Worldfocus

Until last year, General Motors was the world’s largest carmaker — but now, it is in bankruptcy, about to be reogranized into a smaller company. President Barack Obama said the restructuring will “take a painful toll on many Americans,” with as many as 20,000 workers affected in the U.S.

But the ripple affect goes far beyond the United States. Over the weekend, a Canadian car parts maker and a Russian bank agreed to take control of GM’s European operations, including Opel in Germany and Vauxhall in Britain.

On Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was in Beijing, trying to reassure the Chinese that this country is committed to bringing down the deficit as the U.S. recovers from the economic crisis.

Marcus Mabry, international business editor of The New York Times, joins Martin Savidge to discuss General Motors, Geithner’s trip to China, China’s concerns about the U.S. deficit and what comes next for the European auto business.