u.s. intelligence used to justify the 2003 invasion of iraq, died yesterday, according to his ex-wife, valerie plame. he was 69. in july 2003, wilson wrote a a "new york times" op-ed criticizing intelligence reports that claimed saddam hussein had purchased uranium in the african nation of niger. shortly after, the identity of his then-wife valerie plame as a

c.i.a. operative was exposed. the scandal led to the conviction of scooter libby, a top aide to vice president dick cheney, for lying to investigators and obstruction of justice. president trump fully pardoned libby in 2018. plame is now running for congress in new mexico as a democrat. for more on the resignation of the u.s. special envoy to ukraine, and the latest on the impeachment inquiry, visit www.pbs.org/newshour. >> sreenivasan: some presidential candidates in the afghan election are already charging it was a fraudulent process. taliban attacks also decreased turnout and forced some polling places to stay closed. joining us now via skype is craig nelson, kabul bureau chief for the "wall street journal." first, it is unfortunately common for people to say that e process is fraudulent. but from what you can tell and all the different monitors that are on the ground, has this been a fair process so r today? >> it's really not clear. i think there's been some problems with the process, just

we went to a polling station this morning, and, at 7:00, whea the polls opened, and the election... the electoral staff wasn't even there. there was a problem this afternoon with voting lists at another polling station where people came in and looked for they were sure they registered. they had proof that they're registered, but they couldn't find their names on the voting list. so, is that fraud or is that kind of sort of inefficiency and ineptitude that has so characterized elections for a very long time? i think that the other people i think the biggest problem today is voter turnout. voter turnout seems to have been extremely low. and privately, president ghani's people are talking about a llion, possibly a million, million-five voter turnout. and that, out of a possible registered voters of 9.6 million. and that's a very, very small turnout. and that's going to cause, as much as anything, a kind of

political crisis that could be coming around the bend. >> sreenivasan: does that mean he has less of a mandate at the negotiating table with the taliban? >> exactly.li exactly. he might have to go to a second round, which will weaken him even further. and, of course, he talks about wanting to lead the peace process now that president trump has tweeted an end to u.s./ taliban negotiations. president ghani wants to lead those, and he could potentially go into that very, very weak. we saw... for example, we went 50 miles north of kabul today,ta and we went to a polling center where there were 360 women registered to vote. and five hours after the polls had opened, only four women had voted. this is a case where a lot of people seem to be saying, "this vote isn't relevant for us." and that's a real serious setback for this government, which is going to try to be negotiating a deal with the liban; and certainly for the

ited states, which has invested, you know, roughly $1 trillion, at least, in trying to get afghanistan... some democratic institution established in afghanistan. >> sreenivasan: in a way, then, did the taliban suthend in intimidating enougpeople to stay away from the polls, whether it was through the violence that was leading up to this or just the actual result today if all these women or men don't show up? >> yes, i think the fears, we were told by one voter after another, that their neighbors and so forth didn't show up, one, out of fears for their security; and two out of apathy. and there's one positive note here is that there were no big suicide bombings or big complex attacks and vehicle bombs, followed by gun fights. the taliban didn't do that. and that's a sort of small success in this whole thing because everybody did fe something like that. but the afghan government put 75,000 troops around the country to guard polling stations, and that seems to have been quite

successful. but in the long term, the voter turnout, the apparently low voter turnout is going to cause a very great problem for this government. >> sreenivasan: all right, craig nelson, the kabul bureau chief for the "wall street journal," joining us via skype tonight. thanks so much. >> you're welcome. >> sreenivasan: newshour's series, "china: power and prosperity," continues tonight with one of the most critical issues rankling u.s./china relations: trade. the two nations' dispute has largely played out as a tariff war, but there are underlying issues and arguments on both sides. so, in partnership with the pulitzer center, we tell this story with two correspondents, nick schifrin and katrina yu. they begin in china's silicon valley, shenzhen. >> yu: in shenzhen's seg-e-market, you can buy anything electronic. there are ten floors of circuit boards, battery-powered children's toys, digital

watches, wireless headphones, even bitcoin-mining computers. >> schifrin: and all of this is sold all over the world becaused international companies have long tapped into china's massive market and huge supply of reliable labor. >> yu: if you have an electronic product that's labeled "made in china," the chances are its parts come from here and end up all over the world, including the u.s. >> schifrin: for decades, the world's two largest economies, the u.s. and china, have been integrated. but now, the trump administration is trying to change that, and the trade war is not only going to affect american businesses and consumers. >> yu: but also businesses and consumers here in china. seg-e-market has been called the barometer of china's electronics industry. components and finished products are sourced from super-factories all over shenzhen. more than 60,000 businesses have set up shop here. while they may sell everywhere, this year, all eyes are on the u.s. >> ( translated ): i hope the trade war doesn't continue to

