:00:00. > :00:16.Now it is time for World Business Report.
:00:17. > :00:18.Chinese and US officials meet for high-level economic talks,
:00:19. > :00:20.but with President Trump considering tariffs on steel
:00:21. > :00:30.And a mammoth task for India's government, as it attempts to find
:00:31. > :00:37.a buyer for debt-ridden flagship carrier Air India.
:00:38. > :00:40.Welcome to World Business Report, I'm Rachel Horne.
:00:41. > :00:42.Also on the programme: United Airlines manages a profit,
:00:43. > :00:47.despite boycott threats over the treatment of its passengers.
:00:48. > :00:51.We begin with talks between China and the United States.
:00:52. > :00:54.President Trump's 100-day deadline for boosting trade with China has
:00:55. > :00:56.come and gone, and officials from both countries
:00:57. > :00:59.are about to meet in Washington to assess what has
:01:00. > :01:07.Mr Trump hopes the talks will tackle what he says is an unfair deal.
:01:08. > :01:10.It all boils down to this - the US buys more from China
:01:11. > :01:15.Last year the deficit, or imbalance in goods,
:01:16. > :01:17.was $347 billion, and it seems to be rising.
:01:18. > :01:21.At their first meeting, in April, Presidents Trump and Xi set up trade
:01:22. > :01:23.talks, which have already produced some results.
:01:24. > :01:26.Both have agreed to expand trade, with China saying it would accept US
:01:27. > :01:29.beef imports, and will increase access for financial services,
:01:30. > :01:38.while in return the US will allow imports of cooked chicken.
:01:39. > :01:39.But many issues are still unresolved.
:01:40. > :01:42.China's factories churned out 73 million tons of steel last month,
:01:43. > :01:52.US producers have accused China of flooding the market,
:01:53. > :01:55.And it has prompted Trump to consider slapping tariffs
:01:56. > :01:57.on steel imports, part of the administration's emphasis
:01:58. > :01:59.to increase products made in the USA.
:02:00. > :02:07.It is made in America week in the US, and President Trump
:02:08. > :02:16.When we purchase products made in the USA, the profit stays here,
:02:17. > :02:20.the revenue says here and the jobs, maybe most importantly of all,
:02:21. > :02:29.That kind of protectionist language is a worry for America's trading
:02:30. > :02:36.These days, though, Mr Trump's tone is more measured
:02:37. > :02:40.when it comes to China, compared to what was said
:02:41. > :02:44.in the throes of the presidential campaign.
:02:45. > :02:47.We can't continue to allow China to rape our country.
:02:48. > :02:50.They have taken our money, they have taken our jobs.
:02:51. > :02:57.The turning point in their relationship?
:02:58. > :02:59.When the two leaders broke bread and ate cake.
:03:00. > :03:02.Now President Trump has referred to President Xi as a terrific guy
:03:03. > :03:11.So, given the political state, what can we expect to come out
:03:12. > :03:14.of the summit when representatives of the two countries meet?
:03:15. > :03:18.I would not expect any big breakthroughs.
:03:19. > :03:20.The most important thing is that the two sides are talking,
:03:21. > :03:24.and so I would expect a fairly amicable discussion,
:03:25. > :03:26.some minor outcomes, and some nice general language
:03:27. > :03:31.that the two countries will work together
:03:32. > :03:33.to strengthen economic relationships, and reduce the trade
:03:34. > :03:39.Of course, overshadowing the economic and trade issues
:03:40. > :03:41.is the thorny question of North Korea.
:03:42. > :03:44.Mr Trump wants China to exert more pressure on the country.
:03:45. > :03:47.A failure to do so could undermine the strategic dialogues.
:03:48. > :03:50.With me is Dr Guo Yu, principle China analyst at Maplecroft.
:03:51. > :03:55.What do you expect to come out of these talks today?
:03:56. > :04:05.Well, we expect... The expectation is quite tempered, from our
:04:06. > :04:11.perspective. We certainly do not see this kind of talks will
:04:12. > :04:14.fundamentally alter the trade imbalance you just mentioned
:04:15. > :04:16.straightaway, and there are three factors supporting this view.
