Chinese President Xi Jinping's inspection in Guizhou highlights China's commitment to high -quality development.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to a limited Ukraine ceasefire, following a call with his U .S. counterpart Donald Trump.
An OECD has raised the raise of 2025 forecasts for China's economic growth to 4 .8 percent.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping has visited ethnic minorities in the southwestern province of Weizhou.
He inspected a village in Qiandong -nan, Myeong and Dong Autonomous Perfecture, where he learned about efforts to enhance social governance, preserve and promote traditional cultures, and advance rural revitalization.
Qiandong -nan, one of nationally recognized cultural protection areas, is home to millions of ethnic Myeong and Dong people.
The Chinese president also stressed the importance of adhering to high quality development and driving growth by further deepening reform and opening up.
Xi Jinping called on the province to firm up confidence and take steps to advance Chinese modernization.
To talk more on this, let's have Dr. Yao Shujie, Chiang Kong Professor of Economics at Chongqing University.
Professor, in light of President Xi's emphasis on high -quality development during his recent inspection tour, what new opportunities and directions does this present for Guizhou's comprehensive rural revitalization?
High -quality development is a specific concept for the Chinese economy.
As the traditional economy development depends on large input of labor and materials, which have a fairly high rate of growth, but it is relatively low quality.
Nowadays, for China to achieve a totally very high rate of economic growth is almost impossible because the damage to the environment is huge.
So China has turned into the so -called high -quality economic development.
High quality means that there is a certain level of growth but also it is high quality in the sense, for the natural environment, for income distribution and also for the industrial upgrading of all the industry and services.
Now, the President Xi Jinping went to Guizhou.
He emphasized high quality economic growth and also the Chinese style socialist modernization.
Now, what are the opportunities presented for Guizhou is very obvious.
Because for the whole country, I think there is a balance development between different regions, the coastal, the middle region, and not the western region.
The western regions benefited from the development of the modern transportation system and the Internet of Things, and also the 5G technology.
So Guizhou, like most of the western regions, they have been detrimental to the economic maybe develop because of the inefficient and backward transportation system.
But entering into this new century, I think lots of advances have been made to improve the transportation system and the Internet of things.
Now this present a technological infrastructure opportunity for cuistro.
Due to the technological progress, I think big data, the so -called Eastern data but it's computing in the Western area, Guizhou has launched the so -called big data center, which has been one of the pioneers for the country, which has been very successful, in a sense, which transforms a relatively backward province into a rather prosperous province nowadays.
People's income, industry, the other sector has been growing rapidly alongside the infrastructure development, especially the high -speed rail motorway and also the bridges and other things that have been rapidly constructed in the province.
Another development is that because of this transportation improvement, I think down to the biggest level, the county level, the agricultural sector has been critically revitalized and supported by the country's national policy of poverty alleviation.
I think all the people living in the country's side have been lifted out of poverty.
Now the next stage is that the country's policy to liberalize the countryside, the agriculture, and also to improve the likelihood of the farmers, the so called swing norm problem has been gradually you know, it's off and also the, the country, the province have put a lot of investment to help the local people.
And another advantage or another opportunity is the opening of the Western frontier in China.
Especially the so called Western connection of low transportation with the OCN transportation to the ASEAN nations.
Guizhou has played a very important role in the middle of this, the so -called Western water and land connection corridor.
The first opportunity is the growing economic center in the PO level in Hong Kong and also the Chongqing, Chengdu, Twin City economy development area are also growing very rapidly.
And as the neighbor of these two economy growth centers, Guizhou have a great opportunity to undertake industrial transformation in also you know transfer from the advanced reason to the Westernism.
And finally, I can emphasize is that tourism and also culture and heritage and agriculture turning into tourism are the ecosystem construction.
These are the new idea promoted by President Xi Jinping, but it has been utilized very effectively by the local people, so these kinds of law laws, tourism, ecological construction, turning it into production activity and income generating opportunity.
Compensively, I think there is a package of good policy and also a condition for the Guizhou people to be able to make another big step forward to improve their likelihood and also to improve the local economy development structure.
That is very comprehensive, especially considering Guizhou's unique position as an emerging economic hub.
