at first glance everything seems to be running normally in this pharmacy in tehran. but more and more often pharmacists naveed who doesn't want his real name mentioned has to tell his customers that he doesn't have their medicine anymore. we have customers who have undergone open heart surgery and those medications are vital you know when they stand in front of me and i have to tell them that they're no longer available you can see the fear in their eyes so i was sure that. the majority of iranian farm imports come from europe the u.s. sanctions have caused one massive problem for e.u. around trade the payment system. we visit the bank melli iran in hamburg it forwards are bringing in company payments to respective banks of german companies but now european banks are part of the boycott according to managing director gottlieb many companies fear the u.s. sanctions. the bank. the banks don't have any valid reason for not processing is a strain of thought it's a clear breach of contract it's a breach of the rules underlying payments in europe. bunk melly could sue but

foreign policy and sanctions against tehran make. every day a new life for the people in iran very difficult. welcome to d.w. business so today china marks forty years since its economy opened up to the rest of the world a move that ultimately turned china into a global economic powerhouse second in g.d.p. if only to the united states forty years ago china's g.d.p. hovered around only one hundred fifty billion dollars annually on the early twenty years later in one thousand nine hundred ninety seven it broke through the trillion dollar ceiling about last year g.d.p. had grown to over twelve trillion dollars in a speech marking the anniversary chinese president xi jinping vowed to press ahead with economic reforms but he also made clear that beijing will not deviate from its one party system or take orders from any other country. it was an impeccably choreographed event designed to showcase china's transformation from an inward looking farming based society to the economic giant it is today. the country's president xi jinping credited

that will be a major concern for both moscow tehran and damascus ok hopefully next two days will have an idea on which way this is going dorian jones for us for now in istanbul thanks very much on other news three astronauts from the international space station have safely returned to earth after spending more than half a year in orbit breathing fresh air for the first time in months the trio landing in a snow field in remote kazakhstan the soyuz capsule included the german expedition fifty seven commander alexander gases nasa flight engineer serena chancellor and the russian soyuz commander sergei. while gas was the first ever german commander of the international space station six more let's talk now with a member of the european space agency joining us from cologne antonia fortunato is operations and management support officer of the european space agency who just watched it and joins us now live from cologne were you happy with the way the landing what. i'm going to mine yes we were extremely happy the landing was completely nominal the capsule land upright and it was great to see

it's training time in this gym in tehran where champions have pumped iron for decades the weights are just as heavy as they look. yet for the other girls lifting them is a dream come true. my dad was a weightlifter i've loved the sport ever since i was a child and i watched every competition. i'm the member of as so as soon as it was possible i started lifting weights myself. as nurse is proud to continue the family tradition and her passion has paid off she's the strongest of the four girl team so far. the brains behind the girls' success has his office just one floor higher value more ideas president of iran's weightlifting association and perhaps the girl's biggest fan he says there shouldn't be a difference between men and women in his sport. we have many iranian men who have many championship titles on our record holders in the field of weight lifting. the world strongest man right now is an iranian. we want to achieve the same with our women. we hope that in the future not the far future i'm talking about the olympics of twenty twenty four the theory in women can add to these gl

reporter: at first glance, everything seems to be running normally in this pharmacy in tehran.ut more and more often, pharmacist navid, who does not want his real name mentioned, has to tell his customers he does not have their medicine anymore. >> we have customers who have undergone open-heart surgery and those medications are vital. when they stand in front of me and i have to tell them that they are no longer available, you can see the fear in their eyes. reporter: the majority of iranian pharma imports come from europe. the u.s. sanctions have caused one massive problem for eu-iran trade -- the payment system. we visit the bank melli iran in hamburg. it forwards iranian company payments to respective banks of german companies. but now european banks are part of the boycott, according to the managing director. many companies fear the u.s. sanctions. >> the banks do not have any valid reason for not processing those payments. it's a clear breach of contract. it is the breach of the rules underlying payments in europe. reporter: bank melli could sue, but there are simply too

