>> hello and welcome to the journal on dw-tv in berlin. coming up on our program, the imf has chosen christine the guard as its new director. -- khristine lagarde as its new director. >> and the women's cup team usa beat north korea in the opening match. it is history in the making, the imf board has appointed christine lagarde as the new

managing director. it makes for the first female head of the global financial manager. >> most of america was actually against the european taking the post, but then brazil began lining up with her. washington says her experience comes at an invaluable time and a critical time for the company. >> the result the sound of like a routine press announcement. >> the international monetary fund has today selected christine lagarde as the imf managing director for a five- year terms of starting on july 5, 2011. >> the current french finance minister had been widely expected to become the imf's first female managing director. brazil and the u.s. threw their weight behind her, along with

europe and china. she wasn't chosen head of the mexican central bank chief -- she was chosen ahead of the mexican central bank chief. after the announcement, he said, "his best wishes and support." >> why has the imf chosen christine lagarde as its new head? >> let's start with the most important thing. she can really do this job. she is really experienced in financial issues. but what is very crucial and important is that the americas supported her. europe and america were united. you can also put it the other way around. china would never vote for an indian candidates, or if india would never vote for a chinese candidate. but the fact that the west was

united was very important in lagarde becoming the managing director of the imf. i also think there were some back room deals, but what kind, we will hear more about that in the next days and weeks. >> what are we expecting when lasard takes over? -- lagarde takes over at the helm? what she is very experienced with things like the global debt crisis in greece, for example. i expect that she will be very strict with greece, so they will wreceive help and aid, but only after they follow policy. i also expect her to get more influence in the imf. china is getting more and more important. >> thank you for the update. 55-year-old lifeguard takes

over for dominique strauss-kahn to defend himself against charges of sexual assault against a hotel maid in new york. lasard has her own court case -- blood guard has her own court case to worry about next month. >>e khristine lasard has been campaigning for weeks to take the top job at the imf. she had a lot to do to convince african and asian countries who wanted a non-european at the helm. but in the end, she won them over. >> i am not a candidate for europe or for france. i will represent all of the members. >> she is used to asserting herself in a male-dominated world. she is held in high esteem by politicians and business leaders are on the world.

but her career path has not been smooth all the way. while serving as a french cabinet minister in 2007, she is suspected to have been used her influence to help a businessman to obtain nearly 3 million euros in damages from a bank. >> as concerned as we are about the affair, an investigation is underway. we want all of the questions to be clarified. i have every confidence in this procedure, not least because my conscience is perfectly clear. >> a french court still has to decide in early july if a full investigation is warranted. >> and we will have more on the rise of lagarde later. >> just as she was named head of the imf, lagarde urged read --

the greek parliament to show solidarity. unless they implement austerity measures they will not receive the next bit of a bailout money. the rallies that were met with teargas to control the protesters. >> the situation in many parts of athens has gone out of control. protesters used burning garbage bins to build barricades and threw stones at the police, who responded with tear gas. the initial -- initially t peaceful demonstrations descended into chaos. it was only days ago after the parliamentary pact was quoted on that thousands took to the streets. it includes 28 billion joerres in spending cuts a a 50 billion year a privatization plan -- 20 billion euros in spending cuts and 50 billion

heroes in a privatization plan. workers across the country are also protesting with a 48 hour general strike. it has affected all sectors of the economy. air traffic controllers are also taking part, causing hundreds of flights to be canceled. more are joining the strike as it progresses. >> the government has declared war, and we will answer back with more. >> extra police have been deployed to beef up security outside parliament. lawmakers have been debating the austerity package since monday. the prime minister was urging them to endorse the bill, otherwise, there will be no aid from the european union, something brussels confirmed again on tuesday. greece is at a crossroads. parliament will set the course for the future this week and a decision will have a constant -- have consequences throughout the

rest of europe as well. >> wen jiabao and his ministers in china will take part in the first joint cabinet in berlin. economic issues dominated the talks and the two countries signed deals worth 15 billion euros. >> it is the largest chinese delegation ever to visit germany. 13 ministers accompanied wen jiabao. they spoke optimistically on both sides of their growing friendship, one that they mean to bring economic benefits. the chinese premier said there would be an increase in bilateral trade. >> both sides today signed 20 contracts and partnership deals which are worth over $15 billion. i want to thank chancellor merkel for her support in making this happen. >> i would like to highlight the establishment of a platform on

electro-mobility that involves different sectors. i would also like to see china to include more medium and small sized firms. >> merkel welcome to their decision to release ai wei-wei. >> a good relationship, respect, and most importantly, trust for one another would be advantageous for all involved. >> wen jiabao called on germany to push for an end of trade barriers and allow china better access to the markets. >> and we will take a closer look at the relationship between the two countries in the in- depth part of the show. >> the government there looks like it is speeding things upper to stress the need the measures agreed to take hundred

