Keith Bradsher, New York Times Hong Kong bureau chief, discusses the case against some of China's trade practices and the implications for U.S. manufacturers--and takes a look at how China approaches education and economic growth.

A dispute over a chain of uninhabited islands known as the Diaoyu in China and the Senkakus in Japan has lead to rising tensions between the two countries. The New York Times reports groups of protesters in China number in the tens of thousands.

Keith Bradsher, New York Times Hong Kong bureau chief, discusses his investigation (with Charles Duhigg) about why the U.S. lost out to China for the contracts to produce Apple's iPhones--as well as revelations about the working conditions in some Chinese factories where many technology products are produced. 

Japan has raised the severity rating of its nuclear crisis from level five to the highest level, seven. The 1986 Chernobyl disaster is the only other time a nuclear emergency has been given a level seven. This decision reflects the total release of radiation at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi power plant, which is ongoing, rather than a sudden deterioration. Reporting from Tokyo is Keith Bradsher, reporter for The New York Times. The Japanese government says that the total amount of radiation is 10 percent of what was released at Chernobyl and there's still nervousness in the country, says Bradsher.

The nuclear crisis has escalated in Japan. There have been partial meltdowns in three nuclear reactors, breaches in the protective containment walls of two of them, and a fire in another. U.S. warships have changed course because of the dangers of rising radiation, and the Japanese Army decided it was too dangerous to fly helicopters over the plants. But 50 workers remain at the heart of the plant, literally risking their lives to avert a catastrophe at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Keith Bradsher is The New York Times Hong Kong bureau chief. He says that we don't know much about these heroic workers.

Chinese exports are cheap, but it's not all lower wages or efficient production. The cost of exports has been held down in recent years because the Chinese government has pegged the Yuan to the dropping dollar. But that may be changing. Murmurs within the halls of China's central bank, and central government, are pointing to an announcement in the coming days that the Yuan may move to a more flexible exchange rate against the dollar. This has big implications for trade, for President Obama, and for American consumers. 

Volvo is becoming a Chinese car company. Ford announced that it sold the Swedish car brand that it bought 11 years ago. Chinese conglomerate, Zhejiang Geely, is paying a third of what Ford originally paid for Volvo. Keith Bradsher, New York Times Hong Kong bureau chief, explains more about the buyer, the price and the future of Volvo.

UPDATE: On air (although not in the printed article), Bradsher said that Saab assets had been sold to Chinese car manufacturers and the rest of the company was being shut down. In fact, GM originally agreed to sell old Saab tooling to Beijing Automotive, but after starting to shut down Saab's ongoing operations, GM reversed itself and sold the company to Dutch car maker Spyker earlier this year.

As we discussed with researcher Phelim Kine earlier this morning, a just-released report from Human Rights Watch alleges that China is operating a distributed system of secret prisons that hold citizens petitioning for redress from their government.  We continue the conversation with Keith Bradsher, Hong Kong bureau chief for our partner, The New York Times.

What to name the flu that is raising alarms across the globe is becoming a complex issue. See, pork producers object to use of the name "swine flu", particularly in light of the fact that the virus has not been conclusively found in pigs and seems to include DNA of the human and avian flu. But calling the bug "Mexican flu" or "North American influenza" irks others, despite falling in with a long medical tradition of naming bugs after the regions where they were first found. Janet Napolitano, the secretary of homeland security, seems determined to call it the "H1N1 virus," which doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. To talk us through the global challenge of naming the flu is Keith Bradsher of the New York Times.

For more, read Keith Bradsher's article, The Naming of Swine Flu, a Curious Matter in the New York Times.

We are continuing our coverage of the swine flu outbreak. The flu started in Mexico, which is reporting over 1600 people believed to have contracted the virus resulting in 103 deaths. The flu has since spread across the United States from New York to California and there are now confirmed cases in Canada and Spain. Across the globe public health officials are swinging into action, spreading the word of hand washing, warning against large public gatherings, stockpiling Tamiflu treatments, and engaging the public. But countries like Hong Kong, who learned their lessons from the SARS scare, are already completely prepared for the possibility of an outbreak and have all their health care infrastructure in place. Keith Bradsher, Hong Kong bureau chief for the New York Times, joins us with a few ideas we can learn from Hong Kong and a look at the global response.

Also joining the discussion is Laurie Garrett, Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist and writer of two bestselling books, including The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance. Ms. Garrett is now the senior fellow for global health Council on Foreign Relations and is well poised to understand this crisis.

While Mexico struggles to manage the outbreak of swine flu and is rushing to confirm cases by sending samples to the United States, Hong Kong is already performing genetic tests and has mobilized their hospitals and medical facilities to test and track any possible outbreak. Hong Kong has contingency plans in place and 1400 isolated hospital beds reserved. Just in case! Why are they so prepared? SARS. Keith Bradsher, Hong Kong bureau chief of the New York Times, joins The Takeaway with a look at lessons we can learn from Hong Kong's reaction to the SARS scare.

Also joining us is Donald G. McNeil, a New York Times science reporter who has been covering the swine flu outbreak in the United States. For more, read Donald McNeil's article, U.S. Declares Public Health Emergency Over Swine Flu, in today's New York Times.


Click through for a transcript.

Despite the President's assurances, it is not to hard to imagine that the end of the American auto industry seems near. GM reported this week a 45 percent drop in sales, Ford sales were down 41 percent and Chrysler echoed that sales drop. But China has begun taking a bold step toward what its automakers believe will be the future of cars—the hybrid. Long struggling to catch up with Japan and the U.S. in the gasoline-powered car market, China is now devoting its efforts to electric cars, which is a big step for a country not known for its environmental progressiveness. Keith Bradsher is reporting this story and he joins us now.

For more, read Keith Bradsher's article, China Vies to Be World’s Leader in Electric Carsin today's New York Times.

The American economic boom couldn't have happened without China's willingness to buy up American debt. While the American economy has hit a road bump (or maybe a pothole), China has been able to avoid the same market turmoil. Until now. With a downturn in its own economy, China isn't interested in acquiring any more American debt and that is having a profound impact on our ability to borrow. New York Times' reporter Keith Bradsher is following this story in Hong Kong.

The Takeaway speaks with New York Times correspondent Keith Bradsher ("Eyewitness Updates: Nariman House") who's been filing via his phone from the streets of Mumbai, as well as Sumit Ganguly, South Asian expert and professor of political science at Indiana University.