our china correspondent robin brant is in tiananmen square in beijing, outside the great hall of the people, where mr xi has been speaking. this is obviously wide ranging, it

bbc‘s robin brant has been following the event, and joins us now live from tiananmen square.did you make of the first day? it was hugely significant for the communist party, for the leader, president xijinping. he spoke for three bona fide hours, looking back at work and promises in the first term. —— three and a half hours. he also promised what was to come. this is a man who at the heart of his talk yesterday spoke of china becoming a great socialist nation and taking centre stage in the world by the time you get to 2050. 2050 is key because it is just after china in its current incarnation with the government in charge passes 100 yea rs. government in charge passes 100 years. a big smile from xijinping. you don't see that much. he was confident. 0n the economy, interesting, a lot of talk about a more decisive role for market forces. radical reforms that will target big companies. is that part of his overhaul? when he talked about his pledge, more importantly, he made it clear that those big companies the government owns, the railway construction, telecom, he wa nted eve n

we will go to tiananmen square. flavor of the atmosphere on this cold morning there in the chinese capital. tom: damp and dreary. security is quite unprecedented. took us well over one hour to get into the square. you have over 2000 delegates in the great hall behind me, president xi jinping giving his speech right now. some excellent analysis there. interesting to see the president talk about his chinese dream. part of that is about getting per capita income doubled by 2020 from 2010, and that cites us into the gdp target. we are not expecting any changes on that during this party does raise the question how much growth and more credit and debt will be needed to ensure you have growth around 6% over the next few that per capita gdp income increase for this chinese dream. also interesting is the domestic challenges and challenges further afield, saying there were severe challenges ahead, that the future was bright, and asked at the party to ensure they were correctly positioned to take on some of those challenges. th

want to speak to our correspondent in beijing, robin brandt, who is outside the congress in tiananmen squaretechnology means you might not have heard all of that, but from what you have picked up, what is your assessment so far? well, he is about half an hour in. we saw xijinping walk so far? well, he is about half an hour in. we saw xi jinping walk out, flanked as it were by his two immediate predecessors. that in itself is meant to be a symbolic show of unity. i think what we have had from president xi so far is essentially haven't we done well. in the first five years of his power, he has talked about poverty, lifting 60 million people out of poverty in this country. that is a phrase we often hear an english translations often hear an english translations of many of his speeches. he has talked about taiwan and hong kong, and their remaining part of the one system of one china. he has talked about deepening reform of the military in this country. he has brought about some very significant changes in the way the military is organised in china, and also in the way that it is commanded, with

it's nearly 30 years since a peaceful democracy protest right here in tiananmen square was crushed by today, china is far richer and far stronger, but its all—powerful leader is more determined than ever not to give his people a say. carrie gracie, bbc news, beijing. and for more on president xi's opening speech to the national congress, i spoke to the bbc‘s robin brant is in tiananmen square. it was hugely significant for the communist party and for its leader, president xijingping, communist party and for its leader, president xi jingping, he was on communist party and for its leader, president xijingping, he was on his feet for 3.5 hours, looking back to work, looking back to promises made in his first term but also giving pointers as to what is to come. and this is a man who at the very hard of this address yesterday spoke about seeing china becoming a great socialist nation and taking centre stage in the world by the time we get to 2050. now, 2050 is key because that is just after china, in its current incarnation with the communist party in charge, passes its centenary. a big sm

