:00:00. > :00:19.girl in Hackney in East London. Time for Asia Business Report.
:00:20. > :00:25.China's president leaves a dismissed delegation to Europe after new data
:00:26. > :00:30.shows an unexpected fall in manufacturing. And why authorities
:00:31. > :00:40.in India want to tackle the problem of paid news ahead of national
:00:41. > :00:44.elections. Before we take a look at President Xi Jinping's visit to
:00:45. > :01:01.Europe, we have the latest manufacturing data from China, which
:01:02. > :01:05.has fallen to an eight`month low. This is a further signal that the
:01:06. > :01:10.world's second`largest economy is heading for a slowdown in growth.
:01:11. > :01:15.Thank you for joining us. And eight`month low of this very key
:01:16. > :01:20.gauge of growth. We know that manufacturing is crucial to China's
:01:21. > :01:27.economy. Is this something to worry about or was this expected? It looks
:01:28. > :01:33.like Chinese leaders had been warning us that this was likely to
:01:34. > :01:38.happen. China revised its GDP estimate down to 7.5%, which is
:01:39. > :01:43.below the 8% mark we have been at for years. Chinese government
:01:44. > :01:51.leaders used to warn that if growth dropped below 8%, stability would be
:01:52. > :01:59.in question. Now, we are at 7.5% and Li Keqiang, the Premier, said they
:02:00. > :02:03.could tolerate even slower growth. Authorities say that employment is
:02:04. > :02:07.more important than this target. It looks like the government has been
:02:08. > :02:15.trying to lower our expectations for a number of months. There was a
:02:16. > :02:21.decision by the leadership to clamp down on pollution at the National
:02:22. > :02:27.People's Congress. That will have a massive impact on manufacturing.
:02:28. > :02:32.Especially industries that use so`called dirty technologies. Any
:02:33. > :02:38.steel producers, any factories that use coal power, which is the
:02:39. > :02:42.majority, will all be looked at. Especially factories in the
:02:43. > :02:47.north`east of China, which is where there has been traditionally a lot
:02:48. > :02:52.of manufacturing. They are under pressure to clean up their act. They
:02:53. > :03:00.are being told to move further inland or to the south. That will
:03:01. > :03:07.have an impact. Thank you. Continuing with China, Xi Jinping is
:03:08. > :03:20.making his first visit to Europe as resident. He will meet President
:03:21. > :03:25.Obama and attend a nuclear summit . There are still big deals in the
:03:26. > :03:31.offing despite recent tensions in trade. Xi Jinping on a landmark
:03:32. > :03:36.visit to Europe in which trade will feature prominently. France is
:03:37. > :03:40.preparing a sumptuous welcome. It's the 50th anniversary of the
:03:41. > :03:50.establishment of relations with Beijing. Nothing is confirmed but
:03:51. > :03:55.it's hoped that Airbus may get a major deal to sell 150 passenger
:03:56. > :03:59.jets to China, a deal possibly linked to the opening of a new
:04:00. > :04:06.Airbus rectory there. Other contracts are also being looked at
:04:07. > :04:14.by Paris. And Peugeot will also sign a long`awaited deal with its Chinese
:04:15. > :04:21.counterparts. After that, Xi Jinping travels to Berlin and then to
:04:22. > :04:23.Brussels, to visit the EU. Trade relations here has much improved
:04:24. > :04:31.since the resolution of an anti`dumping row over Chinese solar
:04:32. > :04:35.panels and European wine. This comes at a crucial time in international
:04:36. > :04:39.affairs. The EU is downgrading ties with Russia acres of its actions in
:04:40. > :04:45.Crimea and that can only be an opportunity for China. A favoured
:04:46. > :04:49.reception in European capitals leading to better trading terms and
:04:50. > :04:55.perhaps to that particular prize in Beijing, more transfers of Western
:04:56. > :05:00.technology. There has been violence in Taiwan
:05:01. > :05:03.after protesters clashed with police over the President's refusal to
:05:04. > :05:10.scrap a contentious trade agreement with China. Demonstrations began
:05:11. > :05:14.nearly one week ago. Opponents say that the deal will damage the
:05:15. > :05:18.Taiwanese economy but the president says his country will be
:05:19. > :05:28.marginalised without it. While way has condemned reports `` Huawei has
:05:29. > :05:40.condemned claims that it had been infiltrated by the NSA. Washington
