Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.

Coming up on the program this evening...

A leading member of the Chinese government is in the US city of Pittsburgh to promote people-to-people exchanges.

A trade promotion event is coming to a close in Russia, with China high on this years agenda.

Dozens of people are dead in the Indian city of Mumbai after drinking tainted alcohol.

In the 2nd half of the hour... we'll bring you a recap of some of the stories which made headlines in the business world this week.

In Sports.... final preparations are being made for China's first knock-out match at the Women's World Cup.

In Entertainment.... an Iranian film has taken leading accolades at an awards presentation at the Shanghai Film Festival.

Top NewsVice Premier Liu Yandong Launches the 2nd China-US Young Maker Competition in PittsburghAnchor:

A leading Chinese official is now in the US city of Pittsburgh to promote inter-personal exchanges ahead of next week's China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue.

CRI's He Fei has more from Pennsylvania.

Reporter:

Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong, the Chinese government's point-person on people-to-people exchanges between China and the US, has made a stop in Pittsburgh to help launch this year's China-US Young Maker Competition.

The competition, the 2nd of its kind, tasks young people to come up with concepts to promote community development, education and environmental protection which can benefit both the United States and China.

"Today, innovation is an unstoppable trend. It is the driving force for the world's development. Regardless if you're from China or the US, originality and entrepreneurship are key for young people. Both China and US agree that there is great potential for cooperation when it comes to originality and development."Johnathan Kenneson is one of those taking part in this year's Young Maker's Competition.

The University of Pittsburgh sophomore says he's fascinated by the prospect of working with people from China.

"I think we need further the connection between the two countries. Being able to see from a different point of view than your own, especially from half way across the world, it's quite an amazing thing."The Young Maker Competition has been established as a way to help narrow the cultural gap between China and the United States.

However, it has also developed into a forum where those already versed in one-anothers cultures can come together to share ideas.

Frank Dolce is an MBA student at the University of Pittsburgh.

Already fluent in Mandarin, Dolce is among a growing number of people in the United States who are advocating for more social connections between the two sides.

"We need more exchange programs. So the more Chinese people that come to America, and the more Americans that go to China the better. I mean that's the bottom line and there is not enough."The launch of this year's China-US Maker Competition is a prelude to the forthcoming China-US Consultations on People-to-People Exchanges.

Chinese vice-Premier Liu Yandong will co-host the sessions in Washington, which are part of the annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue between the two sides.

Ahead of her time in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday, Liu Yandong is also making a stop-over in Houston, Texas.

For CRI, I'm He Fei in Pittsburgh.

China, Russia to deepen economic cooperation in St. Petersburg Economic ForumAnchor:

This year's St. Petersberg International Economic Forum is drawing to a close.

The annual investment forum has seen China's potential investment in the Russian economy sit high on the agenda.

CRI's Wang Mengzhen has more.

Reporter:

Amid continued international sanctions connected to the situation in Ukraine, along with the dramatic drop in the value of the ruble, Russia's leadership has been increasingly looking toward China to help keep the Russian economy on-track.

This has been highlighted in a speech delivered to this year's St. Petersberg Economic Forum by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"In May, Russia and China signed a joint communique concerning the integration of Eurasian Economic Union and the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative. This has provided a new approach for Europe-Asia cooperation, especially in the large-scale infrastructure building, streamlining procedures for bilateral trade as well as increasing bilateral financial investment."China's delegation to this year's event in St. Petersburg, which has included representatives from over a hundred Chinese companies, has been led by Chinese vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli.

"We feel both sides should be working on large-scale strategic projects, based on our great potential, to increase our mutual investment. We feel our two countries can foster more cooperation in areas such as energy, agriculture, space, finance and the development of Russia's Far East region, along with many other areas."Zhang Gaoli has overseen the signing of numerous contracts between Chinese and Russian companies at the event in St. Petersburg.

The agreements have included a commitment to design a high-speed railway link between Moscow and the southeastern Russian city of Kazan.

There have also been significant discussions between the Chinese and Russian sides when it comes to energy cooperation.

Russia's EN+ Group CEO Vyacheslav Solomin says teaming up with China when it comes to energy just makes sense.

"For China, cooperation in energy resources will bring clean energy to push forward the Chinese economy. For Russia, it will further explore the energy resources in eastern Siberia and promote infrastructure construction in Russian territory. This is a win-win cooperation for the two sides."China is now Russia's largest trading partner.