70 billion euro bailout. -- in its 78 billion euro bailout. it is also selling companies like the biggest utility, the national airline, and iinsurance on the state-run bank. still, all eyes are on greece. the nation's debt remains the main concern for the second session in a row in the european market. damany carta sent us this rap of the trading. >> there are some emotional swings. the hero could also profit. the -- the bureau could also profit.

banks are confident that a greek rescue is coming closer. siemens is disappointed very deeply with a very cautious outlook. >> the figures say it all, both vdacs and euro trading up by almost 1%. investors expecting some sort of resolution -- both the? enduro trading up by almost 1%. in a last-ditch effort to stay afloat, struggling swedish carmaker saab has begun selling off its real estate. the automaker can however still

use the factories. in recent weeks, the company has been unable to make payments to the suppliers for the wages of over 3000 workers. >> it is expected to raise 28 million euros. for the first time in weeks, wages and bills might be paid. employees are relieved that a resolution has finally been found. >> it is like living in a vacuum. it never ends. if we are constantly thinking about these problems 24 hours a day, every day. it is an enormous amount of pressure for all of us. >> everyone depends on the real estate deal, and some promised money from china. it was reported monday that a chinese company ordered 600 saab cars and wants to transmit immediate payment of 600 million euros. >> the consumer climate index

shows a rise for july. the recovery of the labour market, rising income expectations and tamed inflation -- all of these factors are outweighing any concerns about the debt crisis in greece, or unrest in the middle east. a bit of good news for you there. >> thank you for that report -- for that. the report of at least one suicide bomber in kabul. afghan police are said to be battling the assailants with machine-gun fire and rocket propelled grenades. the hotel is a popular among foreigners and government officials. the taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. several people have been wounded. six astronauts aboard the international space station were forced to evacuate and take refuge in the module as a precautionary move. they took the measure because

buying -- flying space junk had come too close to the station. they were able to return to the international space station after the encounter. normally they would attempt to what maneuver the station away from the oncoming debris. this time the impact was identified to date. turning now to the women's world cup soccer here in germany, the u.s. played north korea in dresden. the north koreans owns the first half, but the americans turned it around to claim the victory. >> it was not an easy victory for the u.s.. q feisty north korean side started out stronger. they left the u.s. defense gasping. the u.s. are among the famous -- favorites to win the world cup, but at halftime things looked unclear. but the american team folded

together in the second half and started shooting at the no. 3 in bowl with dangerous crosses from both sides. -- at the north korean golgoal h crosses from both sides. defender rachel piehler delivered into the north corner in the 77th minute to solidifying the u.s. lead at 2- 0. despite their loss, many realized that they need to pay attention to the north koreans. >> sweden beat columbia 1-0. the scandinavian dominated the game, but failed to use their chances. a pass was picked up by jessica evans from -- jessica lynn strohm. in wimbledon, sabena has become

the first german to win the final since steffi graf in 1999. german basketball star burk tulowitzki who led the dallas mavericks to their nba -- dirk nowitski who led the dallas mavericks to their nba title was greeted. he was so moved. he may join the to european championships later this summer. and just think how many little boys will be called burdirk from now on. coming up, relations between germany and