Guizhou has long been known for its underdeveloped economy, yet it is now becoming a model for innovation and great development, as you mentioned.
What specific steps has the region taken to achieve this transformation?
and wool lessons my other professors learned from Guizhou's experience.
Yes. Guizhou, typically, I think maybe 20 years ago, when you're talking about per capita GDP, per capita income, Guizhou ranked in the last position at the bottom of the league table of income and economic growth among the 31 Chinese provinces in regions.
And nowadays, Guizhou has been moving up rapidly.
The success, the key to success is this.
The Guizhou government and the Guizhou people have been able to spot the so -called industrial upgrading.
In the industrial upgrading, you don't actually uphold the old traditional industry.
Of course the traditional industry is important, but Guizhou actually takes a different route.
going through the high -tech sector, especially the digital economy, big data, and artificial intelligence.
Now, this is actually the new emerging industries and this new emerging industry can create huge potential and spill over effect to all parts of the province and all sectors of the economy.
So, by taking on the front -running industry like big data and also the internet subsets and artificial intelligence, Guizhou is actually making a fairly big leap forward compared to some other countries.
I think because big data and also the infrastructure development, as I just mentioned, coincide cyber together so that makes Guizhou a very different province, particularly the infrastructure development which leads to significant growth into shock tourism and also attractive talents from all parts of the country or even imported from foreign countries as well.
So this built up this data center and also the Icelandic infrastructure development They move forward to a higher level of development because these are new.
They are not a traditional industry.
A new industry, once they are successful, they can have a profound effect on the transformation of the regional economy.
Professor. Beyond economic development, environmental protection remains a priority in China.
Guizhou's push for ecological conservation aligns with China's broader green development goals.
So, given such a case, how has economic growth and environmental protection been balanced effectively, especially in resource -rich but historically underdeveloped areas in China today?
Yes, I think this is always a conviction between economic development and environmental protection.
Traditionally, if you want to draw economic growth, you have to input lots of energy, particularly fuels and other, you know, highly polluting industries.
So there is a big balance between the economic development and ecological protection.
Now, Guizhou is facing the similar problem.
But because Guizhou is a newcomer of economic development compared to the, you know, insistent reasons such as Guangdong and Zujiang.
So Guizhou has some, the lack of advantage because it doesn't have to go through the polluting developing stage.
It can also, it can quickly jam or directly jam to the high tech industries such as the data, Internet of Things and also AI technology.
Another advantage of Guizhou is that because Guizhou is a mountainous region, population density is relatively lower, or significantly lower, compared to the eastern counterparts.
So because the population density is lower, it can explain the advantage of conserving the natural environment.
For example, like forestry, grass planting, and also protecting the water system.
So this is another advantage.
The third advantage is the new technology.
New technology is actually allow industrial development with low carbon emission and also less pollution because the technological level is much higher up to so many years of economic development in China.
And also talents, I mean, people are becoming more clever.
They can enjoy in the so -called high income generating activity without going through the so -called polluting activity.
And finally I think the agricultural sector, because agricultural sector in Guizhou, it is also a disadvantage by the maintaining structure.
But on the other hand, they can also produce fairly specific product.
For example, like fruit and vegetable, which could be very high value.
And as people's income increases, I think the demand for, you know, organic agricultural products, cultural tourism in particular, up to the Guizhou and Guangzhou, Guiyang and Guangzhou, I speak real.
I think tourism from the eastern part, especially from Guangdong, has been growing exponentially.
So each year it created a lot of important opportunity and also tourist income.
That was Dr. Yaohsu Jie, a Chiang Kong professor of economics at Chongqing University.
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China says it's pleased to see all efforts towards a ceasefire on the Ukraine conflict.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mo Ning said China has advocated resolving the Ukraine crisis through dialogue and negotiation from the very beginning, and is pleased to see all efforts toward a ceasefire as a necessary step towards peace.
Mao made remarks at a regular news briefing when asked to comment on the phone call between U .S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The White House said in a statement, the two leaders agreed that the three -year Ukraine conflict needs to end with a lasting peace, and the two leaders stressed the need for improved U .S.-Russia relations.
To delve into this, let's have Kamal Makilie Ali Yev, Associate Professor at the School of Global Studies at the University of Goldenberg.