has a professor of political science at the university of tehran a good evening to you why is the us do you think sending an aircraft carrier to the gulf is linked do you think to the pentagon's withdrawal from syria. i think it's part of a larger strategy of the trumpet ministration trying to pressure iran i mean this administration since taking into office nearly two years ago has been trying to pressure iran via sanction via threats and now bringing an aircraft carrier very near to us in waters is very provocative. and i think it is somewhat related perhaps to the withdrawal from syria in the sense that the americans are trying to send a message to iran that even though they are leaving syria however this does not mean that they are going to lift any of the pressure on you want nevertheless at the same time i think we should not overestimate this event in the sense that i don't think the u.s. is trying to plan a invasion of iran by any means so do you think reactor of care does actually serve any practical military purpose. while i mean there is this question within iran of whethe

the only reason they're not dancing in tehran and isis camps is they just don't believe in dancing. they are as happy as they will ever be, and they are not into being happy. so to the president, you win the election, you beat me and many others. you have the right to make this decision, but the congress has the duty to hold you accountable. i wish we had done more of this in a bipartisan fashion than president obama drew from iraq. if i am nothing, i am consistent. i want this president to be successful. i will help him at every turn. generally speaking, i'm very pleased with his domestic and most of the time his foreign policy. i am shocked by this. i think this is a decision that is against sound military advice. i intend to do our part as a congress to make sure that history records how this decision was made. there is a clear record that president obama's decision to withdraw from iraq and not leave the residual force proved to be wrong and was against military advice at that time. i have yet to find one person in the administration, the national security team that thinks this

at first glance everything seems to be running normally in this pharmacy in tehran. but more and more often pharmacist naveed who doesn't want his real name mentioned has to tell his customers that he doesn't have their medicine anymore. we have customers who have undergone open heart surgery and those medications are vital when they stand in front of me and i have to tell them that they're no longer available you can see the fear in their eyes so this was for them. the majority of iranian pharma imports come from europe the u.s. sanctions have caused one massive problem for e.u. around trade the payment system. we visit the bank melli iran in hamburg it forward sereny in company payments to respective banks of german companies but now european banks are part of the boycott according to managing director has got the leap many companies fear the u.s. sanctions. the bank. the banks don't have any valid reason for not processing those payments if it's a clear breach of contract it's a breach of the rules underlying payments in europe. bump melly could sue but there are

reported iranian ships have launched a drone and missiles close to the carrier however something tehran as denied. all this comes amid rising tensions between iran and the united states after washington withdrew from the twenty fifteen nuclear agreement reinstated sanctions trumped up the deal but worst. commander of iran's revolutionary guard muhammad ali just said u.s. diplomats are warships in the gulf is merely a gesture aimed at giving its allies a false sense of security professor of political science at the university of tehran gave us his view. it's part of a larger strategy of the trumpet ministration trying to pressure iran i mean this administration since taking into office nearly two years ago has been trying to pressure iran via sanction rear threats and now bringing an aircraft carrier very near to iranian waters is very provocative i think the significance is world right now are these more of a threat rather than an actual military confrontation and i think the drills in the persian gulf are essentially trying to demonstrate both to the americans and to the israelis that

embassy in tehran has been invaded and occupied by iranian students. knows what a mob could do? >> the american hostages were blind folded, handcuffed, and marched out on the u.s. embassy's front steps by the revolutionary students. in return for their american hostages' freedom, they're demanding the u.s. give up the deposed shah of iran to stand trial before the people's court. >> america's closest ally in the region, the shah of iran is basically toppled. both the shah and the united states seem to be completely aloof to the revolutionary fervor, to the deep religiousity captivating the iranians. >> it is being defied by the stern religious principles, nothing else. >> ayatollah khomeini replaced the shah. he gave a series of sermons that condemned the loss of iranian sovereignty. >> when khomeini saw large crowds gathering in support in front of the embassy, he made the decision, i'm not going to stand against this wave. i'm going to ride it. [ chanting ] >> there has been a persistent belief in many quarters in iran that the united states governme

years that preceded it it was tehran that refused to talk to washington. the bush administration no contact with the right way to go and then progressively realize the nuclear issue was only going to escalate without american leadership. they needed to find its way back to the table. it took a lot of effort. p5 plusht us to the one. the one time we have been able to if not solve the problem, at least provide a real fix on a short-term period of time to one of the most urgent issues facing the national security community at the time, the nuclear crisis was when we were able to create a transatlantic ownership and build upon it to bring in other world powers, russia and china in a way that was durable, serious and that forced the iranians to negotiate in a way they were not prepared to do without that consensus. that is exceptionally difficult for this administration to contemplate your i see almost no prospects of a go it alone policy. ms. yacoubian: jim, where do you see things? mr. dobbins: i think the bet onans probably will regime change in washington.

