Great days of my life being in china. Also coming up on the day the passing of an American Literary giant will reflect on the wife and the works and obsessions of philip. Lose in the do everything or lose in the ever run yes i fear it at the end of every book. Or we begin today with two leaders who rely on each other economically and have little in common politically the german chancellor Angela Merkel and the chinese president xi jinping and yet when they look towards washington they both see the same puzzling President Donald Trump it is ironic that the cantankerous and callous style of donald trump may be forcing germany and china to cozy up together in ways that would not have been imagined just two years ago but that is how you can read the agenda of miracles visit to china this week she is looking to xi jinping to help secure the global order constructed and mail neglected by the u. S. And that includes free trade and a rejection of protectionism and germany and china have always had a complex relationship a relationship that is now being trumped. Relations between china and germany are nowhere near as fluffy and spacings representatives at berlin zoo thats despite chinas president xi jinping and german chancellor Angela Merkel discovering more and more common interests since the g twenty meeting in germany last year. U. S. President Donald Trumps exit from the Iran Nuclear Deal is only the latest in a series of u. S. Policy turnarounds that of broad she and close the fact that merkel made her china trip the subject of her weekly podcast highlights beijings importance in such testing time is she not shown that in germany except the rules of the w t o nevertheless well discuss reciprocal trade issues that exist questions of intellectual property and we want to strengthen multilateralism. German industry is almost as worried about chinese efforts to acquire the technical know how as it is about trade barriers but only almost we are already in a trade conflict we dont want this conflict is escalating. One good thing is that it brings us together china and Germany China new European Union that we speak together about how can we progress free trade germany hopes that china will use its economic clout to stop the u. S. From further undermining the very free trade it used to stand for it there are no illusions in berlin that beijing can ever become the kind of ally washington will always be. But. When we talk about china we are aware that we face a partner whose values a political model are far from what we perceive to be right Civil Society is unable to articulate itself as it can in north america and europe so talks are totally different level accompted on quote it after more than a decade in office merkel has learned how much germany needs good relations with china and that those usually come with Strings Attached so just like the pound is that balances to which on loan and not a gift those new common interests may not be here to stay. Well lets bring in our Political CorrespondentThomas Sparrow hes on the story for us tonight here in berlin good evening to you tomo so here we have angle america walking a tight rope with china talk us through what is at stake with this visit politically and economically well politically and economically those are obviously brand the two specific cases of this visit the two main goals germany and china have bilateral strong relationship or at least thats the way its described as a relationship of growing political substance yourself mentioned the fact that this is not im going to strip to china in fact theres an average of about one trip to china and those are all issues that are going to be discussed just as theyve been discussed before and obviously economically the aspect of trade the fact that china is germanys biggest trading partner the fact that both countries basically depend on each other to a large extent when it comes to trade although germany does view certain aspects critically when it comes to for example intellectual property when it comes to reciprocity Market Access those are elements that size and Young America will want to talk but there are certainly a lot of elements at stake and with turns that landed relations somewhat chilly at the moment we could have no choice but to fall into the economic and the geopolitical arms of china. I dont think its that all b. S. To be fairly honest i think some that germany has and to now after working some time with donald trump is the fact that their relationships are not necessarily obvious theyre not a given that they have to fight for each partnership on a case by case basis thats absolutely all vs for the United States the transatlantic relationship now and i think it can also be applied to a certain extent to china to the fact that they can work on certain issues together when were talking for example of the Iran Nuclear Deal germany and china do share certain goals that they have but on other aspects whether were talking about democracy or human rights or whether were talking about the trade issues that i just mentioned those are issues with germany and china do not necessarily see eye to eye the german chinese relationship is about business but not only that beijings dreadful human rights record is part of this delicate balancing act for miracle chinese dissidents they want her to meet the widow of chinas first Nobel Prize Winner the prodemocracy campaigner. Activists are warning that time is running out for them. Driven to despair this is lucia a poet and an artist who can no longer write or draw shes long suffered from depression but now her condition has worsened the friend has released extracts from a race and phone call not. Were going. In berlin we make the man who made that recording chinese roger and poet yeah yeah. Hes desperately worried about the Nobel Prize Winners we dog. Situation is much worse than in the recording shes become completely hysterical. You sees no sense in continuing to be a lawyer. You know. Based on lee you has been kept prisoner in a home for nearly a year is her friend says shes suffering from acute claustrophobia. The Chinese Police erected barricades around her apartment in twenty ten just hours before her husband won the Nobel Peace Prize but suddenly last year the authorities let them see one another every die by then blew szabo was suffering from terminal live accounts. When he died i was devastated her husband meant everything to her. They used to write a lot of poems for one another. Im sure all the love had nothing to do with politics. So. Yeah you. Regularly via skype one of the very few contacts shes permitted. He believes her best hope now is immigration to germany shes been repeatedly promised to be allowed to come but nothing is happened so now hes plating with Angela Merkel to take up blue skies in china. Merkel concert. Release then she could perhaps visit home. The only thing your show has done wrong is fall in love with your shop will. For decades was her husbands greatest champion but that campaign was in vying he was never afraid