Thanks for joining us, Professor.
Thanks for having me.
First of all, how would you assess the overall tone of this conversation and what kind of signals do you think both sides were trying to convey?
Well, all signs indicate that the two -hour phone conversation between President Trump on from Putin they have been cautiously pragmatic in tone.
Both leaders express their willingness to discuss steps towards the escalation, but we can also see, you know, clear caveats here.
President Putin repeatedly underscored that a comprehensive ceasefire would be impossible unless Western military aid to Ukraine were halted.
And this is intended to signal that Russia views ongoing foreign support as a key impediment to any peace initiative at this point.
President Trump, he reiterated that his public stance more and more, that he's committed to ending the war, but yet his tone also suggested that any move towards peace must also save the American strategic and economic interest. And he stressed this kind of need for mutual desire to end the conflict.
And so sort of hinting on the possibility of of a lot of contentious issues, if concrete concessions are offered.
So, overall, both sides appear to be testing the waters right now, it's like very, very cautiously, Putin seeking to leverage Ukraine's support as a bargaining chip, and Trump probing for opportunities to secure concessions while maintaining the U .S. commitment to its allies.
Professor, President Putin has stated that ha -ter military aid to Ukraine is a key condition for resolving the Russian -Ukraine conflict.
conflict. So given the complex dynamics between the U .S., east western allies and Russia, is it realistically possible for Washington to completely cut off military support to Ukraine?
If so, what kind of political and military pressures might this create within the United States?
Well, my personal opinion is that even though this is right now a demand from Putin, the U .S. military aid and its complete secession from the side of Washington is highly unlikely, because there, as you said, there are some pressures that can be discussed in this context.
First of all, there are strategic considerations – U .S. policymakers and U .S. Western allies.
They view the continued military support as critical, not only for Ukraine's survival, but also for upholding this rules -based international order, even if a Trump administration has a different view on that, but there is also domestic pressures when it comes to Washington itself.
There's significant political and public support for aiding Ukraine.
You can see it in the polls.
You can see it in the sociological studies cutting off the aid completely.
It can actually trigger major political backlash both in the United States Congress, as well as among constituents and voters.
And that can also, you know, deepen the risk of undermining NATO unity.
So while Russia, you know, would very surely welcome the whole of US support completely.
And that would, of course, weaken Ukrainian defense, I don't think us is going, at least at this point, prepared for such a radical step.
Well, another key point in their talk is that Trump and Putin have agreed to hold talks regarding the Black Sea shipping security initiative.
What specific impacts could this have on both Russia and Ukraine, as well as Europe's economic stability, energy supplies and broader geopolitical landscape in the region?
Well, I assume that we think about the good outcomes.
If the toxin -back sea shipping security is going to be successful.
So for Russia and Ukraine it would be, for both countries it means safety of critical maritime routes and it would facilitate safer passage for Ukrainian grain experts as well as Russian energy shipments.
And Ukraine, which relies heavily on these routes to alleviate economic pressure, so conflict might see, that's a modest economic reprieve.
From more of the continental perspective, Europe's economic stability and energy supply, they're also very much tied to the Black Sea.
It's a major conduit for energy supply and goods and securing these lanes would help stabilize European energy markets and supply chains, reducing economic volatility that is linked to this kind of regional disruptions.
And if you take even a global landscape, it's just basically enhance shipping security that builds into the confidence -building measure geopolitically, potentially easing the tensions between Russia on one side and the western allies on the other side.
However, any shift and control influence over Black Sea could also recalibrate regional power dynamics and challenge the established alliances, knowing that there is a tier between the United States and European countries in this security alliance.
Professor, on US -Russian relations, both the two leaders have expressed a willingness to normalize bilateral relations and discuss the potential cooperation in economic and energy sectors.
But with the Russia -Ukraine conflict still unresolved, how realistic is it for these cooperative efforts to move forward?
Without a total resolution or some kind of stable temporal resolution of Ukraine, Russian conflict, I don't think there is a lot of hope for the normalization, so any normalization is going to be conditional.
Any bilateral cooperation is likely to be kind of incremental and limited.
It's going to be pursuing the scenes that are less politically sensitive, the continuation of sanctions and persistent military tensions can even restrain this kind of initiative.