:04:17. > :04:22.Firstly, this kind of high-level dialogue is always tending to be
:04:23. > :04:29.more about setting the process rather than making concrete
:04:30. > :04:33.progress. So the two sides will take stock on the 100 day action plan and
:04:34. > :04:39.work out what plan for the next 12 months, where the two teams will
:04:40. > :04:44.work on their particulars. Secondly, we will see neither side will give
:04:45. > :04:53.in on the sticky points. Washington is certainly not going to recognise
:04:54. > :04:57.China as a market economy yet, nor are we loosing control on hi-tech
:04:58. > :05:02.exports. On the other hand, Beijing is unlikely to buckle under pressure
:05:03. > :05:08.over steel and aluminium productions, despite the US
:05:09. > :05:11.administration's investigation. And finally, let's not forget it is a
:05:12. > :05:17.very politically important year for the Chinese government, with the
:05:18. > :05:23.19th party congress scheduled for this autumn. No leader in Beijing
:05:24. > :05:28.would like to appear to be giving in too much concessions to the
:05:29. > :05:33.Americans. So above all, stability is the name of the game for the
:05:34. > :05:39.Chinese government in 2017. Now, you mentioned the steel production. That
:05:40. > :05:44.is obviously a huge issue for the US, especially for President Trump,
:05:45. > :05:46.and his plan to increase jobs. He is saying that he is considering
:05:47. > :05:51.putting tariffs on steel imports from China. If that happened, what
:05:52. > :06:00.impact could that have on these talks? Well, as I said, we don't
:06:01. > :06:08.think Beijing would be too much concerned, if we are talking about
:06:09. > :06:12.exports to the US markets. It only accounts for a very small
:06:13. > :06:16.proportion. So if the Washington administration slaps an import
:06:17. > :06:20.tariffs on Chinese steel, the impact on the Chinese steel industry would
:06:21. > :06:30.be rather limited. The impact on American consumers, buyers, that
:06:31. > :06:34.would be another question. What we certainly don't think is that the
:06:35. > :06:38.Chinese will give in too much over this point. And certainly, on the
:06:39. > :06:47.back of buoyant economic performance so far this year from China, I think
:06:48. > :06:48.they will be feeling fairly confident on the negotiating table.
:06:49. > :06:50.Thank you very much for your time. To the highly competitive
:06:51. > :06:52.airline industry now. India's government is facing
:06:53. > :06:55.the mammoth task of finding a buyer for its cash-strapped
:06:56. > :06:57.national carrier, Air India. Air India hasn't made
:06:58. > :07:00.a profit in over a decade, and is buried under billions
:07:01. > :07:03.of dollars of debt, debt that no potential buyer would want to take
:07:04. > :07:06.on, and this is something that is going to make privatisation
:07:07. > :07:09.of the company difficult. Sameer Hashmi sat down with India's
:07:10. > :07:12.aviation minister for this exclusive The maharaja, a royal prince, is the
:07:13. > :07:32.mascot of India's national carrier. And while they were once king
:07:33. > :07:35.of the skies, it has not made A $5 billion bailout
:07:36. > :07:39.by the government in 2012 Today, the airline has
:07:40. > :07:43.a debt of $8 billion. Now a committee will decide
:07:44. > :07:46.whether to sell a minority stake, I spoke to the aviation minister,
:07:47. > :07:50.who is on the committee, and began by asking him
:07:51. > :07:53.if the government will write off You have to be practical
:07:54. > :08:02.in these things. In Hindi there is a word
:08:03. > :08:12.that means scapegoat. A hard-nosed businessman
:08:13. > :08:15.and an airline, and there is always a scapegoat that
:08:16. > :08:19.can be found. So you need a scapegoat
:08:20. > :08:22.to take up the airline? With all of its debt,
:08:23. > :08:25.we would need about 52,000. If I had that type of money,
:08:26. > :08:30.I could set up an outline. If you find a buyer willing
:08:31. > :08:42.to invest, given that it is a huge mess, they would one day a huge
:08:43. > :08:45.hand in restructuring, There is thinking that taxpayer
:08:46. > :08:51.money is invested in other places. We do if no matter what you do
:08:52. > :08:58.you have political opposition. We could allow Aero India to become
:08:59. > :09:01.a written off company unable In other news: A supposed
:09:02. > :09:06.boycott of United Airlines because of the poor treatment
:09:07. > :09:09.of passengers has had little impact United revealed its first
:09:10. > :09:12.financial statement, that included the period after staff
:09:13. > :09:15.forcibly removed a passenger from a plane, and the
:09:16. > :09:17.numbers aren't bad. Profits of $818 million
:09:18. > :09:20.for the second quarter is almost 40% higher than the same
:09:21. > :09:22.period last year. Daimler has unveiled plans
:09:23. > :09:35.to cut vehicle emissions. It is recalling three million
:09:36. > :09:37.Mercedes-Benz diesel cars, and installing a software
:09:38. > :09:40.fix on the vehicles. Daimler has been under pressure
:09:41. > :09:42.from police and prosecutors, who are investigating
:09:43. > :09:44.the possible manipulation The voluntary fix will cost
:09:45. > :09:47.the company $250 million, and will begin over
:09:48. > :09:57.the next few weeks. Don't forget you can get in touch
:09:58. > :10:02.with me and some of the team