[no audio] much for that, tom mackenzie at tiananmen scale -- square. the speech now 90 minutes strong, still continuing, reflecting on the past five .ears not a lot of detail, but certainly some very broad themes , the veryough paramount nature and status of the chinese communist party, socialism with chinese characteristics. resounding applause. let's bring back david callahan, .irector of chinese policies you are right in the heart of political power here in beijing. what i find quite interesting is this idea that in davos, we heard from him, right, he gave the really powerful speech and had a lot of people questioning if china is now the helm of the global liberal order, if you will. this is a very different voice that we are hearing now, isn't it? >> he has moderated some of the language. notice of that speech. at the time, a new concept had emerged called the china solution. this was first promoted at the in septemberthink 2016, so just over a year ago, but it was given enormous play in the chinese media. international media hardly picked it up be

he has been wallowing events from tiananmen square. as those remarks continue, we heard about the fx reform. we heard about the promise to lower entry barriers for foreign businesses, and now we are starting to hear the leadership , of course, a lot of speculation that when it comes to leadership, there is only one man in charge for a, and it will be xi jinping. >> absolutely, and that really is front and center of all of this, his role, his increased power base over the party, his role afterwards when things wrap up on tuesday. we will see then just how much further he has entrenched his power in the party. it is not clear yet that we have a nominee for a successor to 2022,ver post 20/-- post and there is speculation he may try to hang on past that or in a different role, but we had a few nuggets that were noteworthy. on reforms of the yuan and the interest rate regime. we heard from the governor a few days ago leading up to this congress that he was reemphasizing the need for a greater role in the market of the yuan, and it has been

we are looking at live pictures from the congress in tiananmen square and just outside as our correspondentit is getting started. yes, it is. prepare yourself for almost a week of... it is fair to describe it as the best of authoritarian theatre. just over 2000 of the most senior leaders within the communist party of china will gather here in the great hall of the people. you can see partly what is going on inside. i am just outside, and they will hear this morning within the next hour their leader, president xijinping, who more important for them, and this is his most important position in this country, is general secretary of the communist party. he will address them as a man who is five years into his reign of power. for most leaders in this country that is halfway through. there is no question that he will be anointed, he will be confirmed for another five years. there is some speculation as to whether he wishes to go beyond that, but i think discussion about that may be used for another day. they will hear from may be used for another day. they will hearfrom xijinping and assessment of

among them was deborah amos, middle eastern news, and she covered tiananmen square and the covered tiananmenll gas, covered tiananmen square and the arab spring. your first step is to get out, travel to a safe distance until you can't smell the gas anymore and then call 911. the first responders will come out and they'll make it safe for you and your community. if youdon't touch it,downed keep everyone back. call 911 immediately. the fire department will respond with law enforcement and pg&e to figure out what the issue is to keep you safe and there are no hazards to the public. ♪ fire crews are facing steep and rugged terrain in their fight agianst the "bear fire" in the santa cruz mountains. 7 firefighters have been injured . >>> good morning, it's 8:55. i'm kenny choi. fire crews are facing steep, rugged terrain in their fight against the bear fire in the santa cruz mountains. 7 firefighters been injured so far battling the vegetation fire that's burned 300 acres and destroyed four homes since it started monday night. >>> two community meetings are planned in sonoma county today to provid

that is inside the great hall of the people in tiananmen square.nt xi is addressing delegates from around the country, talking about his achievements over the last five years and setting out what he wa nts to five years and setting out what he wants to achieve in the next five yea rs. wants to achieve in the next five years. our correspondence isjust outside the congress. big on achievements, quite general, though, isn't it? not much detail. no, and that's not surprising. i mean, this is going to be a very lengthy speech. we are on to section three. last time around they were 12 sections. there is a lot for xi jinping to cover. interestingly, in the last few minutes, we have had a zero to the one thing that domestically i think is most closely associated with this man, with its leader, and that is his anticorruption leader, and that is his anticorru ption efforts, the leader, and that is his anticorruption efforts, the efforts to rid the communist party of the virus i think he has referred to it in this speech of corruption, which made it an organi

