How China is 'owning the future' of global power | BBC Global News Podcast | BBC News

Welcome to the Global News podcast on. YouTube, where we go behind the. headlines to look at one story and why. it matters. Today, the contest between. the United States and China to be number. one global superpower as Western leader. after Western leader heads to Beijing to. court Xi Jinping, what balance should. they try to strike between doing deals. and human rights? I'm joined from. Beijing by our China correspondent, Laura Bicker. Laura, the first visit. from a UK prime minister in eight years.

Canada's Mark Carney has just been. Finland's leader has just left. Friedrich Mertz of Germany is going, "What is it that China has that they. want?" And and is it worth annoying. Donald Trump to get it? >> This is the factory of the world. It is. the biggest manufacturer in the world. Just give you a few examples. You know, if you're looking at the future of our. planet, China is the lead in renewables. It produces everything from around 60 to. 80% of electric vehicles, solar panels,

wind turbines, electric batteries. China. makes more robots than anywhere else in. the world. Uh, China has and processes. more rare earths than anywhere else in. the world. about 90% of rare for. instance and these are the kind of. extracts these minerals that are needed. to make anything from an electric. vehicle to your smartphone to Bluetooth. speakers. So when it comes to the future. technology when it comes to the things. that we've kind of got used to China.

really is key and that is one of the. reasons why so many countries are. flocking here and China is saying to all. of these countries look I'm here I will. offer you a deal we'll sit down and. negotiate. I think the other thing China. doesn't see alliances in the same way. perhaps that the west does. It doesn't. demand falty. It doesn't demand you. adopt its ideology. In many ways, it. sees it as very transactional. This to. China is a business deal. It is using. trade to gain power to gain influence in.

this great power competition that it's. in with Washington. >> Does China keep to its side of the deal? So there are major pitfalls. So I've. talked about the possibilities here are. the pitfalls. There are certain issues. when it comes to China. EU for instance. tread on their red lines as we've seen. perhaps from South Korea when we've seen. from Australia that criticized China. over COVID when we've seen I mean South. Korea put a kind of THAD weapon system.

in its country a US weapon system in its. country which China criticized. Japan. recently has insinuated that if there is. an issue in Taiwan, if China invades. Taiwan, that Japan would get involved. It is now being retaliated against in. the means of trade. China is using trade. as a weapon. When countries do or say. something it did not like. Canada is a. perfect example of this. Canada locked. up a business executive, a Chinese.

business executive that the US wanted. for questioning. when it came to uh the. retaliation, China locked up two. Canadian citizens in really severe. circumstances and then the relationship. went into a decade of a deep freeze. It. is now a major thaw and we've seen in. the last couple of weeks Mark Carney. come here. But Mark Carney was very. clear when he came here. He said, "Look, I do want to bring up human rights, but. also I want to make sure that when I'm.

dealing with China, there are guard. rails." And this is the key thing for. many people who are coming to do. business here. They call it guard rails. because there is an area within which. the two sides can sit down and. negotiate. They know that outside of. those areas that things could be tricky. But when you put those guard rails in. place, then many countries feel a little. safer to do business. >> Yeah. I'll come back to human rights in. a moment if I may because it is. absolutely central to this. But are are. countries to a degree having to choose.

between the United States and China? When Mark Carney went to China, Donald. Trump slapped tariffs on him straight. afterwards. 100% tariffs. >> Well, those tariffs haven't been put in. place just yet. He has threatened Canada. with 100% tariffs. And I think when it. comes to Canada, they may just wonder if. that threat will follow through. But. yeah, it might be a case if you are. doing business with China, whether that. be Canada, whether it be the United. Kingdom, are you risking the wrath of.

Washington? China is not asking any of. its business partners, any of those that. it's inviting into the great hall of the. people. It's not asking them to choose. between China or the United States. Donald Trump, however, does seem to have. an issue with some of this. But his. issues with Mark Carney might be more. than just Mark Carney coming to Canada. and doing a deal because it was the way. that Mr. Carney framed all of this.