professor of political science at kuwait university and from tehran moustapha. journalist and political commentator gentlemen welcome to you all. will start with you given the dysfunctional relationships that exist and tension between its members does the g.c.c. have any relevance today was sunday's meeting a waste of time. well i think many people are questioning the very future of the g.c.c. indeed i mean this is not the first crisis the g.c.c. is facing great have seen many other crises before most important bit helps was the one nine hundred eighty six clash between qatar and bahrain of our border dispute but perhaps this is this is the more serious crisis since the establishment of the g.c.c. in one thousand eight hundred one i think the contrary is the met the member countries are actually now having very different entrance and are having very different perception in one thousand eighty one it was established and is said as you said as a security as a collective security umbrella to defend the security of the member countries against iran as we are not ira

for most of the 30 years that preceded it was tehran that refused to talk to washington. the bush administration early on thought no contact was the right way to go and then progressively realized the nuclear issue was only going to escalate without american leadership and needed to find its way back to the table. it took a while. it took a lot of effort. it took a lot of compromise. it brought us to the p 5 plus 1 and that's where i think we need to return again. the one time that we've been able to if not solve a problem with iran, at least provide a real fix on a short-term period of time to one of the most urgent issues that was facing the national security community at the time, the nuclear crisis was when we were able to create this kind of transatlantic partnership and build upon it to bring in other world powers, russia and china, in a way that was durable, that was serious, and that forced the iranians to negotiate in a way that they simply weren't prepared to do without that kind of consensus. i think that's obviously exceptionally difficult for this administrat

tension between washington and tehran.etary of state mike pompeo does a the missile is capable of carrying multiple warheads. and a violation of u.n. security council resolution. western intelligence sources confirmed to fox news that occurred over the weekend in the missile is the same version i ran displayed during a military parade in september of this year. the death comes days after u.s. representatives brian hook released evidence that iran spring postal program. in risk of escalation in the region if we fail to act. >> today a spokesperson for the iranian foreign ministry said in a statement the missile test did not violate any u.n. resolution and u.s. defense offensive in nature. new actions come after the trumpet in the version we impose sanctions last month and pulled out the iran nuclear deal earlier this year putting more pressure on python rouhani and me ayatollah khomeini. where they stand on iranian aggression. over the weekend to your national security advisor john bolton said this type of behavior cannot b

giving its allies a false sense of security a professor of political science at the university of tehran gave us his view. it's part of a larger strategy of the trumpet ministration trying to pressure iran i mean this administration since taking into office nearly two years ago has been trying to pressure iran via sanction we are threats and now bringing an aircraft carrier very near to iranian waters is very provocative i think the significance is. right now at least more of a threat rather than an actual military confrontation and i think the drills in the persian gulf are essentially trying to demonstrate both to the americans and to the israelis that the rain in forces are prepared we have to remember that from the rain in perspective the americans in the past two decades have a tattoo of iran's neighbors afghanistan and iraq and the only. tool that you warn has as a deterrent for an american attack is to have a strong military. watching out of me for this even to stay with us they were coming down hawkins is very adept and he'll bring about up to date in half. school. you know world

>> no. >> the first sign of hope in two weeks from the american embassy in tehran.d to obey an order today from the ayatollah khomeini to free all women and blacks. the ayatollah explained, quote, islam has a special respect for women and the blacks who have spent ages under american pressure and tierney. >> as he departed for thanksgiving week in nearby camp david, the president was apparently confident that at least some of those hostages will soon be free. we are thankful, said his statement, the ordeal may be over for them and that they may be soon reunited with their families. but it went on to urge that the authorities in iran now move to secure the safe release of all those still being held. >> what can you do? you bring pressure, you can bring sanctions, you can go to the united nations, you can send emissaries, but america can't do a dam thing. >> ted koppel on abc news, walter cronkite, america 15, day 100, day 200, it started wearing on people. and carter started becoming the symbol of lost american prestige. >> ronald reagan is running officially. he got