So it's very hard to see how this would run in parallel if the Ukrainian conflict is not resolved.
But there is also strategic distrust but it's still there between the US and Russia.
And as long as the conflict remains active this kind of deep -seated distrust will limit any potential full -scale normalization by itself.
So the cooperation may be confined to areas where the interests, you know, minimally overlap, for example, energy or specific trade sectors, while a majority of securities issues going to be remained unresolved at that time, as soon as they're going to be resolved, when the situation changes and we can talk about more possibilities, of course.
Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky has emphasized that no peace talks can succeed without Ukraine's involvement.
Yet, the U .S. and Russia have already discussed several key issues.
In future negotiations in European, will the interest of Ukraine be adequately represented to ensure it retains a meaningful voice in the peace process?
Well, we've seen that Ukrainian President Zelensky has been very, well, has been unequivocal.
No piece of ground can succeed without Ukraine's negotiating table.
And it is true because the realities on the ground also depend on the Ukraine's behavior.
But yet recent reports indicate that some discussions between the US and Russia, you know, theyende proceeding on the key issues without Ukraine's direct involvement.
So the first thing is the risk of marginalization of the whole situation with Ukraine.
If negotiations continue like this in the bilateral track between the US and Russia, without formally including Ukraine, there is a risk that the settlement could fail to address Ukraine's security and territorial concerns, and then fail overall.
There's also international pressure, right, because even if United States is big and powerful, it still has to deal with Western allies and national organizations that exert pressure on it.
They push for a much more inclusive process that ensures that Ukraine retains a meaningful voice.
So future negotiations will likely at some point include Ukraine in these kind of discussions questions and will incorporate at least some of the Ukraine's interest, if a sustainable piece to be achieved otherwise is basically impossible.
Professor, very briefly, what steps in your opinion are necessary right now to translate these verbal commitments into concrete actions?
Well, if we follow the vision of a Trump plan that should be an establishment of a comprehensive ceasefire, beyond the temporary poses and robust verifiable methods for that ceasefire would be necessary.
Then face distillation and confidence -building measures as the science dictates and the peaceful resolution of conflicts, initiatives such as humanitarian corridors, prisoners exchanges, gradual withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of contact would build trust among the parties.
And then of course, inclusive multilateral negotiations.
Thanks, Professor. that was Kamal Makili Aliif, Associate Professor at the School of Global Studies at University of Goldenberg.
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This is where today, I am Gueana in Beijing.
regime. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has raised its 2025 forecasts for China's economic growth to 4 .8 percent.
The forecast is up from a projection of 4 .7 percent in December.
The upward revision follows China's better -than -expected data, highlighting OECD's confidence in the world's second -largest economy.
China is one of the few major economies that OECD upgraded in its GDP forecast for this year.
The latest estimates say global growth will slow to 3 .1 percent this year and 3 percent next year.
It projected US growth to slow to 2 .2 percent this year and 1 .6 percent in 2026.
For more on this, my colleague Zhang Yang spoke with Yang Liang, a professor of economics at Willamette University.
Yang, the OECD has raised its projections for China's economic growth to 4 .8 % this year from a previous projection of 4 .7 % in December.
Why did the OECD upgrade China's GDP growth forecast for the year?
21. for the economy in this year.
So I think combining this policy effect and also the very solid start of the year, I think this upgrade is appropriate.
I think they probably will actually need to upgrade even more, given the momentum that economy has been building in the first two months.
And as you mentioned, China released the key economic data for the first two months, showing some positive signs, and we know that retail sales rose 4 percent in January and February, and industrial production also beat expectations.
It's climbed the 5 .9%.
So how do you view the economy at the start of this year?
What are the driving forces for China's economy?
Yeah, I think that's a great question.
I agree with you. I think the economy really starts at a very strong footing, you mentioned industrial output growth, the retail sales growth, but also the fixed asset investment has gone up by 4 .1%.
That that started roll out by the end of last year, that continues to drive the momentum forward. We're also seeing very strong, you know, spring festival travel and spending.
So that gives indication that the consumer spending has been strong and solid.
Exports, as a matter of fact, also went up by 3 .4 % in the first two months.