:05:41. > :05:55.had tried to block Huawei from investing in the US. Attempts to
:05:56. > :05:57.stamp out the black market in bold has been launched. Buying gold bars
:05:58. > 3:57:39is a very common way to hide income in Corrie, where unreported buying
3:57:40 > 3:57:39and selling accounts for 25% of GDP. `` in Korea. India has seen a recent
3:57:40 > 3:57:39phenomenon of paid news, where money changes hands in exchange for
3:57:40 > 3:57:39positive coverage. With the country during up for elections, we report
3:57:40 > 3:57:39on whether there is any chance that this problem can be addressed. It's
3:57:40 > 3:57:39early in the morning and thousands of newspapers arrive, ready for
3:57:40 > 3:57:39delivery. Like me, most of India's 800 million voters depend on
3:57:40 > 3:57:39newspapers for their news. What is printed really matters, especially
3:57:40 > 3:57:39in an election year. Now, some people in India are concerned that
3:57:40 > 3:57:39what is printed is not always the truth. They point to a phenomenon
3:57:40 > 3:57:39known in the country as paid news. It started here almost ten years
3:57:40 > 3:57:39ago. The stresses belong to one of India's biggest media houses. ``
3:57:40 > 3:57:39these presses. They are new and expensive and to keep them busy, the
3:57:40 > 3:57:39company had an idea, charging celebrities and businessmen to cover
3:57:40 > 3:57:39showbiz events and product launches in special, clearly marked
3:57:40 > 3:57:39supplements. It offered advertisers something that they wanted. They
3:57:40 > 3:57:39wanted more visibility and they wanted a comfortable and believable
3:57:40 > 3:57:39environment, which we provided. Increasingly, politicians are paying
3:57:40 > 3:57:39to appear in print and papers don't always make a note of that payment.
3:57:40 > 3:57:39There is no law in paid news. Politicians can be fined but that is
3:57:40 > 3:57:39for exceeding election expenses, not for misleading voters. This man
3:57:40 > 3:57:39stood in the local elections last December. He was fined for paying
3:57:40 > 3:57:39for beneficial coverage. He wants to fight for his feet again and is
3:57:40 > 3:57:39angry at what he insists was a false indictment. `` fight for his
3:57:40 > 3:57:39electorate again. TRANSLATION: They were absolutely wrong. I told them
3:57:40 > 3:57:39in writing that it was not my fault. I'm famous and if I go somewhere,
3:57:40 > 3:57:39local newspapers will cover that. I did not pay a single cent. Whether
3:57:40 > 3:57:39you think paid news is acceptable or not, the reality is that in many of
3:57:40 > 3:57:39these newspapers, you will find examples of stories that have been
3:57:40 > 3:57:39paid for. But you would not necessarily know about it and that
3:57:40 > 3:57:39is why this has become a major topic in this election.
3:57:40 > 3:57:39Asia's growing e`commerce sector is high on the agenda at the world
3:57:40 > 3:57:39retail Congress in Singapore. Growth in retail online shopping has
3:57:40 > 3:57:39outpaced any other aspect in the sector. How do physical stores
3:57:40 > 3:57:39coexist with the internet or smartphones? They have to find out
3:57:40 > 3:57:39ways to make sure that customers don't just buy the product online
3:57:40 > 3:57:39instead of going into the shop. They have policies of customer service
3:57:40 > 3:57:39and other initiatives to make their stores points of interest for
3:57:40 > 3:57:39consumers. There are different ways to pay with mobile shopping. What is
3:57:40 > 3:57:39the mode that most people prefer in this part of the world? I don't
3:57:40 > 3:57:39think there is one that is most preferred. Some people want to buy
3:57:40 > 3:57:39online and pick up in`store. Other people want to pay at the store.
3:57:40 > 3:57:39They have to integrate all of these different channels so they can
3:57:40 > 3:57:39integrate and understand what customers are doing across the board
3:57:40 > 3:57:39and not just manage transactions in store. Thank you for joining us for
3:57:40 > 3:57:39Asia Business Report. This is BBC News. Headlines: The
3:57:40 > 3:57:39hunt for the missing Malaysian airliner continues in the southern
3:57:40 > 3:57:39Indian Ocean. Chinese planes are joining the search for the first
3:57:40 > 3:57:39time. A stark warning from NATO's top military commander in Europe
3:57:40 > 3:57:40about the large build`up of Russian forces