:00:00. > :00:11.being blamed for the attack. The SNP has accused a British MP of
:00:12. > :00:19.spreading myths and misinformation about jobs after Scottish
:00:20. > :00:32.independence. The Chinese government may be putting the brakes on growth
:00:33. > :00:42.as it looks to reform the economy. And the Battle of the budget airline
:00:43. > :00:47.carriers. Thank you for joining us. The rate at which China's economy
:00:48. > :00:53.has grown over the first three months of this year will be revealed
:00:54. > :00:58.in about 30 minutes. Everyone is expecting growth to have slowed, but
:00:59. > :01:04.by how much? It is down to a deliberate attempt by the government
:01:05. > :01:09.to launch economic reforms, crucial if the mainland is to continue
:01:10. > :01:13.growing strongly in the future. The Chinese steel industry produces half
:01:14. > :01:22.of the world's steel and is now in decline. It is the industry that has
:01:23. > :01:26.fired China's searing growth. Steele has transformed its cities and laid
:01:27. > :01:32.the foundations of the world's second`largest economy, but now the
:01:33. > :01:37.industry is symbolic of China's economic weakness. Nowhere is that
:01:38. > :01:44.clearer than in this province, which produces more steel in one year than
:01:45. > :01:49.the US. But oversupply as well as concerns about pollution means
:01:50. > :01:54.unprofitable steel mills are being forced to close. We visited one of
:01:55. > :02:01.the dozens of plants that have stopped production. It's incredibly
:02:02. > :02:05.eerie here. When we talk about economic restructuring China, this
:02:06. > :02:10.is what it looks like. It means that old industries like steel will be
:02:11. > :02:15.left to rust when investment goes elsewhere. It is a painful process,
:02:16. > :02:19.as the workers at this plant have already found out. It means tens of
:02:20. > :02:24.thousands of people will lose their jobs. Outside the gates, workers can
:02:25. > :02:29.wait for a whole day and get no work. This man says a couple of
:02:30. > :02:35.years ago, you could make $700 per month. Now, he is lucky if he makes
:02:36. > :02:43.half of that. If the steel meals do not produce, we don't get a job, he
:02:44. > :02:47.says. Chinese leaders say major economic reforms are required to
:02:48. > :02:53.create new and better paying jobs. But many in the country's industrial
:02:54. > :03:05.heartlands fear that they will be thrown on the scrapheap.
:03:06. > :03:12.Thank you for joining us. Will the GDP numbers meet the government
:03:13. > :03:17.target of 7.5%? Going into 2014, we expected that Chinese economic
:03:18. > :03:24.growth would be on the downside, while the reform agenda would be
:03:25. > :03:29.surprising. It's likely that first`quarter GDP will come below
:03:30. > :03:36.that intended result. It will be around 7% or possibly just lower. In
:03:37. > :03:40.your view, how heavy Chinese handled rebalancing the economy? When you
:03:41. > :03:45.shift from a model whereby you are going from fist asset investment
:03:46. > :03:52.spending, export, to focusing on private consumption, this does take
:03:53. > :03:56.a while. It does lead to slower economic growth. The market is
:03:57. > :04:00.absorbing this. It is really about the implementation of the reform
:04:01. > :04:08.agenda because this will in the end see the economy grow and become
:04:09. > :04:13.stable over the long`term. Thank you. Staying with China, thousands
:04:14. > :04:17.of workers have gone on strike in a factory in Guandong province, which
:04:18. > :04:22.makes shoes for brands like Nikkei and Adidas. These pictures show the
:04:23. > :04:29.police as they reach the blockade. police as they reach the blockade.
:04:30. > :04:36.The factory is owned by a footwear giant, which is not commented on the
:04:37. > :04:40.claims or the strike. Earlier, I spoke with a representative from a
:04:41. > :04:46.group which promotes workers rights on the mainland. Workers over the
:04:47. > :04:54.past few years have started to realise that social insurance can
:04:55. > :04:58.benefit them. A few years ago, because of policy issues, social
:04:59. > :05:04.insurance that was provided to workers could not be transferred to
:05:05. > :05:07.another city or back home if the workers left their current
:05:08. > :05:11.employment. But policy changes have made that possible, for workers to
:05:12. > :05:17.take their benefits with them, and as workers have realised this, they
:05:18. > :05:22.have learned that they have not been paid these benefits for years. In
:05:23. > :05:27.this case, the workers are demanding this backpay for the past few years.
:05:28. > :05:32.That is why we have seen an increase in labour activism in the mainland.