Bilateral trade last year surpassed 90-billion US dollars.

It's expected to exceed 100-billion by the end of this year.

For CRI, I am Wang MengzhenCentral Gov't Will Continues to Back HK's Foreign CooperationCentral authorities here in China are taking steps to reassure the markets that Hong Kong remains open for business.

This comes on the heels of Hong Kong lawmakers rejecting a proposal for universal suffrage to elect the city's next Chief Executive.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei says Hong Kong's current status on the world stage will not change.

"Hong Kong is a hub of international finance, trade and transportation. Maintaining Hong Kong's prosperity and stability is not only in the interest of China but also in the interest of foreign investors. China's central government will continue to firmly support the region's international exchange and cooperation and protect the interest of foreign investors in Hong Kong in accordance with the law."Hong Kong lawmakers voted against a proposal which would have allowed all eligible voters in the city cast ballots for the next Chief Executive in 2017.

In turning down the proposal, Hong Kong's next Chief Executive will be selected by a small group of electors.

HK Chief Executive Seeks Support for Economic ProposalsHong Kong's Chief Executive is pressing lawmakers in the city to get back to business.

CY Leung is calling on the city's Legislative Council to endorse a series of economic proposals he is going to table next week.

"The SAR government and I personally would like to make immediate and proactive efforts on economic issues to improve people's livelihood. I now declare that we will propose 11 initiatives to the meeting of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council next Friday."At the same time, CY Leung says lawmakers in the city need to put aside their differences over universal suffrage for the greater-good.

"The SAR government will not stop cooperating simply because the 'pan-democrats' say they will not cooperate. The government expects to have a new cooperative relationship with the Legislative Council and with those who have different political views."The economic proposals being put forward by the Executive in Hong Kong include increasing government salaries, additional spending for social security and a reduction of low-income rental rates.

Hong Kong's economic growth has been slowing over the past year amid the debate over the proposed changes to the electoral system.

Rational and fair punishment is essential in eliminating human traffickingAnchor:

Online debate has been stirring in China connected to a post making the rounds detailing the stories of abducted children.

The stories, and the pictures connected to them, have been generating calls for those caught in connection with child trafficking to receive the ultimate punishment.

CRI's Wang Wei has more.

Reporter:

The viral proposals have sparked heated online discussion on appropriate punishment for child abduction and trafficking.

Wang Xizi, the deputy head of Peking University Law School, says this discussion is a good thing.

"In my opinion, the huge emotional outcry will prompt not only the government and judicial departments but the whole society, to step up efforts in dealing with the social problem. Moreover, the reposts actually are a kind of public debate on the issue, which will help to form a comprehensive legal system with emotionality and rationality to effectively eliminate such crimes. "Experts say the rapid and wide spread of the post reflects the fact that people have long been holding these concerns.

Psychological researcher Zhu Jianjun offers his thoughts on the reasons behind the move.

"Some people forwarded the post out of fear. For those who have kids, or those who don't have kids but consider child kidnapping as quite terrible thing, they wish there could have ruthless law which can greatly reduce human trafficking cases. Thus they will obtain a sense of security."At present, only kidnappers in the most serious trafficking crimes are liable for death. The minimum penalty is five years in prison.

In the end, those in favor of the posts usually blamed the current law for being too merciful to traffickers.

In response, many Chinese law professors have expressed their own opinions, and some suggest web users to recognize that some public pages may be saying these things in a bid to attract hits.

Wang Xizi with Peking University Law School, further points out that the public's emotional concern is acceptable; however, laws should be fair and rational.

"It's polarized thinking to hand down death penalty to anyone involved in human trafficking, actually, the idea needs to reach rational and fair standards in criminal law and sanctions. So the call can only be regarded as emotional expression instead of rational analysis on fighting the criminal behavior of trafficking. To present emotions is acceptable, but as for law, it's always essential to take justice, fairness and rationality into consideration."Some lawyers think the uniform punishment also would deprive the criminal of his right to defend himself.

Still, many legal professors admit that harsher punishment for those buyers could partly solve the problem.

Figures show that in 2014, Chinese police rescued over 13-thousand children, many of whom were sold to childless families nationwide.

For CRI, I'm Wang Wei.

33 killed by fake bootleg liquor in Mumbai33 people are dead and numerous others are in hospital after drinking bootleg liquor in India.