reporter: it is nearly 30 years since a peaceful democracy protest, right here in tiananmen square, was crushed by the army. today china is far richer and far stronger, but it's all -- but its all powerful leader is more determined than ever not to give his people a say. carrie gracie, bbc news, beijing. jane: a quick look at some of the day's other news -- a second u.s. federal judge has blocked president trump's latest travel ban. hawaii and maryland have issued restraining orders on the bill, which bars citizens of eight countries from entering the u.s. both judges say that despite the inclusion of venezuela and north korea, the order still resembles a muslim ban. a senior member of kenya's electoral commission has led to the u.s. after receiving death threats. roselyn akombe said the commission was under political siege. next week kenya is heading into a tense presidential election rerun after the supreme court and old the original vote -- supreme court annulled the original vote. nfl commissioner roger goodell says all players should stand for the national anthem, but the leak will

joining us from tiananmen square in beijing is robin brant. be taking place on the final day of the congress? we get is some up from the president. it won't bea some up from the president. it won't be a rerun of that epic 3.5 hours on his feet last week. these will be the final words as this seventh and final day comes to a head, then later in the day we get to see changes that are likely to be made to this party's constitution. this is usually significant in china. mal saved in, the people who founded the people's republic of china. it looks like xijinping, he is neither leader, he will be given the same accolade. it is a hugely symbolic moment. also a moment to judge accolade. it is a hugely symbolic moment. also a moment tojudge how powerful this country's president has become. another key event comes tomorrow when the congress is formally over. we get to see five of the new members of the politburo standing committee. this is the circle of seven, the important decision—making body in this country. five will be retiring. i many will be the

our china correspondent robin brant is in tiananmen square in beijing, outside the great hall of the people, where mr xi has been speaking. this is obviously wide ranging, it is bound to be. is there, do you think... do you detect the main message coming out of this? yes, i think certainly on the campaign that has been most closely associated with xijinping has been most closely associated with xi jinping and has been most closely associated with xijinping and his leadership in the last five years, and that has been an anti— graft and corruption campaign, that has been aimed at trying to deal with a poison, really, i think, trying to deal with a poison, really, ithink, which trying to deal with a poison, really, i think, which infected the communist party. when he took over there were questions about its legitimacy going forward, its ability to maintain control over this country and he has used this anti—corruption campaign to try and make the comment is leadership what it used to be, which is a group of people that leads in this country and takes its legitimacy from that. because it

the bbc‘s robin brant has been following the congress and joins us now live from tiananmen square.mp and ceremony, we don't get yesterday's bit of epic theatre really when xi jingping, the general secretary of china's commonest party, was on his feet for some 3.5 hours, delivering a mammoth speech that looked back to some of the pledges and promises he made in his first five years, but more importantly looked ahead to the next five years and there's no question he will be anointed at the end of this meeting and will continue to lead china for a further five years. he had a huge smile on his face when he walked away from the rostrum and put down his notes, not very often do we get to see xi jingping with a big natural smile on his face but clearly he felt happy and pleased with what was a confident, strident address from a man who believes he is very much in control of this party, in control of this country, and is very confident about the future. he painted china as a country that by 2050, with the communists in charge, that will be one year passed its 100th birthday, he wants to s

live now to our correspondent robin brant, who's in tiananmen square in beijing.president xi jinping would be elevated to this incredibly senior position, akin to that of chairman mao. has that happened? it is the story there? —— what is the story. yes, domestic media is reporting in the last ten minutes that, indeed, as proceedings wrap up inside be great hall of the people, they have voted unanimously, we are told, followed by enthusiastic applause, we are told. they voted to accept an amendment to the constitution of the party which will indeed right, in reference to president xi jinping's theories, his thoughts, and also ascribed his name to it. this sounds like a technicality, frankly, a little strange to outsiders, maybe. and an anachronism, as well. but inside china this is a very significant moment. hugely symbolic. as you have said, there are only two previous leaders who have had such a change made to the constitution of their party. one is chairman mao, their party. one is chairman mao, the founder of modern china, he sported still hanging on the wall o