ge tworse. let's keep a peaceful relationship. don't raise tariffs because no one wins. >> yu: all the vendors that we spoke to blame president trump for the trade war, and some say trump feels threatened byat china's success... >> ( translated ): china's electronics industry is pretty good. now, trump is just trying to suppress china's development. >> yu: ...though some freely admit to selling copies of u.s. products. i ask her if this is a go-pro. >> ( translated ): no, it's not a go-pro. go-pro is made abroad, and it's very expensive. but this one is cheap, and it's similar. >> yu: how similar, nick? >> schifrin: well, very similar. the chinese sportscam looks exactly like the american go-pro. at this chinese new barlun store, take a look at the words. the sneakers and the writing look an awful lot like american new balance. that's just two examples of chinese copycatting that the u.s. says turned into theft on

an industrialized scale. the u.s. has indicted hackers connected to the chinese military for stealing specs of an american power plant similar to this model, and navigation satellite technology. and the u.s. says the most expensive weapons system ever, the ameran f-35, looks just like the chinese j-31 because chinese hackers stole the designs. the u.s. says, in just a few decades, theft helped china make its military world-class; and its companies, technology leaders. >> that kind of technological advancement doesn't happen organically. >> schifrin: jake parker has lived in beijing for a decade. he's the vice president of the u.s./china business council, which advocates for american businesses in china.ch >> china's system is set up in such a way that the state has access to information that companies would consider to be trade secrets. the amount of information that's transferred to the chinese governmentoes far beyond what would be expected in another market. >> schifri as businessman...

>> you handle it, then. >> schifrin: ...and presidential candidate, donald trump has accused china of pursuing decades of predatory trade practices. we can't continue to alloww china to rape our country, and that's what they're doing. it's the greeseft in the history of the world. when you see china, these are fierce people in terms of negotiation. they want to take your throat out. they want to cut you apart. >> schifrin: the trump administration has increased u.s. demands that china stop intellectual property theft and what the u.s. calls other unfair trade practices. the administration has released two major investigations into chinese corporate theft and labeled chinese computer, telecom, and technology companies risks to american naonal security. >> president trump has raised issues that have been an irritant in the relationship for a very, very long time... >> you know, we're the piggy k bank that everybody steals from, including china. >> ...that have not been adequately addressed by the chinese side. and frankly, those issues go to the core of how china's economic system operates, its state-owned enterprise reform, its

industrial policy, itsicy, subsidies, its overcapacity. these are not going to be easy solutions that china's going to be able to implement immediately. >> yu: that's because those protectionist measures and state-sponsored business development have fueled china's rapid economic rise. nowhere is that more obvious than china's artificial intelligence, or a.i., industry. in china's northeastern liaoning g onince, ex-robot is wo human-like a.i. robots. china wants to be the global center for a.i. by 2030, and some in the trump administration believe china is fast closing the gap on the u.s.' dominance of a.i. a they can mimic facial expressions, respond to questions... >> ( speaking in chinese ) >> ( speaking in chinese ) >> ( speaking in chinese ) >> yu: ...and even host a tv show. >> ( speaking in chinese >> yu: ex-robot president yang dongyue says his company will be one of the first in the world

whose robots can replace service employees. >> ( translated ): their main function is to communicate with people, so a good appearance is a must. if the robot is very good- looking, like a pretty lady or a handsome man, people will feel more pleasant when talking with them. >> yu: beijing has been so determined to catch up and surpass the u.n a.i. technology, it's committed $150 billion to its development. ex-robot acknowledges that it receives government subsidies but refuses to disclose how much. meanwhile, china accuses the u.s. of investing billions on its own a.i. technology, like this robotic pacmule that's being funded by pentagon research. >> schifrin: but katrina, the u.s. denies that pentagon spending is a subsidy andsp complains china's subsidies are into private companies and concealed in every iustry, tilting the global playing field in china's favor and violating international trade rules. >> the chinese communist partyhc has used an arsenal of policies

inconsistent with free and fair trade. these policies have built beijing's manufacturing base at the expense of its competitors, especially the united states of america. >> yu: china has built its own manufacturing base that provides cheap and efficient labor, and many u.s. businesses use it to maximize profits. shanghai general sports is one of the biggest bicycle manufacturers in china. the company produces more than three million bikes every year. c.e.o. lei ge attributes the company's success to buildingan close relationships with his partners abroad, particularly in the u.s. >> we work with our partners in the states as a family. that's why we can become so close. >> yu: that supphain integration has built up over 30 years, and it means the trade war has hit shanghai general sports and many companies in china that sell to the u.s.