The exact number of people sickened by the poisonous brew hasn't been confirmed.

The fake alcohol was being sold out of a slum in the Indian financial hub, Mumbai.

Local state minister Eknath Khadse says authorities are launching a full investigation"This is a serious matter and orders to investigate this have been issued. The crime branch is looking into the matter and going forward a high level committee will investigate it. I will take up the matter with the chief minister. Investigations will be conducted to ascertain things like what caused this, where this hooch came from and who is responsible for this."So far 3 people are under arrest in connection with the incident.

Doctors are treating around 20 people said to be in critical condition for Methanol poisoning.

Nearly 1 million people face food insecurity risk in Nepal: UN agencyThe Food and Agriculture Organization is calling for urgent help for farmers in earthquake-hit Nepal.

A UN spokesperson says one million people face the risk of prolonged food insecurity in Nepal.

FAO has received around 3 million dollars for emergency relief so far, only 13 percent of the 23 million dollars it has asked for.

Two separate earthquakes and a series of aftershocks struck Nepal in April and May, killing more than 8-thousand people and devastating large parts of the country.

S Korea's MERS infection rate slows down, No New Case ConfirmedFor the first time since the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in South Korea began to take hold, no new cases are being reported this Saturday.

Jeong Eun-kyeong, head of South Korea's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, says this is a sign the spread of MERS is coming to an end.

"The total number of confirmed patients currently stands at 166, and among those patients, 106 are receiving treatment, 36 were discharged, and 24 died. Compared to the day before yesterday, there were no new patients, six were discharged and there no fatalities reported yesterday. 91 confirmed patients are in a stable condition and 15 are categorised as unstable patients."Thousands of people in South Korea remain under quarantine in an effort to keep MERS from being transferred in the general population.

Virtually all known MERS infections in South Korea are connected to transmissions which can be traced back to medical facilities.

Eleven hospitals in South Korea are under observation for the potential spread of the virus.

MERS was confirmed in the country on May 20th after a 68-year old man returned from a trip to the Middle East.

Obama calls for gun control after church shootingUS President Barack Obama is attempting to open up a new debate about gun control in the wake of this week's mass killing at a church in South Carolina.

Addressing the annual meeting of the US Conference of Mayors in San Francisco, Obama says despite a reluctance among federal lawmakers to bring in tighter gun-control legislation, more needs to be done to limit gun violence.

"It tears at the fabric of the community. It costs you money and it costs resources. It costs this country dearly. I want to be clear -- I am not resigned. I have faith we will eventually do the right thing. I was simply making the point that we have to move public opinion. We have to feel a sense of urgency."Obama's new push for gun control comes on the heels of nine people being gunned down during a prayer session at a church in the city of Charleston, South Carolina on Wednesday, in what police say was a racially-motivated attack.

Vigils are being held in Charleston in an attempt to try to limit racial tensions in the wake of the shooting.

"Unification is definitely needed. We need to stop singling each other out by race, creed, religion. We need to stop that. It needs to end and I hope that this situation can bring some type of light and heading to people of different nationalities to pull each other together and lift each other up instead of tearing each other down. We need to heal as a nation."21-year old Dylann Roof is accused of systematically murdering 9 black people taking part in a Bible-study session at a historic church in Charleston this week.

Roof is said to have connections with known hate-groups.

Islamic State eclipses al Qaeda as the leading jihadist militant group: U. S. terrorism reportA new US report is pointing to emergence of the Islamic State as one of the main reasons behind a sharp rise in terrorist attacks around the world this past year.

The US State Department's annual report on terrorism says close to 33-thousand people were killed in terror-related attacks last year.

This is up sharply from the roughly 18-thousand who were killed in connection with terrorism the year before.

The same report also says the number of kidnappings tripled last year, with over 9-thousand people abducted by terrorists.

Tina Kaidenow with the US State Department's Counter-terrorism division says their analysis shows any gains they've made against al-Qaeda have been supplanted by the rise of the Islamic State.

"Despite significant blows to al Qaeda's leadership, weak or failed governance continued to provide an enabling environment for the emergence of extremist radicalism and violence notably in Yemen, in Syria, Libya, Nigeria and Iraq."The analysis also cites the "unprecedented seizure" of territory in Iraq and Syria by the Islamic State as a major area of concern, along with its continued ability to recruit foreign fighters to join its cause.