So that is still a pretty positive contribution to the economy.
And last but not the least, we also know that, you know, with the technological breakthroughs, such as the Deep Seats launched in late January.
That has really revitalized the stock market sentiment.
We're seeing a lot trading a lot more rally in the stock market.
So all of these, I think, boost the market confidence, provide more incentives for businesses to invest and for consumers to spend.
So I think those are really the major driving forces.
Again, when it comes to some improvements in consumer sentiment, strong policy support and also very positive technological breakthroughs.
So all of these are driving the economy forward. And China is one of the few major economies that the OECD upgrade its GDP growth forecast. As the organization said in its latest economic outlook that the global GDP growth is set to slow from 3 .2 % last year to 3 .1 % this year.
So Yang, what do you think is the key risk for the global economy right now?
Well, the OECD basically mentioned the high level of geopolitical policy uncertainty are what present - are presenting the substantial risks to their baseline GDP growth projections.
And I agree with their assessments.
I think one of the potential big risk is the United States' trade policy, right, when it comes to the tariff policies, which Donald Trump and his administration are going to review on April 2, the kinds of policy, the kind of tariff scheme that they're going to impose on all the US trade partners.
The US Treasury of Secretary Besant just mentioned that they will review the tariff rate, some countries will see very high tariff rates, others will see relatively low tariff rates.
So there are all these potential uncertainty when it comes to trade fermentation.
And so, I think that is really affecting the global growth.
So, I think as a matter of fact, this kind of projection really hinges on, you know, how much this tariff war is going to go on and how much countries will retaliate.
So I think a lot is still really unknown, you know, as a matter of fact, for projection.
So, for example, the OECD also shows some simulations.
They assumed that if the U .S. is imposing 10 percent on all the non -commodity imports into the United States, and all other countries would retaliate proportionally, then this is going to reduce the global GDP growth by 0 .3 percent by the third year.
And it would also increase global inflation rate by 0 .4 -percentage points per year on average over the first three years.
So in other words, this is still quite conservative.
of, I would say, projection.
Only 10 % of the increase in tariff rate, the reality could be much worse than that.
So I think now just because of a lot of these uncertainties, I think that this projection could turn out to be overestimation.
So we'll have to wait and see how the policies in the United States are going to really affect the global economy.
And as you mentioned, the biggest reason maybe is uncertainty over Trump's terror for trade policies.
So what is this impact on the U .S. consumers and inflation?
Well, I think the U .S. consumers are definitely feeling very jittered these days.
When you look at the consumer sentiment sort of survey by both the Michigan University and also by the conference board they all show a very large decline in the consumer confidence in the economy for the economic prospect, and we're also seeing the reduction in the consumer spending in the first two of in February in the United States.
The real decline in consumer spending was over I believe it's over 2 percent.
So, again, consumers are feeling very uncertain about the policies, about potential job losses, giving some of these doge cuts of federal employees and also cutting government contracts, cutting government projects.
So all of these, I think, weigh on to the consumer's sentiments.
Now, tariff is definitely another big concern, because if Donald Trump is going to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada, that would definitely affect a lot of the consumer goods because China, Mexico and Canada account for about 40 percent of the US total imports.
And so consumers would see immediately a wide range of their consumer goods, right, including consumer electronics from appliances, toys and agricultural products.
And many of the products we see jump in price.
So, I think that inflationary pressure is going to be real and that is going to add to all this uncertainty, all these sort of anxiety about how the economy is going to go.
And I think that would weigh down on consumer spending.
And so, that is going to, I think, in a way, harm the economy.
And the OECD said increasing trade restrictions will lead to a higher cost for both production and consumption.
It remains essential to ensure a well -functioning, rule -based international trading system and to keep markets open.
So how do you understand it?
Well, I think this assessment again, it's sensible, right?
Because we know that, you know, These kinds of trade restrictions not only reduces efficiency but also really disrupt the international supply chain.
The global supply chain is a very well -connected system of production.
So, when you have all these tariffs, it means that a lot of these imports of intermediate goods are going to see an increase in prices and businesses would have a hard time to either have to shoulder this cost increase or they have to try to find alternative suppliers.
So that creates a lot of uncertainty but also disruptions in the global supply chain.