:05:33. > :05:38.How will this be resolved between employers and employees? In this
:05:39. > :05:44.particular case, nothing has really happened in terms of negotiations as
:05:45. > :05:49.far as we know. The workers say they received a letter that just washes
:05:50. > :05:55.over the position and does not really talk about their demands.
:05:56. > :06:01.Whether the management will step out of their offices and talk to the
:06:02. > :06:05.workers... We are hoping that the brand`name companies will get
:06:06. > :06:13.involved and help reach a resolution that is pleasing to everyone. Thank
:06:14. > :06:20.you. Shares of... The shares of any internet giant, Yahoo, have reached
:06:21. > :06:29.positive levels. It received a boost because of its stake in Ali Baba,
:06:30. > :06:34.which recorded a 66% hike in sales and is expected to post one of the
:06:35. > :06:38.world's largest initial public offerings later this year. Demand
:06:39. > :06:50.for personal computers is continuing to shrink. Dell's profits have
:06:51. > :06:53.slumped. However, tablet and data processing businesses... The US has
:06:54. > :07:02.warned China it is concerned about the recent drop in its currency. The
:07:03. > :07:07.US says the Chinese yuan is still significantly undervalued and that
:07:08. > :07:12.it is watching its movements closely. Many American lawmakers and
:07:13. > :07:15.politicians say that China deliberately keeps its currency weak
:07:16. > :07:19.in order to gain a trading advantage. After decades of
:07:20. > :07:22.indecision, the Australian government yesterday gave the green
:07:23. > :07:29.light for a second airport in Sydney. The Prime Minister said the
:07:30. > :07:34.project will cost $2.5 billion and work will not begin for over a
:07:35. > :07:40.decade, but he said that it could potentially add $20 billion to the
:07:41. > :07:44.Australian economy by 2060. Thank you for joining us. Is a second
:07:45. > :07:50.airport really necessary? It is long overdue. The Prime Minister himself
:07:51. > :07:58.said that we had been talking about this for 40 years and it is good
:07:59. > :08:02.that action comes. It indicates the political nature of these
:08:03. > :08:05.infrastructure planning decisions. There is a need to make sure that
:08:06. > :08:14.infrastructure keeps up with the growth. South`east Asia's biggest
:08:15. > :08:20.carrier, Singapore Airlines, has announced plans to sponsor the first
:08:21. > :08:23.leg of the Singapore Grand Prix. To stay profitable, Singapore Airlines
:08:24. > :08:39.is also investing in low`cost carriers and expanding into regional
:08:40. > :08:47.routes. Its `` Organic growth, direct growth. In some cases, we
:08:48. > :08:54.still want to extend our reach to smaller destinations. It makes sense
:08:55. > :09:00.for us to do so on our own. And when not, we will use partnership to
:09:01. > :09:04.achieve these proposals, such as our partnership with Virgin Australia
:09:05. > :09:09.and the partnership we have recently announced with Air New Zealand. In
:09:10. > :09:15.the past, Singapore a has always been fairly independent. Does that
:09:16. > :09:20.mean that you need partnerships to grow? We are a commercial
:09:21. > :09:25.organisation and we cannot just be based on one particular model and
:09:26. > :09:30.stick to it forever. The environment is changing rapidly and we have to
:09:31. > :09:34.see how that environment has changed and what we have to do in order to
:09:35. > :09:45.make sure that we do well in that environment. Low`cost carrier
:09:46. > :09:50.traffic now accounts for some 30% of flights going in and out of
:09:51. > :09:54.Singapore and 50% of flights going in and out of South East Asia. Do
:09:55. > :09:59.you see your traditional long haul model dying? Long haul flights will
:10:00. > :10:02.continue to do well. Different markets obviously will have
:10:03. > :10:08.different growth on different levels of the market. Locally, the economy
:10:09. > :10:15.is becoming more robust. We have invested in the low`cost sectors.
:10:16. > :10:20.The absolute... We can still see the legacy airlines, the full`service
:10:21. > :10:23.carriers, still forming most of the capacity. Singapore Airlines will
:10:24. > :10:32.continue to grow and will continue to grow in phases `` places where it
:10:33. > :10:40.makes sense for us to operate. Thank you for investing your time with us.
:10:41. > :10:46.This has been Asia Business Report. This is BBC News. The headlines: A
:10:47. > :10:51.rescue operation is under way off the south`west coast of South rear
:10:52. > :10:53.to evacuate more than 350 passengers, mainly high school
:10:54. > :10:54.students, from a ferry,