The epicentre of the massive earthquake, with the red cross warning that the first 48 hours are vital in preventing what it calls a disaster within a disaster if water and food aid dont reach survivors. The death toll continues to rise and is now past 2,000, with a similar number injured in hospitals. This is the small town of asni in the Atlas Mountains. Very few buildings have been left undamaged. Fridays 6. 8 magnitude earthquake struck 45 miles south west of the tourist hub of marrakesh, more from Anna Hooligan who is in marrakesh. Essential aid is on the way. The Moroccan Military has been deployed to distribute food and clear the landslides. International assistance is starting to arrive. Spain and the Czech Republic have sent Search And Rescue teams. British Aid Charities are coming, too. Inside the ancient city of marrakesh, miles away from the epicentre of the quake, a quarter of the population has been affected. This man told me he would rather be at home with his family but he cant afford not to work. If you want to help the people of this country, come to this country because this country, especially this city, need the tourists more than in the past. This is a unesco World Heritage site. The uns Cultural Agency says it will help morocco to assess the damage and come up with a Repair Strategy to reconstruct these cherished Cultural Assets that attract visitors from around the world. Everything just started shaking, the whole room is going like this. This couple are here for their honeymoon. Everyone was just panicking, women were in tears. There was just so much uncertainty on what was going to happen next, do we go back, do we wait here . There are building surrounding us so we are scared they are going to fall down. All the buildings have cracks in them now. Tourists have been queueing up to donate blood, hoping their presence here can help those who have nowhere else to go. As we mentioned, rescue teams have reached the town of asni after the Moroccan Army cleared a landslide on the access road. But other small Rural Communities remain cut off by rock falls and there are reports of entire villages flattened. 0ur correspondent nick beake has made it to another community in the Atlas Mountains. She sobs the grief was unbearable. And found in every corner of this tiny community. Their spirit crushed a little more every time news arrived of another body recovered. The bricks and stones of their traditional houses no match for the size of this quake. The village of tafeghaghte levelled in seconds. Abdul rahman was being comforted by everyone who saw him. He tells us hes lost his wife and his three boys. He wants to take us to where his family lived so happily until friday night. A walk through the rubble of this remote atlas mountain wilderness. Our house was up there, abdul rahman tells us. You can see the white blankets and the furniture, too. Everything else has gone. He ran home after the earthquake and says he started screaming out for his kids but there was nothing. We buried them yesterday, he says. I felt so sorry for them. When we found them, they were all huddled together, the three boys asleep. They all went down with the earthquake. Weve been told that about 200 people used to live here in this village. Of those, 90 are already confirmed to have died. Many more are missing, somewhere here beneath the rubble. Others are in hospital. And when you look at this and try and take it all in, you realise people simply didnt stand a chance and the scene of devastation is replicated right across this vast mountainous region. Sitting among the only possessions she now has left, we meet this woman, mourning her son in law. Translation we pray for god to help us and the government too, and the king. The first professional Emergency Teams to arrive here are spanish firefighters. Its not a search for signs of life but for the dead. There are no miracle rescues here in tafeghaghte this epicentre of pain and suffering. Nick beake, bbc news, in the Atlas Mountains. Live now to jamal imerhane, whos president of the commune of asni in the Atlas Mountains, one of the most impacted areas by the earthquake. Thank you for spending time to talk to us. What is the situation there . The situation, we can see the tents behind us since this morning, thanks to our team behind us since this morning, thanks to ourteam and behind us since this morning, thanks to our team and our government who give these to people so they can sleep because lots of people are just outside now, they do not find a place they can stay because all the houses are damaged. You know, we received some help this morning, some food, but it is still not enough for all the people, tents, they people are needing a lot. Understood. How easy is it for supplies to get through to you, you are talking about food and water at this point . We are talking about food and water at this oint . ~. ,. , this point . We are in the mountains and to net this point . We are in the mountains and to get the this point . We are in the mountains and to get the people, this point . We are in the mountains and to get the people, it this point . We are in the mountains and to get the people, it is this point . We are in the mountains and to get the people, it is a and to get the people, it is a little bit difficult. If you know, there are a lot of roads which are still closed. Some villagers are not able to get to it until now. There is a lot of effort, our government does to make the roads are open but we need a lot because for us it was really strong. A lot of damage for the roads, for the