for some of france's most populous areas into a limited lockdown starting this weekend paris and the north of the country have been worst affected in the country's 3rd wave with with france recording nearly $40000.00 new cases on thursday the government has ordered stores to close for a month. u.s. secretary of state anthony blinken says that china is quote threatening global stability he made his comments after arriving in alaska for talks with china's top diplomat yang jiechi the pair are due to discuss problem issues including trade human rights abuses and the militarization of the south china sea. says d w news from berlin you can follow us on instagram or twitter news or you can go to our website that's dot com. it should be no surprise after the pandemic in trump's america 1st china would like a change in u.s. relations a reset but beijing may have to reset its expectations instead u.s. president biden is sending his top diplomat and national security adviser to meet with their chinese counterparts in alaska they'll bring a list of complaints and demands and when it's over the chinese may say see you again soon the american reply thanks but we'll wait and see what you do 1st i burnt off in berlin this is the day. trying to. you think work gresham's the system not to be rolled out and leave the united states should reverse course and stop interfering in hong kong. under proper she. divined taiwan is a part of china it is a historical and legal fact function of use human rights and tibet with that enjoy social stability economic growth on national unity and assures me that inside. we have indisputable sovereignty of the main south china sea islands and the adjacent islands. also coming up the european union's medicines regulator today said that the astra zeneca corona virus vaccine is safe and effective but what about the fear over the vaccine and those rare blood clots based on the evidence available and after days of in-depth analysis of lab results clinical reports autopsy reports and further information from the clinical trials we still cannot rule out definitively a link between these cases and the taxi. which of our. viewers on p.b.s. in the united states and to all of you around the world welcome we begin the day with the american foreign policy china doesn't want to see but may be forced to look directly in the eye today the u.s. secretary of state and the president's national security advisor will welcome their chinese counterparts for the 1st bilateral meeting since joe biden became president it comes at the end of a tour of asia that sold the americans reinforcing alliances from japan to south korea an attempt to project renewed power across the region aimed at beijing the americans insisted that today's meeting take place on u.s. soil emphasizing the position of strength on which biden's china policy will depend we know that the u.s. views china as the only nation on earth capable of challenging the global order but we don't know how china will respond it would be easy to declare this another cold war but the reality may be worse china will soon be america's economic equal its military and foreign influence are expanding befitting an emerging superpower president biden despite his tough stance insists the u.s. and china can work together we can chew gum and walk at the same time he says but his advisors and u.s. allies know this isn't about being the better multitasker it's about running and not allowing china to catch up china is the greatest long terms to treat strategic threat to the security in the 21st century the chinese communist party insidious and corrosive and corrupt influences that were globally and in this region some examples include their pursuit of multiple port deals loans for political leverage . vaccine diplomacy that undermines sovereignty state surveillance citee and the exploitation of resources such as illegal on regulation on reported fishing may want the united states has always pursued double standards and as for international law and rules the united states chooses to abide by whatever suits his purpose and this god whatever it finds obstructive in about 250 years since it was founded there are only 16 years that the united states did not wage a war the united states has hundreds of military bases around the world these are national community has a fair idea about who is the biggest threat to world peace and security who would usually silly old who. are right to peel back the layers of what is more than just a difference of opinions between the u.s. and china i'm happy to welcome tonight neil melvin director of international security studies of the u.k.'s royal united services institute he joins us from geneva in switzerland tonight and from reston virginia bonnie glaser joins and she is director of the china power project at the center for strategic and international studies bonnie has also worked for the u.s. defense and state departments to both of you welcome i'd like to start by playing part of the address given by u.s. secretary of state blinken earlier this month and then get your reaction take a listen our relationship with china will be competitive when it should be collaborative when it can be an adversarial one it must be the common denominator is the need to engage china from a position of strength that requires working without eyes and partners not denigrating because our combined weight is much harder for china to ignore. body than a start with you when you consider the message from blink in the fact that blink and sullivan do not intend for today's meeting to be the 1st of several or the start of new talks what does the bind administration want from china. well i think that the by an administration would like to see a change in some of china's policies a change in behavior on a range of issues that the biden administration and the trumpet ministration before them expressed some concerns about so these of course pertains to things like the camps and seeing the way that china is undermining autonomy in hong kong the lack of a level playing fields in economics trying his plans to dominate 21st century technologies. pressure on