lei has had to let go about 30% of his staff. it doesn't help that china's economic growth has slumped to its lowest level in nearly three decades. >> oh, we hate this. it's just more difficult than ever. of course, we feel disappointede and we feel upset, but there's nothing we can do. >> yu: this factory produces up to 13,000 bicycles everyday. they're sent to countries such as australia, canada, and japan. but 80% of them are made for the united states. >> schifrin: and arrive in this south carolina factory. >> we're producing this year about 300,000 bicycles. >> schifrin: arnold kamler is one of the primary buyers of shanghai general sports' parts. he's the chairman and c.e.o. of kent bikes, one of the largest bike wholesalers in the u.s. on every bike frame imported from china, kent has to pay a 36% tariff to u.s. customs. on every tire, it's 30%. when you pay that amount to u.s. customs, do you therefore

increase your prices to your clients? >> oh, of course. the bicycle business is a very high-volume but-- unfortunately for me-- a very low profit- margin business. and so, when we have an increase of that size, we have no choice but... but to raise prices. >> schifrin: and those higher p ines have led to a 20% d sales since the trade war began. and that's meant kamler's had to lay off a quarter of his employees. >> these tariffs are hurting us very badly, but we're a smart company. and so, we'll overcome this challenge by sourcing elsewhereh over time. >> yu: and that's exactly what's happening. general sports will turn this field in cambodia into a 500,000-square foot factory. lei says it's an investment he wishes he didn't have to make because he fears labor costs will rise. >> i prefer staying in china. i speak the same language, and it's easier to... to find

workers. r businesses, but drivinge good companies out of china is music to many in the trump administrations' ears. some senior advisors want to continue economic integration sth china, but others see china as a national security threat and want to separate the two economies. president trump has vacillated between the camps. in late august, he tweeted: "our great american companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to china."e but at the g7 in france just three days later, he said american companies could still thrive in china. >> if we make a deal, i'd like to see them stay there and do a great job. >> yu: on chinese media, commentators argue president trump's flip-flops show he's unreliable. >> you cannot be in a situation where i don't... i don't believe what you're saying, and i don't believe yoll carry out even if you do. how can i have a negotiation with you? >> yu: china has taken steps to ensure it's less vulnerable to trump's trade war shots, from boosting domestic supplies of soybeans, corn and cotton, to

expanding export markets beyond the u.s. to africa and south america. with no need for democratic elections and what it calls a higher economic "pain threshold," chinese tv says china can outlast trump. >> ( translated anyone who misjudges china will surely pay the price of the chinese people's steel will. >> schifrin: but president trump has said he can outlast china and vows to hold his ground, even if that harms the u.s. economy short-term. >> i am doing this, whether it's good or bad, for your... your statement about, "oh, will we fall into a recession for two months," okay? the fact is, somebody had to take china on. my life would be a lot easier if i didn't take china on. but i like doing it because i have to do it. >> schifrin: which means u.s./china coopetion is decreasing and confrontation is increasing. >> yu: and the trade war continues as two economies thato have been integrated for decades are already drifting apart. for the pbs newshour, i'm

katrina yu. >> schifrin: and i'm nick schifrin. ,> this is pbs newshour weeke saturday. >> sreenivasan: in many parts of the world, green turtles are at risk. threats to the species include annting, human interference in their nesting habitats on beaches and pollution in their ocean feeding grounds. now, a program in israel that has been years in the making is giving the turtles a head start recovery. a mediterranean beach in israel, a newly-hatched baby turtle is making its way to the sea for the very first time. this little turtle is one of 60 released recently as part of a conservation program at the israeli sea turtle rescue center. >> this is the first program, as far as i know, the first program in the world that is holding turtles in captivity in order to

mate and to release all the hatchlings back to the wild. >> sreenivasan: according to the center, only about 20 green turtle females nest along the israeli mediterranean coast during the breeding season that usually lasts from mayntil august. scientists began moving threatened turtle nests to safe hatcheries on beaches designated as nature reserves in the 1980s. then, in 2002, the sea turtle rescue center began selecting turtles to breed in captivity, believed to be one of the world's only such approaches to saving the endangered species. >> we are doing ultrasound for all the females of the breeding colony, to see if there are still eggs or follicles and what's the reproduction status right now. >> sreenivasan: this year, the mature thees successfully mated. if all goes well, about 200 baby turtles will hatch and follow this first group of tiny turtles

on their march into the wild. >> sreenivasan: tomorrow in part four of newshour's series, "china: power and prosperity,"pr special correspondent katrina yu will report on china growing number of billionaires and its huge wealth gap. that's all for this edition of pbs newshour weekend. i'm hari sreenivasan. thanks for watching. have good night. captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

>> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: bernard and irene schwartz. sue and edgar wachenheim i . the cheryl and philip milstein family. the j.p.b. foundation. rosalind p. walter, in memory of george o'neil. barbara hope zuckerberg. corporate funding is provided by mutual of america, designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we're your retirement company. addional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. be more. pbs.

[ siren wailing ] [ vehicles passing ] [ bell clanging ] ♪ >> today we are fearful.