now supporters worry that lucia could soon herself become a further symbol of the fight of those who speak out against the Chinese Communist party so much tragedy there to muster we know whether or not america plans to meet with the widow. We know that critics of that idea say that it would be an affront to the chinese regime to do Something Like that during an official visit well it is still on unclear to what extent that will happen and we do know for example that the report of that piece and questions about the case to the Chinese Embassy here in berlin there was no from there here in berlin the German Government spokesperson stephens i but was also asked about this particular case today and what he stressed is that germany is following the situation that it is aware of it and that it hopes for a humanitarian solution as far as i as a meeting with members of the Civil Society in china are concerned the spokesperson stressed that that is something that im going to michael often does when she travels abroad and then this particular case she plans for good with artists and scientists but there are no concrete details as to whether there will be this specific meeting or correspondent tom spear on the story for us tonight here in berlin thomas thank you. Well while the german chancellor is doing business in china her foreign minister is in the u. S. Capitol doing all he can to make a point if there were any doubt that relations between berlin and washington are strained just take a look at the twitter feed of German Foreign minister heiko must now this is mr mosss First Official visit to the us as foreign minister yesterday his Office Tweeted a photo of him in front of the u. S. Capitol where he met with senators and representatives the text reads america is more then the white house. To behave germanys chief diplomat in march has been holding talks with his u. S. Counterpart mike peo who took over at the state Department Just a month ago a First Encounter for two Foreign Ministers still finding their feet with one volatile issue on the table iran the us is already walked away from the International Nuclear deal on monday threatened the strongest sanctions in history if tehran fails to comply with washingtons the me its all happy to welcome here at the big table boris foreman he is a u. S. Analysts hes author of the book the crisis of democracy and hes a professor at bard college a professor of politics here in berlin its good to see you again boris i want to take a listen to what the foreign minister mr moss what he said after he met with the president S National Security advisor john bolton today take a listen. Along with our European Partners will remain in the Iran Nuclear Deal. We will also do all we can to ensure that iran stays in the steel. Because this agreement affects our immediate security interests in germany and the whole of europe. As regards to whats ahead we are indeed worried about the future of the Transatlantic Partnership america is an important Partner Force we need america in many places around the world and therefore weve agreed to keep the dialogue going but an open dialogue. And when we have differing views these differing views will also be brought out into the open. So it is safe to say that he does not go to washington trying to change anyones mind i think its very safe to say that its not a surprise that he didnt i mean even after mccaw and merkel went there a couple weeks ago there were still hopes in europe that this would be the case that trump would change his opinion on a couple number of points it was clear that mosque was not going to achieve that its been a visit to try and keep the childs open as we just heard and keep the communication going with the important partner nonetheless the German Foreign minister is in the u. S. Trying to keep the transatlantic ties intact the german chancellor is in china you know perhaps hedging her bets against you know an unpredictable u. S. President trump is that an accurate assessment of what were seeing right now i think it is i think were seeing a very volatile International Situation the irony of this entire situation is that its cost to a large extent by the u. S. By trumps trumps behavior in the Foreign Policy agenda and the irony of that is that theres doesnt seem to be any longer term vision or any strategy when it comes to iran or to us china relations theres a this notion of America First which has been very strong its not about domestic policy its not perhaps even about the Congress Elections that are coming up but we dont see any. Consistency on. Makes it difficult and yes i agree theyre hedging their bets theyre hedging their bets and it you know i keep thinking about steve bannon and you know that quote of him just wanting to throw everything against the wall and see what sticks you dont need to plan beyond that we know that germany and europe say theyre serious about keeping the Iran Nuclear Deal alive trump has his plan is there any way that these two paths can coexist and maybe even create a synergy. Well if we knew what trumps plan was it would be easier to answer that question we dont really know hes backed out of the iran deal mccloughan merck left tried to keep him at the table. That option is now off the table and theres hardly a scenario where trump would become convinced to be brought back to it. At the same time its difficult for europe to maintain the iran deal given that the incentives the economic incentives theyre trying to give are hampered by u. S. Intervention in the through sanctions and what happens more if there is no u. S. North korea summit or lets say the summit takes place and its a failure will it strengthen europes hand at all. I wouldnt see a direct relationship because you know trump has been saying there is pump a zero has been telling the iranians look at our commitment to north korea if you want to see the future absolutely and i think for trump it was a very important little disappoint and it must be a big disappointment for him that this seems to crumble at the moment i think thats why hes also willing to give him certain points and not fully denuclearize north korea i think that he saw this as the opportunity for him to leave a historical mark and to make this a signature move of his administration if its not coming coming into being well whats left. Basically because there are no major legislative successes the tax reform and there are a lot of well people that have been disgruntled to say the least of the time there are critics in washington who say that all of the people around trump have allowed him to make these predictions about north korea knowing that the president has not read the details yet well i mean of how was that puts interesting to see how the International Community reacted even talking about the new bell prize well right now it looks like thats not going to happen very fast but its interesting to see that well he called it a maximum pressure strategy and it seemed for a moment like this could bring some momentum into the situation of north