taiwan its economic coercion against australia its political influence operations in the united states the list is is is long and so we have to understand and i think china does that there are problems in the relationship and the question is whether the chinese are willing to begin to address those problems they may have hoped that the bite in the destruction would take a softer approach maybe they thought it would be a return to some of the obama administration's emphasis on cooperation on global issues at the expense sometimes not always of a sum of the differences and that has not happened and so i think that nobody expects that the outcome of this meeting will be a transformation of trance policies but over time what united states hopes to see is that china will reflect upon its its actions and consider whether maybe some of them are even counterproductive to china's own interests neal i want to ask you about where the u.k. fits in all of this just a moment but 1st in broader terms do you see america's allies especially europe on the same page with president biden concerning john. i think that's broadly correct i mean we've seen quite a translation in the debate on china in europe over the last year the u.k. i think has been leading out of that hasn't been alone as you know this week and which has been debating very much about the growing role all china are in the tech sector and around intelligence gathering and this information campaigns so broadly there is a move i would say now to look at china in a very different way very similar to the u.s. of me looking for opportunities around partnership but also seeing china very much as as a emerging competitor that often bends or breaks the rules but increasingly also seeing it as a threat at the same time there's quite a big debate in europe how best to respond to this and here i do think we can see a division some like the u.k. sweden and others are looking to take a much stronger line others assume a senior has as a settler 3rd force in world politics it can balance between the u.s. and china and set its own position. bunny president by morons to strengthen the global alliance of shared powers and values as a counterweight to china should he be worried about losing the european union as the controversy over russia germany in the nordstrom to pipelines that controversy continues. well i guess i'd like to reframe what you just described is what president biden is trying to do this isn't the cold who are in there isn't a ready set of countries that will align with the united states on every issue so the diplomacy is going to be much harder actually than it was during the cold war so there might be coalitions of the willing on different issues those that are willing to stand out perhaps the leaders in st john are going to be different and those that are willing to push back on china in their efforts to steal intellectual property. even in europe there are going to be some countries that will protest prioritize different issues and if you look at for example the south china sea and harder security issues we see countries like the u.k. and france and even germany willing to take a tougher stance while probably other countries will not so europe has different interests is going to just be different groupings of countries and i think many of those those ad hoc coalitions or coalitions of the willing will be composed of european countries because our values are are some deeply aligned and because the trance atlantic relationship is so important to both sides. of the atlantic then i think we're going to find ways to work together on some of these issues you know the u.k. has made it clear that it intends to help the u.s. and its policy towards china but the u.k. unlike what we're hearing from the white house is not willing to go so far in the air of engaging china which is take a listen to what prime minister boards johnson said. rather this time if you speak of those who for a new cold war china over us to a sequester our economy entirely from china to 3 the new policy of the old vision we view the. generally do from one position to the next are i think oh i think mistaken. juxtapose johnson against what the chinese are offering for public consumption this is from an editorial published in the global times which is a newspaper link to the chinese communist party it reads after acrimonious divorce with the e.u. at the end of last year the u.k. has been eager to expand its influence globally the johnson government has bet its hopes on this report to show britain still has clout on the world stage and tries to define a new era for the country yet in the eyes of some observers such ambition reveals london's overconfidence in its current international status and national strengths so neal is the u.k. overestimating its own power and reach particularly when it comes to china. i don't. think it's better in the government just recently it announced it is going to greatly review security and defense just came out on tuesday this week and then it's it takes i think quite a nuanced approach to china as it is looking at charter kosky 3 dimensions as a threat but we see that in different areas both in terms of a threat to keep you case economic security which is which is a question for working with other partners on things like emerging technologies but also the u.k. would like to i think to contribute to this coalition of countries which one is identifying which is really going to try to counterbalance china so you can it is realistic about its own abilities to play on a security role in india is if it's not going to be a leading military power in that region but its presence can be important i think in signaling there is a broader coalition of countries who are concerned about china's military buildup about china's activities in places such as the south china seas but also signaling that that on values issues such as a scene with the only community in xinjiang or an issue that's very close to the ukase interest namely the situation in whole call it's important to signal that these issues are being followed closely lot just by the u.s. and not just by