So that is going to raise the cost of production.
Consumption is, of course, inevitable because the tariff is basically a regressive consumption tax on consumers.
And it hurts relatively low -income families the most. So yes, trade restrictions are going to increase cost of production and also consumption, not to mention it really disrupt the global trading system.
And that is going to invite retaliations on other countries.
So at the end, I think we look back in history, back in the 1930s, when the United States imposed the Smoot -Holly Act to raise the tariff.
Basically, that escalated the global tariff war.
And that eventually has reduced the global GDP growth substantially and put the U .S. deep in the Great Recession.
So I think this is a real danger.
And I think the OECD is right to say that we need to try to ensure open system so that countries can, based on market efficiency and based on their actual needs, to organize their production, to organize their consumption.
That was Yan Lian, a professor of Economics at Willamette University.
Coming up, the Canadian new prime minister has announced a deal with Australia to boost the Arctic radar.
This is Road Today, we'll be back.
China's economic growth is outperforming expectations, but questions remain.
When will the property slump end?
Can consumer confidence keep up?
And how much will U .S. tariffs bite?
Sign in all these and more at this week's CHaF lounge wherever you listen to podcasts and on CGTN radio.
deal. This is World Today.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced a $4 billion deal with Australia to develop an Arctic radar system, stressing that Canada must take more responsibility for its defence as U .S. priorities shift. Carney made the announcement during his brief stop in Canadian territory near Greenland.
the final leg of its first official trip as Prime Minister since taking office last week.
Carney has previously described the U .S. and President Donald Trump as a country Canada can no longer trust. He also characterized the radar deal as part of a broader effort to assert Canadian sovereignty over the Arctic.
So for more on this, joining us on the line is Joseph C.
Racoosa, Professor of Global Futures with Curtin University.
Thanks for joining us, Professor.
Thank you very much. Professor, on his way back home, Carney made a brief stop on Canadian territory near Greenland, where he announced the radar deal and reaffirmed Canada's Arctic sovereignty, a region where Trump had previously expressed interest. So, from a military strategy and geopolitical perspective, what deeper reasons in your opinion might be driving this decision?
Well the prime minister of Canada is gonna make it very clear to the President of the United States that Canada is far more self -reliant than Donald Trump gives it credit for.
It's simply gonna go diversify its sources for protection or that is for armaments, airplanes whatever it is.
And now it's going to the Austrians radar.
Australia's been working on this over the Horizon Radar for about 40 years and it's first -class equipment.
I think it's 6 .5 billion in Australian dollars, and it's going to be used in that part of the Arctic to protect the sea lanes and the approaches to Canada.
Now six or seven nations lay claims to the Arctic region, but And as you know, nobody owns it.
There's a treaty of 59 nations in 1959 that governs the use for the place, but there is still a great deal of strategic competition there.
Professor, speaking of strategic moves during Kearney's first trip to Europe, he mentioned that Canada is looking to reduce its reliance on U .S. for security and exploring alternatives to its $13 billion US dollar deal to purchase 88 US fighter jets.
What impact might this have on the geopolitical competition between Canada and the United States?
Could this move strain the US -Canada military alliance, or is it more of a strategic maneuver to gain leverage in negotiations with Washington?
Well, it won't so much affect competition in the Arctic, because the United States doesn't see itself competing there.
I mean, the Canadians are using that radar there to shore up their contribution to NORRAD, which is their commitment to the United States in defense of North America.
This decision to turn its back on America for the next generation of F -35 fighters is a very serious one.
The American military industrial complex, the people who make these planes count on this kind of revenue.
NATO. And I think the Canadians will turn to other sources, maybe French fighters or British fighters.
And more and more, Carney sees himself as part of Europe.
He is actually. He's part of NATO.
He's also part of the great British Commonwealth.
So this idea that Trump's picking a fight with Canada does not bode well for major alliances in the West. Then on the topic of Arctic security, Canada's Defense Minister recently announced plans to establish three new Arctic military hubs.
How do you view this expanding presence in the region?
Could it lead to heightened military buildup and competition in the region?
Well yes it would. Now these so -called hubs are just military bases.
Canada has some of these in Kuwait, Iraq, Germany, just forward bases.
