robin brant is that the beijing motor show and hejoins us now. —— is at. latest trends and what is the buzz at the auto show? well, rico, 28 million new cars were sold in china last year, that is a vast market, as you say, the biggest in the world, that's why this event and others across the country in shanghai are such a big draw but there are signs growth in the car market is slowing gradually in line with the trend in the chinese economy. the other area of concern on the minds of the auto bosses at this event in particular is the prospect of a trade dispute between china and the us getting worse, are they about to see a trade war in which they could be stuck in the middle? we've been tooting too of the auto world's biggest names, bmw and fourth, they have a global presence but also a big significant presence but also a big significant presence in china —— talking to. it's neither american or chinese but bmw is worried about the prospect of a trade war across the pacific. at the beijing motor show this week it is launching a new electric suv but it's the

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai. a part the american landscape as the rocky mountains. until their business empire started to crumble. the company's ceo said last week that it was fighting to survive, after a merger with rival kmart failed to spark a turnaround. what's happened instead is a tale of an icon in decline, as mat morrison reports. advertisement: put an end to traffic fears, it's very easy to get to sears. sears' appliance spectacular. sears, where america shops for value. it was the american retailer for much of the 20th century, an amazon for its age, sears sold everything under the sun, from homegoods to actual houses. at one time, it was the world's largest retailer in terms of sales, profit and employees. it was the number — fourth employer in this company. starting as a mail—order watch company, sears branched out to brick and mortar stores — hundreds of them. the heyday of sears occurred right after world war two, that's a period of post—war optimism in this country, and sears followed its customers

robin brant is there for us now.een the us and china as far as ta riffs between the us and china as far as tariffs and a trade war is concerned. is that overshadowing events there? i wouldn't say overshadowing body bits on the mind of senior executives we have been speaking to. —— but it is on the mind. events like this have a big draw. we have been speaking with bmw. their chief executive. also the ford senior man for the asia—pacific region. the prospect of a trade war is of concern, particularly for a bmw. it is a global company. it is an iconic german brand. neither chinese north american. but it could get caught in the middle if there is a trade war because it manufacturers in the united states and that exports cars here to china. the chief executive talks to me yesterday and he warned donald trump e has real concerns about the impact of new trade barriers upon local economies, as he described it. by that he means bmw's operations in the united states and in china. bmw employs 70,000 people in the united states.

robin brant reports from shanghai. laid out plans to hit each other‘s exports. the us has a long list, around 1,300 items, including ovens and flamethrowers. the punishment is in response to claims that china has stolen its intellectual property. it's also about the decades—old policy of forcing foreign firms to share their technology when they invest here in china. china, though, is targeting far fewer products and it looks like it wants to cause more pain. soy beans, corn, cotton, beef, tobacco are all on the list. soy bean alone is a multibillion—dollar import business to china. these measures would hit specific farming areas of the us hard but china insists it doesn't want a trade war. translation: frankly speaking, the challenges we are facing today are huge, for sure, because of the scale of the trade volumes, as you can see, however china's stance has been clear—cut. we don't want a trade war because the result will only be a no—win situation that hurts the interests of china, the united states and the prospect

robin brant is at the beijing auto show for us. good to see you. the show, this trade war, or is it all about the new cars they are trying to show off? what is they are trying to show off? what is the atmosphere like? it is about showing the world the new models these companies have. this market here is immense. 28 million new units sold last year. but talk to senior executives and they are worried about the prospect of a trade war covered eagerly for firms that could be trapped in the middle. i spoke to harold kruger head of bmw. they are not chinese or american, obviously, buta bmw. they are not chinese or american, obviously, but a global company. they make cars in the united states, but then export to china. they fear they could be hit if this trade dispute between america and china escalate is back. he said he will was worried about the impact on export economies and local economies. by that, he miss the united states, where they employ about 70,000, and of course in china. we have heard about reforms by the chinese government. the removal of

let's get more on this story from shanghai with robin brant, our china correspondent.npack the starter for us today? —— this data. can you unpack the starter for us today? -- this data. 6.8% growth in the first three months. that is a repeat of what we saw in the final six months of last year. it is steady as she goes in that respect. these are good figures. they suggest the chinese economy continues to grow at a very healthy rate, but overall, its growth is slowing down. the chinese government wants a soft landing, and these numbers would suggest that that is what it is going to get. the retail sales, 10.196 going to get. the retail sales, 10.1% growth. they are very good. that suggests as well that any kind of seasonal issues have been ironed out. the chinese government's desire to shift from an export economy to one driven by consumer demand remains on track. online retail sales are staggering. they grew 35%, according to these figures. that sector of the economy doubles in size every 2—3 years. a healthy resurgent global economy was good for china. much of this gro