countries union exhibit but i have a broader global community knew of the critics of boris johnson say that the prime minister wants to have his cake and eat it too with china do you think beijing and washington will they allow him to have it both where you know this in gauge meant for business at the same time looking at china as a military threat. well i think i think that that's the approach that most countries in china's atlantic community are taking and with saying we need china we need to act with china and some core issues such as alignment change and shut it's not owned by diversity protection of oceans i mean as a 2nd biggest economy in a world it's vital that we take china in all not a genuinely ukase chip is chairing the cup 26 negotiations this year in g 7 so in these important forms we need to work with china china is a vital economic partner and that's true but we also do need to try to signal to china that these other activities have to be rowed back all the holland china's interests and they can't be allowed to possible i mean this is i think the reality of of the new world that we operate in it is a cold lex world and there are going to be these diverse partnerships but we do need to also be clear on the messaging around that you know bonnie i said at the beginning of the program that this trying to us situation it could be worse than a 2nd cold war partly because china will soon be america's economic equal i suppose your top worry is not a military conflict what concerns you most as biden attempts this new approach with china. well i don't rule out a military conflict in the more distant future i think maybe the 5 to 10 year time frame might be a time when the when china could miscalculate and perhaps use military force against taiwan i don't see that as an as an urgent threat but china is using coercion against many of its neighbors and what i think the united states is quite concerned about is that china is celebrating the success of its model not only to its own citizens to other countries and china is saying that its model is more successful than that of western democracy now we may not be doing very well in the united states in combating the spread of code where we're getting a handle on that and i think you know better than we were but let's at least acknowledge that there are other democracies in the world that have done quite a good job and maybe even better than china and i would point to perhaps not only taiwan but also new zealand as examples of democracies that have done well but the chinese are telling themselves that the east is rising and the west is declining and this suggests to me the chinese are quite confident and may therefore be more involved and in the coming years to use what is a really expansive tool box not just necessarily to use military force which china has not done in a in a very significant way since 1989 hits vietnam but really just to coerce other countries we see this in the disputed and islands between china and japan where the chinese are very large law enforcement ships and marsh increasing sometimes numbers that they're trying to challenge chapin's administrative control we see the new. this against the other claimants in the south china sea against taiwan and against australia is a strand is the latest target of china's trade coercion and chad china is now boycotting about a dozen products from australia because it's angry that camera has called for an investigation into the arjun's of covert 19 among other. ills that it has is it has committed because it has offended the chinese so i think these are what i was call this very expansive tool box. actions and precious is really quite challenging to the world. the final question here we've got about a minute left what should america's allies expect after this meeting in alaska i think to be quick not to see a further step be operate tracon i mean obviously cha-cha intersect all of a key trajectory now but what i think china has see happening is that there is this coalition fully now it's built around to tears but it was also around so i think this is the moment that china also needs to reflect about when things are going meaning that we are entering a dangerous phase there is still time for alternative policy which would be about taking taking the hand of others and change this donal purses and i hope that to be the message that the chinese leadership will understand it is also the author to. know melvyn director of international security studies of the u.k.'s royal united services institute and bonnie glaser director of the china power project at the center for strategic and international studies to both of you we appreciate your time in your insights tonight thank you. european nations are restarting astra zeneca vaccinations today the european medicines agency the e m a said once again that the drug is safe and highly effective germany france italy and spain are among the countries lifting their bam the and they concluded that the vaccine was not associated with an overall increase in the risk of blood clots it was that fear that led more than a dozen european union countries to pose their vaccinations with the astra zeneca shot the e m a says the benefits of the shot outweigh the risks but it is not ruling out completely the possibility of a link to rare blood clots meanwhile the british medicines regulator the m h r a has also spoken out in favor of the continued use of the afters and a good vaccine in a statement it says the benefits of using the vaccine far outweigh any dangers the mh ari said that 5 reported cases of a very rare cerebral blood clot amounted to one in a 1000000 people who have been vaccinated it's not clear if there is a link but investigations continue now to show his confidence in the astra zeneca vaccine the head of the british national health service received the shot today in public simon stevens got his jab in a vaccination center in westminster abbey about half the u.k. adult population has now been vaccinated. there are problems though with a shortage of vaccines predicted for april doctors are also reporting that more people are hesitant about