Americans have about 800 of these.
And it brings the money into the northern part of Canada, makes people feel they're less isolated, but they are military bases.
And he sees this as part of Canada's build And he's trying to get the Canadian contribution, a military contribution, to 2 .5 % of GDP.
So this is part of his way of saying this, but these bases are designed to protect Canadian interests and the approaches to Canadian soil.
So these bases have a purpose for the defense minister, Edward Kearney.
Professor, now turning to trade tensions between the United States and Canada, Carney mentioned that he would have a comprehensive discussion with US President Donald Trump on trade at the appropriate time.
Given the ongoing trade war and the complexity surrounding Arctic defense cooperation, what factors might influence the timing of that conversation?
That's a very good question.
Now, Donald Trump is dealing a great deal these days on the phone with President Putin today or yesterday, et cetera.
The idea that the Canadian prime minister will be talking to the president of the United States is ridiculous, because in the past the new prime ministers of Canada always made their first overseas visit Washington.
So you know, the phone call is really sort of a snub about the primacy of the United Now look, I said on your show and others that these tariffs, they breed resentment and hatred, and it makes diplomacy difficult, it makes alliances difficult, it makes trade difficult.
And you know, it just poisons the diplomatic and the alliance atmosphere.
I mean, this is coming home to roost, I mean.
That's why I don't like these tariffs or sanctions, because they have a great deal of adverse effects.
Now, looking at the bigger picture, the United States has long been a vital trade partner and a security ally for Canada, shaping much of the country's economic and defense landscape.
Now that Canada is actively adjusting its strategy, could this signal a fundamental reshaping of Canada -U .S. relations in the long run?
If so, where might we see the most significant changes in the short period?
I think if the United States continues to fall out with Canada, I think the first sign of the falling out will be the loosening of the ties in NATO.
As you note, Canada is one of the NATO allies in the transatlantic alliance.
So you know, there's real no relationship between a formal diplomatic relationship between the United States and Canada, but they're connected through the NORAD system, the defense system and they're connected through the NATO system.
So I think falling out with Canada would kind of loosen the ties with NATO and it would send other NATO members a very clear message, which has already hit Australia, that the United States has become unreliable.
And that is a very dangerous word in the world of diplomacy.
Since Trump took office, Canada has faced a series of tough measures, including tariffs and the Carnegie Administration has voiced dissatisfaction with Trump's policies, amid these strange times, what key issues would need to be addressed or compromised on for Canada and the United States to rebuild their relationship?
Well, Trump has gone down this tariff road, not just for trade policy or the imbalance.
I mean, the fact that Americans have a trade imbalance with Canada doesn't mean much. It simply means that the Americans don't save anything.
Most of the investment around the world has poured into the United States.
These are very deep meanings, the roots for these imbalances.
But Trump has been using the tariffs to put pressure on the Canadians to halt the flow of fentanyl in the United States, and I think only 1 % comes in, and to halt the flow of illegal immigrants or undocumented immigrants.
The border with Canada is not just 2 ,500 miles across.
It goes up another thousand miles.
It's nearly a 5 ,000 -mile border.
I mean, the Canadian border is unprotected.
And if the Canadians wanted to let undocumented people come in, they could let an army come in.
Anyway, Trump has been using this to force the Canadians to put more troops on their borders and to interdict this flow of fentanyl.
Now, I'm not so sure either one of those things is true.
But I think Trump likes to use this tariff because he doesn't have to consult anybody.
It's a decision that he makes in the room with maybe one or two advisers, and it gives him a great deal of clout.
The trouble is that they're not consistent.
As you know, one day he puts a tariff on Canada.
The next day he takes the tariff off of automobile parts, and somebody is counting down the road on April 2.
And of course, the the the the atmosphere between the American people and the Canadian people is getting very chilly.
I mean, they're starting to be a great deal of dislike as Canadians remove American products from their stores.
And keep in mind, 90 percent of Canadians live within 100 miles of the American border.
It's not like they're dealing with some nation far, far away.
I mean, the Canadians are part and parcel of the American landscape.
so when you hit them with these tariffs you're really hitting yourself.
Yes indeed, thanks professor.
That was Joseph Supercusa professor of global futures with Curtin University.