loss in tehran to form which is on us levy hook or not mine oh oh i see. the general saying yes that idea is. no possible to talk on it ok gotta go oh yeah yeah. i know. i see it. did you ever listen to classical music there in quantum one ok very bad now were impossible. so you just leave them alone which would be me. or if so what the law is here me. but he made up or is it that's you on the scene going is that it's a cutting of the venezuela or not seem forney might be there you watch the movie cause we'll assume for nneka feet and the system you can possible can not regular oh and one other the lady days are more oh boy similarly i think that i'm to him because it was if. i have enough to sue him or hate and does this and look at that nazi athena and that him and then that girl i understand that nor a female that he might but i meet up a few not down at down a few no i'm not that is it. you can't get on. board can all get emotional is that a really cool project and does this school not seem funny come on it's got a judge who took one look thought compo

higher pay for public sector workers in iran that's according to the first budget the government in tehran has submitted since the us we imposed sanctions but a cloner economy makes that easier said than done. welcome to your d.w. business update i'm joined now on world stock markets have plunged deeper into the red in the last days wall street may have taken a break tuesday for the christmas holidays but the summer has shaped up to be the worst month for u.s. stocks since the great depression investors doubts about the u.s. economy are growing repeated attacks from u.s. president donald trump on the federal reserve and its characters' powell have unsettled nerves as has the prospect of an extended government shutdown. has tried to curb the growing unease over the economy by saying that's the federal reserve's interest interest rate policies which again get criticized for simply a sign of economic robustness here's what he had to say they were raising interest rates to first because they think you're going to be so good. i think that. they will get it and so i really do mean the fact is th

professor of political science at kuwait university and from tehran moustapha. journalist and political commentator gentlemen welcome to you all. will start with you given the dysfunctional relationships that exist and tension between its members does the g.c.c. have any relevance today was sunday's meeting a waste of time. well i think many people are questioning the very future of the g.c.c. indeed i mean this is not the first crisis the g.c.c. is facing group have seen many other crises before most important behalves was the one nine hundred eighty six clash between qatar and bahrain of our border dispute but perhaps this is this is the more serious crisis since the establishment of the g.c.c. in one nine hundred eighty one i think the contrary is the met the member countries are actually now having very different entrance and are having very different threat perception in one thousand eighty one it was established and is said as you said as a security as a collective security umbrella to defend the security of the member countries against iran as we are not

the only reason they're not diplomats in tehran is they just don't believe in dancing. this is a big gift to them then this is a devastating decision for our allies. the president tweeted out to be some frustration. people should fight for. he's right. but when you find somebody who will fight with you, you need to reward them. you need to stick with them. i would challenge the president or anyone else to say that the kurdish forces in the air forces in the theory of democratic force have not fought well. so i have a letter going to the secretary of defense, secretary of state and the chairman of the joint chiefs, asking the question, what happened to our kurdish allies if we completely withdraw now? what happens to the 700 foreign fighters in syria and democratic forces controlled were all hardened jihadist premiere? we need answers to these questions. so the good news is there's growing bipartisan support to ask the president to reverse course and to have the conditions-based withdraw. all three of us support the idea of withdrawing from syria and everywhere else when

about iranian influence and potential dangers of israel from having a superhighway from beirut to tehran in terms of delivering weapons into lebanon. he will we talking to turkey about making sure that we do not have the turks and their allies the kurds. i like what i've heard and we still have some differences, but i will tell you that the president is thinking long and , how tout syria withdraw our forces, but at the same time, secure our national security interests which is to make sure that isis is destroyed , they never come back, that our allies the kurds are protected, and i feel pretty good about where we are headed and i told the president that his trip to iraq was much appreciated. i think he learned a lot and i certainly learned a lot from him today. on multiple fronts, the president is in a good mood and he feels like he has gotten to deliver on the promise of securing garbled -- securing our border. semantics -- how is the president defining border security and the wall? a $5.6aham: he has million appropriation that was sent over from the house. look at that. that appropriat

after all this is their first international competition delnaaz on the others are excited to leave tehran for international tournaments it's a historic first for the girls and for iran's female weightlifters altogether martin you know after a day that you get here what men can do women can do to in the first five or six months since you started weightlifting we've already broken more than half of the women's weightlifting records that's glorious well i was up with only if the clot it. a glory they plan to continue confident well prepared and determined to show the world how strong a radian women can be. in the. months long term. if you miss zero five minutes minutes. pass an hour and a beauty to come by. has it all. fits in the pantheon of the great tenors certainly he's one for the ages. how do you. sustain the. scope of the house he. starts january thirteenth on t.w. . her first day of school in the jungle. her first clueless of the. band doris granger moment arrives. join your reputation on her journey back to freedom. in our interactive documentary . tour trying to tame returns home o

