Keith Bradsher

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.

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.