houses will stop you know, it is difficult to get to the people actually. H0 . . . You know, it is difficult to get to the people actually. How optimistic are ou the people actually. How optimistic are you that the people actually. How optimistic are you that you the people actually. How optimistic are you that you will the people actually. How optimistic are you that you will continue the people actually. How optimistic are you that you will continue to. Are you that you will continue to find survivors . To are you that you will continue to find survivors . Are you that you will continue to find survivors . To be honest, we ho e find survivors . To be honest, we hope that find survivors . To be honest, we hope that it find survivors . To be honest, we hope that it is find survivors . To be honest, we hope that it is in find survivors . To be honest, we hope that it is in one find survivors . To be honest, we hope that it is in one or find survivors . To be honest, we hope that it is in one or two find survivors . To be honest, we hope that it is in one or two days that we get to all the people but there are a lot of people and im sure it can get better in one or two days, we can find all the people who are underground. What days, we can find all the people who are underground. Days, we can find all the people who are underground. What assurances are ou caettin are underground. What assurances are you getting from are underground. What assurances are you getting from the are underground. What assurances are you getting from the moroccan you getting from the moroccan government and indeed aid agencies that they will be able to look at any buildings to check if they are in any way safe and continue the supply aid while this is going on . In the meeting this morning with our representatives from the king, to be honest, there are a lot of things from the people, the first thing is to get people off the street and the second is to check the houses. If people could live in the houses, because otherwise there is a strategy from the government that they will do a lot of things, Build New Houses for the people where they can live. We also get a lot of support from the organisations from all over the world, that is really good, good things from the people. Thank you very much indeed for joining us. The president of a commune in the Atlas Mountains that has been very severely affected by the earthquake in morocco, thank you. On a visit to vietnam, President Biden has defended the United States engagement in the pacific against a background of rising chinese influence in the region. Mr biden told reporters in hanoi that american actions were not about containing or isolating china, but about maintaining stability. Look, i think china has a difficult economic problem right now for a whole range of reasons that relate to International Growth and the lack thereof, and the policies that china has followed. And so i dont think its going to cause china to invade taiwan, as a matter of fact, the opposite, it probably doesnt have the same capacity that it had before. But as i said, were not looking to hurt china, sincerely. Were all better off if china does well, if china does well by the international rules, grows the economy. But they have had some real difficulty in terms of their economy of late, particularly in real estate, that end of the bargain, and i think the actions that theyre going to have to take are ones they are in the process of deciding right now. And im not going to predict what will come out, but were not looking to decouple from china. What im not going to do is im not going to sell china material that would enhance their capacity to make more Nuclear Weapons or engage in defence activities that are contrary to what is viewed as, most people think is a positive development in the region. But were not trying to hurt china. The centrepiece of President Biden� s visit to vietnam is an upgraded Strategic Partnership between the two countries, almost 50 years after the end of the vietnam war. So what do ordinary people make of the american leader stopping by . 0ur Asia PacificCorrespondent Laura Bicker has this report. From wartime foes to firm friends, the United States is drawing chinas neighbour closer. This new relationship excites vietnams next generation. Even as they sing songs about appreciating what they have, its clear they want more. This countrys young and talented workforce has attracted foreign business here instead of china. A lot of, like, korean and then Japanese Technology companies are Pumping Money into vietnam to develop, like, technology centres. And then there come the us. I can see, in the future, vietnam will become another, like, Silicon Valley for the us and for everyone to come here and work. I cant wait for it to happen. Vietnam was once one of the worlds poorest nations its now one of the Fastest Growing economies in asia, and it wants to stay that way. This e scooter start up was built by a vietnamese entrepreneur who learned his craft in the us. Because i want to realise my vietnamese dream. I was exposed to the american dream, but i think i have a stronger desire for my vietnamese career. Its the right time. Its the right generation to make the vietnamese dream become true. That drive to succeed is attractive to america. A deal being done will bring washington and hanoi closer than theyve ever been before. Its all part of a us strategy to try to contain china. But while vietnam might be wary of its largest neighbour, its certainly not going to walk away from beijing. Vietnam will try to balance the two