life now to robin brant in tiananmen square in beijing.ocus firmly on i—man. yes, it does, it is day seven and delegates at a few thousand strong have gone inside to the great hall. and what they will hear it the closing ceremony, brief words from xijinping, not the epic closing ceremony, brief words from xi jinping, not the epic three and a half hours we got last week from him. and that will be the end of this five—year gathering. and it will end with xijinping this five—year gathering. and it will end with xi jinping anointed for a second five—year term. and it will end with the general secretary of the communist party of china in a hugely powerful position. we are expected today to get something which to outsiders sounds like an acronym stick technicality, and minutes to the constitution. it is looking like xi jinping's thoughts are going to be written in to the constitution possibly with his name alongside it —— acronistic. that shares his name along with chairman mao, founder of modern china and john —— xiaping, who led to know crucia

it is almost 30 years since a peaceful democracy protest right here in tiananmen square was crushed byhina is far more rich and far stronger. but its all—powerful leader is more determined than ever not to give his people a say. carrie gracie, bbc news, beijing. so xi jinping's influence over chinese politics and policy over the coming years looks pretty certain. i spoke earlier about what this means to vincent ni from the bbc‘s chinese service, and to celia hatton, the bbc‘s asia pacific regional editor. so far we have seen this all—important so far we have seen this all—importa nt party congress so far we have seen this all—important party congress open, we have seen all the ceremony that goes around it, all of the delegates going into beijing's great hall of the people, and importantly we have seen xijingping the people, and importantly we have seen xi jingping give the people, and importantly we have seen xijingping give his huge speech, his very lengthy speech, which was notable almost because it was so which was notable almost because it was so long. he forced more than 2000 peop

it's nearly 30 years since a peaceful democracy protest, right here in tiananmen square, was crushedt it's all—powerful leader is more determined than ever not to give his people a say. carrie gracie, bbc news, beijing. president trump has been accused of making insensitive comments to the widow of an american soldier who died in combat. the president made a phone call to mayesha johnson as she went to receive her husband's coffin. he's been accused of saying that sergeantjohnson must have known "what he was getting into", but mr trump says has he proof the account was fabricated. 0ur north america editor, jon sopel, is at the white house. people are more than used, jon, to the president make, well, controversial remarks. has he crossed a different kind of line this time? huw, you would imagine if there was one subject that was sealed from the political dog fight it would be a widow grieving over her husband's coffin and the president's private call to her. but not in today's washington. the white house has reacted furiously and blamed a democratic congresswoman who happened to be in

live when the new members are introduced but looking forward to it is andrew thomas outside tiananmen square where the congress has been taking place in the capital there in beijing of course it is seven members including but there's little doubt that he is perhaps the most powerful president in living memory certainly in the generation. absolutely i mean wednesday as you say will be all about asserting that power through people when he unveiled his standing committee in under an hour from now choose day was all about asserting power through policy with his inclusion by name his name or his thoughts in china's communist party's constitution that really is unprecedented i mean chairman mao is named in the constitution as having a thought a school of thought named after him now she paying joins him and she said throughout this congress that his vision is for a new era in china that suggests that the two previous areas the first being the struggle to establish a communist state in china under chairman mao in the second after the opening up of deng xiaoping in the early eighty's and then beyond

communist party poor thing out of the great hall of the people behind me getting on the buses in tiananmen square to go back and spread the message over to china what is that message that's come out of this congress well first and foremost that president xi is an absolute control of his party not only is his name going to be in shrine into the communist party's constitution that was confirmed on tuesday his court will be part of the constitution he's also stamped his authority on the personnel in the party there was a seventy percent turnover in the membership of the central committee of the communist party the four hundred members of that the overwhelming majority of the new appointees officially elected but appointees they are she supporters on wednesday will find out the membership of the all important political and the seven member standing committee that politburo again we can expect to see she supporters dominating that so the next five years will be absolutely his he is new era as he calls it the specifics well this congress was very light on what that is but this will be she's era so an i