Hello, I am Dr. Digby James Wren, a political analyst and international relations scholar specializing in China area studies.
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Two NASA astronauts have returned to Earth after being stuck in space for over nine months.
The SpaceX capsule carrying BOOCH Wilmore and SUNY WILLIMS splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast on Tuesday ending their prolonged mission.
So for more on the story, my colleague Zhao Yin joining us in the studio.
Thanks, Zhao. Hi. After spending nine months in space, the two astronauts are finally back home.
Can you describe the moment of their landing and recovery?
Sure. It was a dramatic and long awaited homecoming for them, of course.
After spending an unexpected nine month in orbit, Their capsule finally made its fiery descent through Earth's atmosphere, and then parachutes deployed to slow them down and splashed down gently into the water.
The recovery team moved fast. The SpaceX ship hosted the capsule out of the water.
The astronauts beamed and waved as they were helped out of the hatch, along with their fellow crew members, astronaut Nick Hague and cosmonaut Alex Sander -Gobunov. And now standard procedure after long mission like this is to help astronauts onto stretchers, not because they are injured, but because their bodies need time to readjust to Earth's gravity.
And medics were on hand to check them over.
And soon after they were whisked off by a helicopter to shore headed for Houston's Johnson Space Center for evaluation.
So this is a significant moment and NASA caught a beautiful landing and you could really feel their relief and excitement all around.
Their mission was originally planned to last just 8 days, but ended up stretching to 9 months.
What happened that caused such a major delay?
They blasted off on June 5th, 2024 aboard Boeing Starliner Spacecraft for what was supposed to be a quick 8 -day test flight.
because it was the first crewed mission for that capsule, and the goal was to dock at the International Space Station, run some checks, and bring them back home.
But shortly after launch, the star liner started leaking helium, five separate leaks in fact, which is critical for pressurizing the fuel lines, and then as they approached the station, five of its maneuvering thrusters failed, and a propellant valve got stuck, and these Huge problems made NASA and Boeing question whether the capsule could safely bring these astronauts back.
And for weeks they ran tests both in space and on the ground with a starliner replica, trying to figure out if they could patch it up.
And Boeing was confident at first they could make it work, but by August, NASA decided it was too risky to put Butch and Sunny back in that capsule for re -entry, so in early September the Starliner returned to Earth empty letting safely believing the astronauts behind on the ISS they had to wait for a new ride home which ended up being a SpaceX Dragon capsule.
It was a tough call but NASA just chose to prioritize safety over speed and that is what turned this short trip into a marathon. Nine months is a long time to be orbiting 250 miles above Earth.
What do we're Buchi and SUNY doing up there during their prolonged stay?
Yes, they were actually quite busy up there.
They spent their days working on science experiments like growing tiny algae that could make oxygen or studying how flames behave in space.
They also fixed up the station on SUNY, even broke a record for the most spacewalk hours by a female astronaut.
She stepped outside with Bruce in January to repair a telescope and other gear.
And beyond these serious stuff, they also kept life quite fun.
Like Christmas, they wore Santa hats, and tossed candy canes in zero gravity, sending holiday cheers back home.
And they also exercised two hours a day on special missions to stay strong.
They even voted in US elections from space, ballots sent up and down by email.
With 16 sunrises every day, they had plenty of time to snap photos of Earth.
So they were really making the most of their unexpected long haul.
Very briefly, I think to many, we are curious about this rescue effort.
How did NASA and SpaceX work together to prove that off?
After the Boeing ride broke down last year, NASA turned to SpaceX Crew -9 mission.
That capsule launched in September with two astronauts, Nick Hague and Alex Sandor -Gubronov, and that left two MTC's for Butch and Sonny.
NASA and SpaceX worked together to adjust the plan and make sure the capsule was ready for their job.
But still, they had to wait for the next crew, Crew -10, to take over at the space station.
The launch was delayed from February to March because a new SpaceX capsule wasn't ready, so they used an older one instead.
Speeding things up, crew 10 got there on March… Then two days later, here we are.
The two astronauts are finally back on Earth.
That's all the time for this edition of For Road.
Today, I'm Gaeana in Beijing.
Thank you so much for listening.
Bye for now.