well now some of the others are excited to leave tehran for international tournaments it's a historic first for the girls and for iran's female weightlifters all together. monita now today don't see kids here what men can do women can do too in the first five or six months since we started weightlifting we've already broken more than half of the women's weightlifting records that's glorious was the point only if the clot is. a glory a plan to continue confident well prepared and determined to show the world how strong it rainin women can be. to do it ensues are transforming the world. ready for it. this time in. a country where the place goes on much. controversy about the basic technology to replace plastic. can't keep the condition. in fact. it's about me next. what keeps us in shape what makes us see and how. my name is dr costa rica i talk to medical experts. watch them at work. and i discuss what you can do to improve your head. stay tuned and let's try to stay. in sixty minutes. and most start with small steps global ideas tell stories of creative people and innovative projects

the others are excited to leave tehran for international tournaments it's a historic first for the girls and for iran's female weightlifters all together marry me now today that's what men can do women can do too in the first five or six months since we started weightlifting we've already broken more than half of the women's weightlifting records that's glorious. if they caught it. a glory they plan to continue confident well prepared and determined to show the world how strong iranian women can be. tomorrow's musicians to. the world's best sephardic usually just listening to the live. highlights from twenty two young classics festival. really the sound of the future. d.w. . farmland has been called ethiopia's green gold the country has an abundant supply and leases it to international labor for giants the government is after high export revenues and the corporations profit margins but not everyone benefits from the booming business the selling out of a country dead donkeys years nobody knows in forty five minutes on d w. light like. germany which doubling any time any place. video never

a good start we are happy that he has boosted the minimum age and also happy about the change in tehran because it might have been caught tonight was a lot more modest you know more close to the peak than before one but then they are a lot of people saying this is not enough you know we need to move we want to referendum on all these decisions and we're going to put together a list for the european elections next year so this is not going to be the end of this movement that's what some people have been saying and when you look online there is already there are already facebook events and events on social media for this saturday for more demonstrations and so these offers that mccrone made tonight are you saying then that they're not going to be enough to at least call dell be anger of the best for just. i think it might not be enough to calm the anger down completely now we have to wait to see what happens because as i said they're already facebook events that we did actually before his speech today and what's important now is to see how many people will participate in the movement and

you better believe the one in the middle east that will chair the loudest is in the middle east and tehran, the largest state sponsor of terrorism. iran and will embolden its proxies. time ourthe same allies including israel would feel less secure. president, as this debate has carried on with nobody talking about the largest state sponsor of terrorism i have found it troubling. lens through which we need to view security in the middle east is through iran. have thewe satisfaction and frustration with some allies we must remember the most significant and serious threat in the middle east continues to be iran. there has been a lot of focus on the horrible death of mr. khashoggi. any death is horrible. let me talk about some other deaths. n the middle east and iraq we had over 500 american military members killed and almost 2000 wounded by improvised explosive devices supplied to iraqi militia and's by the iranians. 2000 americans killed and wounded by the largest state sponsor of terrorism and yet nobody seems to talk about that. one death of a journalist is horrible. 2000 americans dead an

is worried about iranian influence in the potential and having arael superhighway from beirut to tehran in terms of delivering weapons into lebanon and he will be talking to turkey to make sure we do not have a war between the turks and the kurds, our allies. i liked what i heard. we still have some differences but i will to you that the president is thinking long and hard about syria, how to withdraw our forces but at the same time achieve our national security interests which is to make sure the isis is destroyed, they never come back, and our allies, the kurds, are protected and iran does not become the big winner. and i feel pretty good about where we are headed. and i told the president his trip to iraq was much appreciated. i think he learned a lot and i certainly learned a lot from him today. so on multiple fronts, the president is in a good mood and he feels like he has got to deliver on the promise of securing our border and he is very open-minded about combining ball funding with other things to make it a win-win for the country. right now, how is the president defining border

it just fails. -- tehran. men die. the one military operation that is tried is just a disaster, and boy, does that hurt jimmy carter's chances for reelection. the ring hostage crisis arguably never really happily resolves itself in any expeditious any . it goes on months after month after month. -- expeditious way. after a year, things are still terrible, but an new attempt had been made to bring in a kind of third-party mediator, the algerian government. so the algerian government was not friendly to the united states. a revolution government in its own right, but group international players, legitimate international players say we think we can help in this situation. and they are right, the iranians look at them as fellow revolutionaries. it's a predominant islamic country though they don't have an islamic government at that point. the algerians can go in there like, like we sometimes think of switzerland, can go in there and do a really good job, slowly working through the problems and negotiating point by point iss