limits here the company said it had to c cancel bookings within a 20 kilometer residence of tiananmen square has been playing up the achievements of party and president ping there was a commentary criticizing what it says it chaos swamping western democracy in contrast to china's political stability and social harmony to maintain that harmony, this year's congress will be much more austere, in line with president ping's anti-corruption campaign organizers say for the delegates, no free air cuts or facials, no free food in the hotel rooms, no big bouquets of flowers, and no seafood delicacies on the menus. there will be free lunches but all buffet style >> no hair cuts? was that an issue in past years? >> yes, they would get free hair cuts, spa treatments lots of eyes on that eunice, thank you. it's the biggest political event in the far east every five-year period, but it's hard to interpret what it means for markets. the fact that president xi will cement his grip on power, it means it shouldn't be massive more markets >> i was at the imf world bank meetings talking to a number of economist

we will take you live to tiananmen square. the bank of england hiking rates , that is one of the big questions. we have an interest rate outlook from metro banks ceo. than half anless hour away from the start of european trading after new records in the u.s. line let's take a look at what u.s. futures are doing. they are down across the board and we have the ibex in here. we expect to hear from the whetherseparatists on they will fully declare independence and on friday you get that vote in the senate to will take over. you can see we have come above this 2.4 level which is not really magical for any other reason than no gross pointing that out as his indication that the bull market in u.s. treasuries is over. we have been above 2.4 at other points in the beginning of the year. jeff good luck saying it is you are die time for treasury bulls incomemart fixed analyst says if powell becomes the fed chair guy that could inspire a drop of five basis points in the treasury yield. if taylor becomes the chair, the next fed chair, that

let's cross to tiananmen square. great to see you.s data, it is robust, we are chugging along and were there any surprises in the backdrop? i think what it does is reformed the idea, the view that had that youts would see a slowdown in china. jp following on from the 6.9% that we got in the second quarter and the data points whether that is the producer prices or pmi, four points is resilient growth and this number solidifies the idea. what we are expecting for the full year according to economists surveyed isjp gdp of 6.7% which is above the government's target of around 6.5%. the credit expansion continues and that is one caveat to this infrastructure spending but also the consumer picking up. the retail sales number coming in, double digits and industrial numbers coming in. it is a resilient picture that is being built that. haveses the question you , expected to, if this congress more powerful than he was leaning into it. there is a resilient economic backdrop. doesn't mean he will have the courage to knuckle down on dealing with

communist party pouring out of the great hall of the people behind me getting on the buses in tiananmen square to go back and spread the message oh i over china what is that message that's come out of this congress well first and foremost that president xi is an absolute control of his party not only is his name going to be in shrine into the communist party's constitution that was confirmed on tuesday his court will be part of the constitution he's also standards authority on the personnel in the party there was a seventy percent turnover in the membership of the central committee of the communist party of one hundred members of that the overwhelming majority of the new appointees officially elected but appointees they are firmly she supporters on wednesday will find out the membership of the important politburo and the seven member standing committee that politburo again we can expect to see she supporters dominating that so the next five years will be absolutely his new era as he calls it the specifics well this congress was very light on what that is but this will be she's era so an import

former assignments accuse us embassy beijing, staff aide during the tiananmen square demonstrations and massacre in 1989. he attended the national war college in 96 and received a congressional fellowship and 91. he was a graduate of columbia college and received a masters degree in international affairs. the study chinese, japanese, arabic and french during his foreign service career he received for individual superior honor awards, to group awards and the zero six robert memorial award for competent resolution and after. next to hear from cheryl anderson is acting administrator for the usaid and she joined the bureau as senior deputy assistant in 2016 for joining the african bureau she served as commission director. prior to that she was mission director in ghana and east african regional mission. ms. anderson has over 20 years of development experience, mostly in africa and her experience inevitably began in donna as a peace corps volunteer and since joining usaid in 1988. she has worked in usaid uganda, sudan and east after. she served as deputy director in east asia office and head