superpowers. This communist country, with its own brand of capitalism, will not want to pick a side. Laura bicker, bbc news, hanoi. Live now to isabel hilton, who is Visiting Professor at the lau institute, kings college, london. She is also a founder of China Dialogue trust. Welcome to the programme, it is good to see you. What do you think President Biden is trying to achieve in vietnam . I President Biden is trying to achieve in vietnam . In vietnam . I agree with laura, i think he is in vietnam . I agree with laura, i think he is trying in vietnam . I agree with laura, i think he is trying to in vietnam . I agree with laura, i think he is trying to build think he is trying to build alliances in the region and he is trying to diversify potentially vulnerable supply chains. He is looking for allies who can be americas friends. Vietnam is a good choice because they did fight a war quite recently in the 1970s, what the chinese call the Self Defensive Counterattack and they had their state are pretty much armed hostility for 2000 years. Vietnam mistrusts its neighbour but it also has to live with it and they have a live dispute in the south china sea, so vietnam has been moving much closer to the United States. This is a significant step. Vietnam will get out of this american investment, it will be able to upgrade its technology further, so as long as the United States does not ask vietnam explicitly to choose a side in this confrontation with china, i think that this will be an extremely useful relationship. What think that this will be an extremely useful relationship. Useful relationship. What was President Biden useful relationship. What was President Biden trying useful relationship. What was President Biden trying to useful relationship. What was President Biden trying to say | useful relationship. What was President Biden trying to say about china . He is saying rarely that they want to get along, it seems, but not supply china with things that may be contrary to the interests of the United States if they were used against them. United states if they were used auainst them. ~ ,. ,. , against them. Absolutely and that has been a fairly against them. Absolutely and that has been a fairly longstanding i has been a fairly long standing policy, one started by president trump, he set a series of limits on what the United States would allow china to purchase and that includes mainly advanced microprocessors, so the United States is worried about chinas dual use technology, but its military capacity, its capacity to develop an effective defence against the us were there to be a live fight over taiwan, and that includes concerns about space, it also includes concerns about simple technological dominance, so america does not want to see china gain the lead, but beyond that, it does not want to cut off and cannot cut off its trading relationship with china. It is far too big, too deeply embedded. The chinese are right, this is a containment strategy. The americans are very clear about it, really. They do not want forced hostility but they do want to limit chinas capacity is. Chinas capacity is. China has len chinas capacity is. China has plenty of chinas capacity is. China has plenty of its chinas capacity is. China has plenty of its own chinas capacity is. China has plenty of its own problems i chinas capacity is. China has| plenty of its own problems at chinas capacity is. China has plenty of its own problems at the moment, the Property Market being one of them, but deflation being another. ,. , another. Yes, the chinese economy after growing another. Yes, the chinese economy after growing for another. Yes, the chinese economy after growing for more another. Yes, the chinese economy after growing for more than another. Yes, the chinese economy after growing for more than 20 another. Yes, the chinese economyl after growing for more than 20 years is now in a measure of trouble and thatis is now in a measure of trouble and that is cyclical. You get to a certain point in this very rapid catch up growth that it stops working. This happened to japan, south korea. The challenges, how do you move up the Technology Chain and maintain your Growth Momentum . It will be a bit slower but you need to get smarter, more efficient. You need to do a number of things which china has so far not managed to do in order to china has so far not managed to do in orderto maintain china has so far not managed to do in order to maintain growth. So it is going to be very interesting to see whether they do manage to pull it off. Right now they are beginning to reach with the very old and tired lever of pouring more concrete. That really does not create value in china, so they are going to have to come up with Something Else and we will see what that might be. Thank ou ve will see what that might be. Thank you very much will see what that might be. Thank you very much indeed will see what that might be. Thank you very much indeed for will see what that might be. Thank you very much indeed forjoining. Will see what that might be. Thank you very much indeed forjoining us. Mr biden is in vietnam after having been to the g20 in delhi. The summit is now finished and india has formally handed over the g20 presidency to brazil. Applause that we are, that is the moment we waited for. Prime minister Narendra Modi completed the transition by passing the ceremonial gavel of the presidency to brazils Luiz Inacio Lula da silva. Earlier the leaders gathered for a ceremony at the memorial of mahatma gandhi, indias independence leader. On saturday, the group issued a joint declar