receiving the astra zeneca back seen very concerned particularly having to work so hard to try and set deploy the vaccine so everyone would need it i mean reading made lots of games but the committee with facts it has a tendency in the last week that has been completely just destroying because now we're having our clinics and all the as full as the full of patients counseling and not turning up because of the room of spread about astra zeneca fox of course the cloth which is no evidence based reservations hesitations and some people expressing their confidence in the astra zeneca vaccine is bringing educator john campbell in the u.k. it's good to see you again the british regulators the image or a they have reiterated that they think the vaccine should be used but they say there have been reported blood issues and also that people should see a doctor if they get headaches after a jab is this an abundance of caution or is this a case of no smoke without fire. now i think they are being very cautious and what a confusing week it's been really we learned about the increased risk of blood clots and when we talk about blood clots we normally think about the blood clots in the legs the deep venous thrombosis they can go up to the looms causing a pulmonary embolism and they're very common now it's interesting that the you're paid medicine say agency in the a m h r they have now both said that these are more common so the fed is sure this this what we call a vino form where embolism is not more common but what's transpired in the past few days is this there's these vessels cerebral sinus veins that drain the blood back from the brain and there is a slight increase in the throne by a symbol of clots in those vessels so having got rid of one type of look saying that they're not an issue they're not caused by the vaccine and that there's no association with the vaccine with those with those type of cancer now got this all the sort of blood clot and the does seem to be a slight increase about 18 cases reported in the u.k. and europe after $20000000.00 doses of oxford astra zeneca vaccine so they do seem to be about one case per $1.00 to $1500000.00 cases now this is a correlation it's not it's not a causality and the the m.h.l. ray and the european mentions agency have both saying there's a correlation there not saying there's a causality here and more a lot more needs to be done more needs to be investigated but it's incredibly rare and both agencies are saying the the risk of not being vaccinated fossa passes any risk of this potential car in 1000 side effect study let me ask you boris johnson said today that the biotech pfizer vaccine and the astra zeneca vaccine are pretty much identical in terms of safety given the current situation is that a helpful statement. well i think he probably isn't mean we can certainly say that's the case in terms of the very common source of blood clots the vino the number ambulance and if anything vaccination gives a level of protection and even in the data published by the us pain medicines agency there's no actual direct comparison between the oxford astra zeneca vaccine and the fires of bio untacked vaccine nor does the european data seem to take into account all the possible correlations for example we know that these sorts of so will sinus vein thrombosis a more common in women who are taking over contraception but that doesn't seem to have been accounted for so it could well turn out that this is a correlation or it could well turn out there is a level of causality him but they really if there is said very very small effect as we say perhaps one case for about 1.2 to 1500000 vaccinations the u.k. has vaccinated about half of the adult population now i mean given that wonderful milestone are you seeing the benefits of a successful vaccination campaign. well we are seeing a reduction in cases in the u.k. at the moment that this is largely as a result of the lockdown measures we are seeing more antibodies in older grades groups and that the antibodies in the age groups are coming younger into the younger age groups all the time so there is more immunity being generated starting from the old raid groups and of course the health care providers who were vaccinated early moving down so we are just starting to see some effect of that now because we have to remember that there is no significant ability of logical effect for at least 3 weeks after either vaccines or there's always a delay so the decrease cases we're seeing now are remarkably encouraging perhaps still mostly due to knock down measures but increasingly and this will be increasingly so in the coming weeks jus to immunity caused by the of the vaccination program dr john campbell as always are the campbell it's good to get your insights it's also good to have some good news to talk about tonight for a change thank you yeah thank you ben. well the day is almost done the conversation continues online you'll find us on twitter either at the w. news or you can follow me at brant goth t.v. and remember whatever happens between now and then tomorrow gives another day we'll see that everybody. to the point of strong opinions clear positions international perspectives. the arctic ice cap is melting away making it easier to explore the region's huge reserves of natural resources 63 major powers the us china and russia are vying for the biggest possible shadow of the cake so how explosive is their rivalry. to the point. next on t.w. . change comes to the happy. isn't a sea crisis. the country has most to give the forces of the close allies sation the most. trickling in. smartphones business ideas and very new treaties with. w. . slick . carefully. will suit. me to be a good. discover . subscribe to. documentary on you tube. who does the arctic belong to the venice region was long seen as a little more than snow and ice but now freed world powers russia china and the united states leading the charge to take control of the immense natural resources the new trade routes that are opening up even as a potential climate catastrophe takes hold so long to the point we ask our play hole when the race for the takes riches.