Before his big speech in Davos, where he. received a resounding applause where he. talked about a new world order, that. speech was rehearsed here in Beijing. He. gave it to reporters during a 40-minute. press conference after he'd met Xi. Jinping. He talked about the need to. come here to China to try to find a way. to do business in what he described as a. new world order. So, as you can see, it. was that that perhaps irritated Donald. Trump. We'll have to see if further. leaders coming to do business will also.

irritate him. But at the moment, China. is not asking countries to to choose, but it may well be that in the future. that is something that Washington is. considering. What does China want out of. this? Is it just about trade or does. China have its eye on the global crown. to be the top superpower? >> So if you ask China and if you ask. officials here and if you sit down with.

academics, they say no, no, no, we have. no global ambitions to become the lead. superpower that we want a multi-polar. world with China. you know as part of it. they want to work with countries that is. the official answer that they will give. you but I think it is becoming clear. that China has global ambitions we've. seen it with their major military. parades where they have a show of. strength we've seen it as President Xi. travels the world making deals with.

countries we see it as President Xi. extends his country's influence in the. form of what is known as their belt and. road initiative where they are handing. out huge loans to developing economies. to build railways and infrastructure. projects. China's influence is reaching. right across the world. It has more than. 100 trade partners. It trades now with. more countries than the United States. And it's using that trade as a means uh. of kind of elevating its standing in the.

world. And I think that is where we're. seeing this kind of power competition. between Washington and Beijing. And I I. think the next perhaps decade we'll see. how far China can go because China is. doing so much in future technologies. whether it's AI whether it's robots. whether it's renewables and these are. key these are some this is a plan that. President Xi had to push forward what he. calls his new productive forces so in. the past China's manufacturing process.

whether it be your t-shirts your. electronics your TVs that was what China. shipped to the world. China is now in. many ways owning the future. Not just uh. with its kind of uh chokehold on many of. the things that we need to build the. items in our future which by which I. mean rare earth but also it's producing. these goods and whether that is your. robots or whether that is you know your. electric vehicles China feels that it's. taking a step ahead. So we'll have to.

see how that global balance of power. kind of goes over the next five years. >> But what about the issues of human. rights? There have been accusations. against China that it uses effectively. slave labor, the the weager people to. produce some of those goods. Will K star. raise the issue of Jimmy Lie, the. British citizen, a dual citizen in Hong. Kong uh who published a newspaper. he's. been locked up [clears throat] and and. if Kama other western leaders do raise.

these issues, do they spoil their. chances of doing an economic deal? So I think these issues are a huge. irritant. It's like stepping on a nerve. for China and they will certainly you. know push back. They'll push back about. allegations on human rights. they will. push back on speculation that China is. spying on the United Kingdom. These are. things that you know the Chinese. ambassador to the UK has announced today.

that when it comes to these two nations. they do not see eye to eye on many. issues and I think that is clear but I. think what is also clear is that they. can do a deal and they can come to. negotiations on trade. I do think Sakir. Starmer has to bring it up and it has. been brought up by Mark Carney and. others who've come here too. China. simply pushes back, brushes it off and. moves on. This is a dominant Beijing now. that knows that people are coming here.

because they have something to offer. And yes, they may face criticism, but. China is now able to get into a position. where it can brush it off and step over. that and know that the world still needs. it. And when it comes to China's goods, that is where China really sees its. power developing. And they may hope that. when people here come here for business. deals, that's what they go away and. remember rather than remember its record. on human rights. And then someone who.

lives and works here there you see two. sides to China. You see a China where if. you want to live within certain. parameters drawn by the Chinese. government if you live in within that. you have quite a nice life. You have. high-speed trains that can transport you. from one side of the country to the. other. Uh you it's such a safe country. I could go for a run at 3:00 in the. morning. I could put a bag full of money. in the center of a coffee shop and it.

would still be there hours later. People. are friendly. The food is nice. It is, you know, to all intents of purposes a a. lovely place to live. But if you want to. question uh the leader, if you want to. discuss politics, if you want to do. anything that is outside the parameters. of the party that the party doesn't. like, if you step on those red lines, that is when it becomes a problem. H and. that includes journalism. I mean, for.

instance, myself and my team, if we're. out and about, we can get anything from. a policeman coming to ask us to see our. press press card to three hours of being. held somewhere and questioned and asked. what we're doing. >> Laura, thank you. Our China. correspondent, Laura Bicker. There's. plenty more on this and many other. topics in the Global News podcast. Subscribe wherever you get your BBC. podcasts. You can also subscribe to us. here on YouTube. And if you have a story. that you think we should be covering, do.

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