korea and south korea which it did and we still dont know what the final world will be on that but the moment it looks much more difficult i think i have to agree with you on that one for me as always thank you we appreciate your insights. Well in italy a political picture of certainty mixed with uncertainty today italys president approved the appointment of just seppi conte a little known lawyer and political novice to be the countrys next Prime Minister conte was put forward for the post by italys two main populist parties the far right league and the anti Establishment Five Star Movement in his acceptance speech evolve to form a government of change but he said that he is aware that he needs to honor european and international commitments. Of the five Star Movement and the league both ran fiercely anti immigration campaigns ahead of the election now foreigners in italy say they are worried that the new government will follow through on what it promised voters. How modern is learning italian through games like this one originally from mali he comes to this school in eastern rome four times a week along with other migrants and refugees but that might change if the new Italian Government has its way. You know. Students are definitely aware that something has changed here people are starting to give them strange looks are they getting a first hand experience of the shift in italian politics. The head of the right wing populist league party. Wants to push through a hardline anti immigrant agenda as italys next india minister he and Coalition Partner luigi you have from the five star party want to deport half a million migrants as part of their agreement but experts say that might not succeed. They will try things but i dont think they will be able to do really effective things the common basis of these parties is these idea that they are both. Parties. I do not expect the set of very long long standing corporation after months of uncertainty theres a sense of relief among the general population polls suggest six in ten italians are ready to welcome a populist coalition government. Gave that weve had very little substantial progress in politics over the last few years i hope this alliance if you can call it that will make a positive difference. Also most in that i feel nervous about this. Were taking a big risk. I think well change is good italians have had enough of traditional politics and we havent got much to show fours. In with. But many refugees in italy like come from mali have reason to feel uneasy now. I think its crazy that they actually want to send us back i cant believe ive been hearing about this since i got here its just insane. Thats why people in classrooms like this one on the edge of rome hope the new government wont accomplish all it set out to do at least when it comes to migration. One of americas greatest modern writers philip roth has died he was eighty five years old roth was a type of late Twentieth Century novelists heavy on libido modern masculinity and often a picture of judaism american style. Push boundaries with his fearless explorations of sex death and assimilation he celebrated. Sized u. S. Society particularly in his words american pastore and in his two thousand and four book the plot against america in his one nine hundred sixty nine work portnoys complaint he wrote not only u. S. Society not only sanctions gross and unfair relations among men but it encourages them rivalry competition envy jealousy all that is malignant in human character is nearest by the system possession money property on such corrupt standards as these do you people measure happiness and success with the book also hit with wit on his Jewish American identity now he wrote the perfect couple she puts the id back in i put the oil back in go away and self deprecation was not a stranger in ross writings he wrote i can lie about my name i can lie about my school but how am i going to lie about this effing no. Behind that nose was the mind of one of americas most gifted and prolific authors roth won every major u. S. Literary award including the Pulitzer Prize reclusive and often reluctant to give interviews philip roth was known for his provocative and uncompromising novels about the American Jewish experience but theres a certain odessa to writing books without the audacity of cant write books and perhaps theres even a certain recklessness in writing books. I think the society i live in can live with my recklessness such as that is rob who is the author of more than thirty novels and short story collections spending seven decades its a work frequently blurred the lines between fiction and memoir and drew on his experience growing up in a jewish family in new jersey many of his protagonists were thinly veiled fergusons of himself my strong as it was is the life of men and i think my subject has been that. What what what is that what is what it what is the life of land in my time rauf was one of the most highly honored figures in American Literature but for him a claim and controversy were inseparable he insisted writing should expose and not sanitize the human experience. Well the human condition and its internal frustrations desires and the limits they were essential the d. N. A. Of philip roths progress in portnoys complaint we find this gem you can no more make someone tell the truth then you can force someone to love you now when one of his last books philip roth looked at his home and perhaps even saw our present day situation when he described his home country as that indigenous american bazaar. Well the day is nearly done but as ever the conversation continues online youll find us on twitter either at u. W. News or off t. V. Use the hashtag newday can remember whatever happens between now and then tomorrow is another day well see the never book. A game and a tradition sometimes a technological twist proposes a micro crew go try to sound the same way followed the first she needs to know the theory. And take a driving lesson before shes ready for the competition. How will she face octroi day in training because the. Joke is calling. That small to work took a social worker. Move shes born a teenage pregnancy out of the shadows a new to the spotlight contribute to the public debate on the child movie. Now shes looking for supporters to help her prove Child Protection into. Sixty minutes total. Global inequality. I mean any globally connected well. Known to the media. Join in and help look. Down each event as global media. Reporting from the white tulle. Around this state you know but the talk of who is your favorite let me. Tell you the turning point that much of churchill in the column didnt see the entire country championing free insurance for the last sixty years just for mines. I want to welcome to another edition of your own max im your host meghan lee from rolling reporters to a three sided we cant get away we have a mixed bag on the show today heres a look at whats coming up. The new jazz london featuring an innovative take on a traditional music genre. In full bloom