>> welcome back. chinese premier wen jiabao has been in berlin with a large delegation. the two countries held joint cabinet negotiations. china and germany, among other world powers, is concerned about the european debt crisis. an estimated quarter of the debt is in euros. china has signaled that it will buy a european debt to help stabilize the financial situation in germany it also like a frank debate -- germany would also like a friend debate over human rights, but the issue has sometimes put a strain in their ties. >> germany's contacts with china have forged ahead in recent years, politically, economically, and culturally. but closer contacts have not

always meant deeper understanding. for many germans, china remains a distant power, and one that keeps the rest of the world at arm's length. >> i think the fundamental problem with our entire dealings with china is that we look at the country from our viewpoint, as a faraway land, and we never go to the troubled to look at what is actually happening there. >> china represents one of the biggest markets for german products, and close bilateral relations are essential. but on the other side is china opposes human rights record. some see business ties -- the other side is china's human rights record. some see business ties as important leverage. >> it is important that the chinese listen to was on questions of human rights. >> they probably would listen in a very different way if we have no great -- no trade with them. >> it is a final political line. during a visit with the dalai

lama, angela merkel host of the spiritual leader at the chancellery. they encountered fierce criticism from china. >> just because the german government wants something, you cannot expect the chinese to give in to all our demands. we have to get used to the fact that the main priority of the chinese government is to maintain stability in their country. >> political pressure can also have results. last week, the outspoken chinese arst ai wei-wei was released after three months in custody, coinciding with the chancellor's -- with the premier's trip to europe. there are still questions over beijing's true motives. for now, answers remain behind closed doors. >> i asked our correspondent in

beijing, given the artists released ahead of wen jiabao's european trachoma how serious -- ahead of wen jiabao's european trip, how seriously do they take issues of human rights? >> they take the series because they do not like interference with internal affairs. that is how they put it. but in this case, i think they set him free because of pressure from the european government. they would never admit it, but i think they did. they wanted to talk about economic issues and not that much about human rights. but he is still under house arrest. he is still not allowed to twitter. he is not really free. it is very much limited freedom. >> germans hope for democratic change in china by boosting economic ties. can that be as successful formula? >> it has not worked so far.

china has changed through the economic reforms of the '80s and '90s. but it has not changed on issues of democratic reform. on the contrary, it is now countries, like in africa, they see china as a new model country as an example of all authoritarian rule and economic success. from the point of view from western governments, that might be a negative point.7 >> china has been traveling in germany with a huge delegation. but is their main interest rate, or are they also looking for political alliances? >> it is mainly trade, but also political alliances. especially on the security council. there are certain issues the chinese want to discuss. but they do not want to discuss things like human rights.

the economic ties are more important for the chinese as they know that there is still a lot of economic development to continue with the growth of china, which they need, more less, to pacify the masses and take part in the successes of china. >> germany and china enjoys strong economic relations. the two countries have trade relations with billions of heroes, and the chinese government wants them to see it extend beyond the export of goods. they want to see do element in the high-tech sector. of one such successful chinese company is a solar cell manufacturer that has seen its profits sky-high debt -- sort sky high since it began 11 years ago.

they credit discipline at the core of their success. >> this may look like training for police or military special unit. it is not exactly that, but something similar. under the watchful eye of the training leader, these young men are preparing for their mission. making their company the number one in the world. >> we train our employees like they are an army, and in an army come all the soldiers have to be united. that is the only way to win wars. >> so far, the company's campaign has been successful. it is one of the world's largest manufacturers of solar cells. 93% are exported to the u.s., correa, france, and germany. its products conform to standards, but their labor costs are a fraction of what they would be in germany. this is their chief strategist and he is proud of what his

company has been abl to do in such a short time. >> we started in 1998 with the equivalent of 100,000 euros. today, sales of our solar cells alone are at 1.2 billion euros. if we take all of our divisions together, it is considerably more. >> the rise of this company is just the kind of success story the chinese government likes to see. beijinm is looking to shift the economy away from cheap consumer goods to internationally competitive green technology and high-tech. >> we have created 10,000 jobs in the region. the we did it for the government, and the government respects our success and gives us advantages in certain areas. for instance, it offers us the resources we need first. we have to offer aid development guarantee. >> it is now listed on the nyse and it wants to increase its production by more than two- thirds. it was one of the main sponsors

of the 2010 world cup in south africa and it wants to repeat that in the 2014 world cup in brazil. as modern as the company seemed, there are reminders that china is not quite like other industrialized countries. >> we have an old saying in china that as soon as an order is issued, it must be carried out. the tasks must be performed quickly and with determination. >> so its employees are marching toward the prop with determination. it is hard to get the feeling that they will not let themselves be stopped by anyone or anything. >> thanks for joining us. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

ow! of course. thank you. i'd call her honeydew goodbody, not lisa. the very fact that she is called lisa proves that she exists.