we begin in china where as you ve been hearing there were hugs and tears as international travellers arrived in china yesterday without the need to quarantine for the first time since the early stages of the covid pandemic. the strict quarantine rules had been in place for nearly three years. their lifting marks the end of beijing s zero covid policy, which had caused growing public anger. in hong kong, 400,000 people are expected to travel into mainland china in the coming weeks with long queues for flights into cities including beijing and xiamen. so what impact will the reopening of china have on the country s economy? let s go live to hong kong and talk to iris pang chief greater china economist at ing. lovely to see you. for many people this is what they have been waiting for for so long where they have not seen family or been able to return home. give us your take on the impact this is happening. i give us your take on the impact this is happening. this is happening.
let s start here in the uk where the new chancellor has been holding crunch talks with the prime minister on sunday to thrash out plans on tax and spending. jeremy hunt says his focus is on growth underpinned by stability. the value of the pound has gone up against the dollar in early trading today in asia. we will look at the market numbers in a moment because the new chancellor has the tough task of restoring economic credibility in the financial markets. our international trade correspondent dharshini david explains some of the tough challenges he faces. as international trading resumed for the first time after the chancellor wrapped up an economic strategy launched just one month ago, but his version, will it reassure other financial markets? let s look at those challenges, because this is the cost of new government borrowing, as dictated by the bond markets, which also impact mortgage rates. that rate remained high on friday then it was prior to september s mini budget.
hello there. we start with the cost of living crisis because the uk is facing a summer of discontent over pay, according to the head of the biggest private sector union. sharon graham, who runs the unite union, has told the bbc it s not militant to ask for pay rises in line with inflation, currently running at over 9%. she says tens of thousands of her members, from bus drivers to refuse collectors to factory workers, are involved in pay disputes around the country. this warning comes as railway workers announce more strike days over the summer. here s what she had to say to our economics editor faisal islam. before people turned around to workers and say to workers, not only have you got out and defended the pandemic, because it was key workers and ordinary people that did that, now it is over, we want you to pay for it. now that is actually abhorent to me. the idea that we set out you go, you defend what is going on out there and by the way, now you are back and everyon
hello there. a significant easing of restrictions in shanghai, which will allow most people to move freely around the city after more than two months of a full lockdown. hooray! the curbs on movement have crippled demand and production. on tuesday, beijing unveiled a stimulus package with 33 measures to try and revive the economy. but china s overall policy of zero covid remains very much in place according to our reporters on the ground. joining me now is iris pang, who is the chief economist at ing wholesale banking. iris, is china open for business? yes, it is. the unwinding of long down in shanghai is a very big step but lockdown is a very big step to the recovery of china. very big step to the recovery of china- very big step to the recovery of china. ~ ., i. ., ~ ., of china. what you make of the olicies of china. what you make of the policies john of china. what you make of the policies john has of china. what you make of the policies john has had of china. wh