a corridor between tehran and lebanon will exist to funnel weapons and others aligned against israel.one of us believe that isis has been defeated. paul: jonathan, senior vice president for research at the foundation for defense of democracy. it is good to see you again. you for being here. what is your take on the syria decision? >> i think lindsey graham is right but i think maybe he is understated the problems that we may see in the future here. undoubtedly, they are set to cash in on the decision. it is probably the most pleased out of all america's enemies and adversaries. to watch the decision unfold. they will be able to establish their land bridge from us and i ran to the mediterranean supporting hezbollah, the shiite militia and there assad regime it's appears not forget we also leaving the russians unchallenged in syria. they will have supremacy in the skies and they will be able to do as they please in syria without so much as a challenge from the united states. on top of that one of the things i think a lot of people have ignored here is that the kurds will be left out to

to be toward the present and the future well for today i am in tehran from the from the airport or toward the i will be. fine and. vancouver canada. for the last three years the. long. journey. was very hard core i could not do it without the prayers from all of you i could not do it without. well you could be different. my lawyer. i love your. that's. all over the war has. become resigned to living in the domestic transfer lounge of the kuala lumpur international airport after being deported from the united arab emirates and overstaying his malaysian tourist visa unable to return to syria to the ongoing war he documented life inside the terminal in a series of viral tweets eventually attracting the attention of canadian activist groups who organized to file a refugee application on his behalf we're pleased to welcome to the show from his new home in whistler british columbia canada welcome to the us and i want to start here on my laptop with a tweet from himself there is a will there is a way if there is a chance in a million to do something anything just to do it the result is breathtak

a corridor between tehran, to lebanon will exist to funnel weapons to hezbollah and other forces aligned israel. mostst importantly none of us believe that isis has been defeated. paul: jonathan schanzer, senior vice president for research at thefe foundation for defense of democracies. good to see you again. thanks for being here. so what is your take on this syria decision? >> well, i think lindsey graham is right but i think he maybe even understated the problems that we may see in the future here. iran is set to cash in on this decision. it is probably the most pleased out of all of america's enemies and adversaries who watched this decision unfold. they will be able to establish the land bridge from western iran to the mediterranean, supporting hezbollah, shiite militias and assad regime itself. we're leaving russians unchallenged in syria. they will have supremacy in the skies. they will be able to do as they please in syria without so much as a challenge from the united states. on top of that, one of the things that i think a lot of people have ignored here is that then kurds are

iran it disappears he's was not a very strong system we're left with nine degrees in the sunshine in tehran sun so that generally looking fine maybe the northerly breeze it's just been picking up and down the gulf states becomes a bit more substantial drop in the terms as well as a result the time we get to saturday this gray cloud hint to the possibility of a shower think probably not more likely in the red sea possibly the sudanese coast or maybe eritrea again nothing much to the heaviest rain in africa is for the south as it should be for this time of the year so anywhere through d.r. see prosperous and be a towards tanzania is where you get some fairly heavy downpours we have had recently are right in the edge of your screen. see a secular nation which is a tropical site in coming close to marie and hearts in the rains in madagascar as for south africa a few showers in east otherwise fine. a war which produced one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world they will take shots even when they should not i believe that sometimes what the saudis have been doing. the story behind the dea

those forces destabilize the region and serve only the interest of tehran, not those of the syrian peopleor its neighbors. despite our low level of trust we must engage russia while assessing actions to follow through on its commitments starting with russia's commitment to implement un security council resolution 2254 and in afghanistan, russia continues to strike police negotiations with the taliban rather than meaningful discussion and we've seen in libya russia is encouraging parties to continue fighting when the rest of us are hurting them to come to the negotiation table. china is also seekingto expand its influence , primarily through investing in trade and infrastructure and while china's belt and wrote initiative is focused on east and south asia, and extends into parts of the middle east and already china is the largest customer or saudi arabian oil. a pledged $1 billion in investments in the free-trade zone area as we've seen elsewhere, chinese trade and investment comes with strings and can produce a death trap, a strategy to create long-term pendency that benefit the chinese s