let's cross to shanghai, where we'rejoined by robin brant. that speech, teller small. financial markets have been cheering to a degree since. yes, they have. in asia, looking pretty green in the last hour or so and that is because they like the words coming from xi jinping's mouth and the significance here is that it is xijinping saying and the significance here is that it is xi jinping saying these things, particularly on a pledge to cut ta riffs particularly on a pledge to cut tariffs on the import of foreign cars, that will happen later this year apparently and also some reform to foreign ownership rules for companies in the us and beyond who wa nt to companies in the us and beyond who want to invest in china. those two things are key issues in the brewing trade dispute between the us and china and it is significant that xi jinping chose to directly address them in his speech at this international trade forum in south china, they are not new pages not to come from his mouth means they are much more likely to happen. there will be deep scep

robin brant is in shanghai. ahead of the chinese government target, as it were. tell us more about how china is doing? the overall target the 2018 6.5%, marking a continued growth but a decelerating rate of the chinese economy. 6.8 is what we got in the back of the 2017, yet again very consistent. in these figures we see for instance on the retail sales side that ticking upjust on the retail sales side that ticking up just about 10% for the first three months, that seems to suggest that the government ‘s plasma desire to see the economy here move towards one driven very much by consumer demand continues to be on track. online retail sales continue to explode, up 35%. that sector doubled in size every two to three years. much of this growth came from the industrial side, we saw a bit of an uptake in the first three months thanks to the ending of some tougher environmental regulations at the end of last year. —— we saw a bit of an uptick. there isa —— we saw a bit of an uptick. there is a resurgent global economy w

robin brant is there for us. beijing promising retell a tree of measures.is exact they use but nonetheless it feels like it is starting. ——, singh retaliatory measures. list will be published shortly and it will be in equal measure. this is the second wave of a tit—for—tat measure in what is fair to describe as a nascent trade war between the two biggest economies in the world. beijing described these measures announced on tuesday as protectionist and unilateral, criticising the us were not using the wto and its multilateral architecture as a way to try to deal with these trade disputes. one important thing to remember in all of this, with a long list of tariff announcement from the americans, 1300 items and a lot of numbers being bandied around, $50 million. it isa being bandied around, $50 million. it is a $340 being bandied around, $50 million. it is a $3110 billion deficit between the two countries but a strong sign that the us is looking for a negotiated settlement. extended by 30 days, so double the consultation period before these tariffs may be impo

the bbc‘s robin brant in shanghai said china was ready to respond.pond on an equal level. i think we can expect another list from china's ministry of commerce, a list that will be specific and that it will publish that will show us how it wants to target imports coming here from the united states. what started out as a nascent trade war, essentially over steel and aluminium dumping has moved on a much more substantial area for the us administration, one where there is much more sympathy as well, about intellectual property, about the chinese government's industrial policy. about the way that us firms and others are treated when they want to invest in china and, more broadly, it is about the inequity many companies say, of the trade relationship between china and the united states. you use the word substantial. many analysts are saying that none of this is enough to change the chinese practices that president trump has attacked so strongly. what is the point of all this? how far do you think it may go? well, look, ithink there are two points. there's

but, as our china correspondent robin brant reports, the buying and selling of blood seems to be continuingy to fight leukaemia, but that wasn‘t the only battle. she had to find blood. china has a chronic blood shortage, and even though she had donated in the past, which should have given her a guarantee of blood, the hospital had none. so gao had to buy it. in fact, it was her mum who went out to do the deal. she was emotional as she described the last few years. it is not hard to find blood traders in china. the bbc spoke to this man outside a donor centre in shanghai. he told us he pays people to donate, then he sells their certificates to needy patients, which they exchange for blood. it is illegal, and the government banned it last month. it is almost two weeks now since the rules changed so we came back to the same blood centre in shanghai and we have been driving around for half an hour. and look who we have seen hanging around outside. the same man, this time in red, in the same place. 0nly man, this time in red, in the same place. only about 1% of chinese give blood. china had a re