. >> welcome from a very wet tiananmen square.ll get that speech just after 9:00 local time. he will recap over an hour of his speech. we will probably hear him talk reforms andlitary role of the party as well and some of the economic achievements. we will also framework the policy for the next five years or where china goes between now and 2022. we are not expecting detailed policies. things like continuing to rebalance the economy and yes, financial risk. as you say, this is very much a .olitical event more controlled and has been in many years and this is key for president she and his law. >> will be president tackle international challenges or will he leave north korea to one side? >> it would be surprising if he directly address north korea, but there will be a section talking about foreign policy. have lost tome kinsey. his back. -- looks like he is back. it'll be interesting to see how clearly he defined that. he's very intent on seeing china play a greater role on the global platform. of course the u.s. china relations are

among them was deborah amos, middle eastern covered tiananmen square and the arab spring. >> we'll continueue that one hero was on a mission to save snack time. watch babybel in the great snack rescue. you want a piece of me? good, i'm delicious. creamy, delicious, 100% real cheese. mini babybel. snack a little bigger. with their medicare plan?sfied who's shopping for a new plan this year? it's time to switch for good, to anthem. for low monthly premiums with a network of doctors and hospitals you trust. switch for affordable prescription drugs, generic and brand names. switch to a plan that pays for things that original medicare won't. like perks that help keep you healthy. and switch because you can be confident that anthem understands you and the road you travel and what it takes to move forward. join the thousands who choose anthem every year for low monthly premiums, affordable prescriptions, and doctors they love. switch for good to anthem and protect yourself from high medical costs. (vo) enrollment ends december 7th. so call today for

that they have a backup method to deal with a refugee crisis as well, tanks like they used at tiananmen square. second, if they were really worried about a refugee crisis or a pro american unified state on their border aren't there numerous diplomatic measures they could take? i'm pretty sure the united states would agree to no forced reunification as we did with east and west germany after 1989, i'm pretty sure he would agree to no troops, we would work to set up refugee camps supported by the united nations inside of north korea. and then finally i just look at china's actions. they blocked us from imposing those oil export sanctions at the united nations security council a couple weeks ago. north korea's economy has grown over the last six months. trade with north korea was up earlier this year. so all of these things suggest to me that when china says they want to dee nuclear rise north korea they are misrepresenting their intentions because what would be the consequences for them if that were the case? north korea would become like an isolated weird stalinist state the way east germany or

you no, i would also argue that it is different, remember when confucius statue showed up in tiananmen square and i don't think xi jinping like that because that said that the revolution was perhaps not important, illegitimate or something like that and i think what he's done his try to reaffirm that revolution and part of the. in the mouth, 120th anniversary commemoration and the socialist core values and clearly you bring in china's cultural tradition behind that and i think he's been pretty clear about doing something along those lines. i don't see that is anti- western but i do see it as trying to define something that is a distinct chinese path different from but something that should be defended against these terrible western values and they are terrible according to the academy of social sciences and we've had several books out now on the critique of neoliberalism and i don't know what lyons liberalism is but in any case the critique of western constitutional government and civil society and the critical one is the critique of historical nihilism. it's a term that doesn't roll off the

party, the most senior members, meeting here in the great hall of the people, at the edge of tiananmen square to anoint xi jinping once again as their leader, the general secretary of the communist party. he has had five yea rs communist party. he has had five years in power and there is no doubt he will get five years more. it is also important because what we have heard from him, during the three and a half hours of his speech, is a pointerfor a half hours of his speech, is a pointer for the future a half hours of his speech, is a pointerfor the future in a half hours of his speech, is a pointer for the future in this country. that is important to you watching, because china is the world's second—biggest economy, and this is a country with a leader who wa nts this is a country with a leader who wants it to continue to assert its authority and influence, notjust here in asia, but across the world. thank you very much. robin branton cu na nan thank you very much. robin branton cunanan square. three and half hours is quite a lengthy address. i listened to about five minutes of those three and