for more on this we're nowjoined by robin brant from shanghai.ed that there would be retaliation, and so this could be a trade war. yes, fair to call this a nascent trade war, moves from the us on solar panels and steel and aluminium, moves from the chinese against fruit and wine and this is the second wave now of these proposals coming from the us, and a chinese response, 1300 items from the us, dirty billion dollars worth of trade they propose to hit with new tariffs, and the chinese response has been to things, a promise of a swift new list, swift retaliation. —— $30 billion. that will be in equal measure, we are told, we have had an easier terrific move against either import from the us, reports here in china from the ministry of commerce saying they have increased tariffs, that is specific but shows the response will be very swift. china trying to shame the us administration by saying it sees these measures from the front as protectionist and having a com plete as protectionist and having a complete disregard for its place within the world t

robin brant reports from shanghai.e united states and china have laid out plans to hit each other‘s exports. the us has a long list, around 1300 items, including ovens and flamethrowers. the punishment is in response to claims that china has stolen its intellectual property. it's also about the decades—old policy of forcing foreign firms to share their technology when they invest here in china. china though is targeting far fewer products and it looks like it wa nts to fewer products and it looks like it wants to cause more pain. soy beans, corn, cotton, beef, tobacco are all on the list. soya bean alone is a multibillion—dollar import business to china. these measures would hit specific farming areas of the us ha rd specific farming areas of the us hard but china insists it doesn't wa nt hard but china insists it doesn't want a trade war. translation: frankly speaking the challenges we are facing today are huge for sure because of the scale of the trade volumes as you can see however china's stance has been clear—cut.

but as our china correspondent robin brant reports, the buying and selling of blood seems to be continuing31 and recovering from cancer. gao's immune system is weak after chemotherapy to fight leukaemia, but that wasn't her only battle. she had to find blood. china has a chronic blood shortage, and even though she had donated in the past, which should have given her a guarantee of blood, the hospital had none. so gao had to buy it. in fact, it was her mum who went out to do the deal. she was emotional as she described the last few years. it is not hard to find blood traders in china. the bbc spoke to this man outside a donor centre in shanghai. he told us he pays people to donate, then he sells their certificates to needy patients, which they exchange for blood. it is illegal, and the government banned it last month. it is almost two weeks now since the rules changed, so we came back to the same blood centre in shanghai, and we've been driving around for half an hour. and look who we've seen hanging around outside — the same man, this time in red, in the same place. the era of blood trader

first, robin brant is in shanghai with more.surged to a degree afterwards in asia, after his speech. yeah, very positive in trading today and they like what president xi had to say, a particular significance was his repetition of the pledged to cut import tariffs on automobiles coming into china from the us and other countries and also a pledge to open up countries and also a pledge to open up china further to foreign investors, and in particular, again, in the automobile sector, make it easierfor american in the automobile sector, make it easier for american firms, say, in the automobile sector, make it easierfor american firms, say, who wa nt to easierfor american firms, say, who want to come and invest, the loosening up on the rules on the requirement at the moment to have a joint fletcher, 50—50 split, with chinese companies. those issues are and the current dispute between the us and china. president xi addressing them was not new, but it is significant he came from —— it came from his mouth. no timings. cuts to tariffs on

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai. media reported the couple, who died in 2013, had frozen several embryos hoping to have a child through ivf. after the accident, their parents fought a protracted legal battle to be allowed to use the embryos. the boy was born in december to a woman from laos. joining me now is our asia pacific editor, michael bristow. tell us more about this extraordinary story. you have that right, it is an extraordinary story, aus right, it is an extraordinary story, a us you say the story began in 2013 when the couple unfortunately died ina carcrash, when the couple unfortunately died in a car crash, leaving these frozen embryos, the grandparents, still wa nted embryos, the grandparents, still wanted the grandchild because their line would have ended there, because these people who died were their only children, so there was a long battle in the court, first of all to get control of the embryo, then to find a surrogate mother willing to carry the child, that mother was found in laos, she at the end

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai.re enjoying a dip in a gorgeously warm sea, i am sure. michael is going to bejoined by some boxers. time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. good morning from bbc london news, i'm charlotte franks. the police have asked people in hither green not to tear down the tributes being left opposite the house where the owner stabbed a burglar to death last week. flowers paying tribute to henry vincent have repeatedly been removed by neighbours, only to be put back by vincent's friends and family. the met‘s borough commander for lewisham says he doesn't want anyone to feel intimidated or that they're not being allowed to respond in a dignified way to a tragic death. a third of london's jobs are likely to be replaced by robots and technology in the next thirty years. research from the centre for london has explored the accelerating change in computing and the challenges posed by brexit and regulatory pressures. the report also found that many of the capital's workforce are lik