The US State Department estimates around 16-thousand foreign fighters from over 90 different countries joined the fighting in Syria and Iraq this past year.

The analysis has also noted a rise in the number of so-called "lone wolf" attacks, on top of the use of more extreme methods of violence by fighters to repress and frighten communities under their control.

But at the same time, the report does say both regional and international efforts to counter the Islamic State and other groups are starting to make inroads.

Fostering Development in Palestine through TourismAnchor:

A major conference sponsored by the United Nations has been held this week in the West Bank city of Bethlehem to discuss how to use tourism as a tool to help rejuvenate a regional economy stifled by decades of political and social unrest.

CRI's Sophie Williams has more.

Reporter:

Nael Hamamra is a Palestinian tour guide living in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Although he has a certificate to guide tourists in both Palestinian territories and Israel, it is impossible for him to actually work on the Israeli side.

"There are only about 40 Palestinian guides (from the West Bank) who can work on the other side. They are not issuing any more permits. Hundreds of Israeli guides can come and work in our area. We need also to have the same equal right, as Palestinian tour guides to work on the Israeli side."Although there are abundant tourism resources in the Palestinian territories, the development of tourism has been largely restricted due to the Israeli occupation.

The Palestine Liberation Organization said in April that the Israeli Ministry of Tourism has both claimed and profited from Palestinian sites by blurring territorial lines between Israel and Palestine.

Many tourists who have visited Palestinian cities with Israeli travel agencies do not even know that they have been to Palestine.

Rula Ma'ayah is Palestinian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities.

"Israel is continuing occupying Palestine, which leads to many obstacles. Israel doesn't take responsibility of the peace process, doesn't fulfill commitment to international law, doesn't implement UN resolutions, and doesn't want to reach a just and comprehensive peace in the region. All of these prevent tourism of Palestine to achieve our full goals, and prevents necessary and good investment to this sector."Ma'ayah made the remarks during a conference on religious tourism held from Monday to Tuesday in Bethlehem, organized by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, or UNWTO.

It is the first time that UNWTO hosts an international conference in Palestinian territories. The conference titled "Fostering sustainable socio-economic development for host communities" attracted hundreds of representatives from tourism sectors around the world.

Middle East envoy Tony Blair, representing the quartet of world powers negotiating for peace, also joined the meeting and says despite all the challenges and problems, Palestine is open for tourism though there's much more that could be done.

"We want Palestine to be a destination where people come to stay, and not simply an attraction where people come to visit. Tourism has the ability to boost socio-economic development. It is tourism that requires investment and infrastructure. It's tourism that can stimulate local culture. And it is in tourism that we have jobs for young people. This sector is of huge importance to the development of the Palestinian economy, and therefore to the development of the Palestinian state."Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of UNWTO, says tourism is not only a powerful tool for development, but also helps to build peace, as it brings cultural understanding among people.

"Today's world is in bad need and in short of cultural understanding. Connecting people, connecting nations, collecting religions is of absolute importance. The improvement of the quality of life of the Palestinian people is good for everybody. And that's precisely we are here in Bethlehem, in Palestine, to tell the world we care, and we can together build a better world."This week, various tours are being organized for participants of the conference, most of whom are in Palestine for the first time, to learn more about this land from different aspects.

For CRI, I'm Sophie Williams.

Google acts to curb 'revenge porn' from search resultsGoogle has announced its taking steps to remove "revenge porn" from its search results.

So-called "revenge porn" is sexually explicit images of someone posted without their consent.

Google says its developing an online form that will allow victim of "revenge porn" to make requests to remove the items from Google search queries.

Google is the latest tech company to add a reporting system for taking down this type of content.

Reddit updated its policy in February.

Twitter and Facebook banned the posting of "revenge porn" in March.

CSRC calls for investor calm amid steep market sell-offSecurities regulators here in China are issuing a call for calm amid the massive sell-off on the mainland markets this past week.

Friday's trading saw both the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges lose over 6-percent in value.

Through this past week, Shanghai finished down 13-percent, the biggest weekly drop in 7-years.

Most market observers are attributing the sell-off on both Friday and the day before to an over-correction by investors worried about an over-heated market in Shanghai, which has jumped by around 140-percent over the past year.

However, a number of investors are pointing the finger at regulators, suggesting the lack of publicizing a change in the way in which trade volumes are calculated is to blame.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission brought in changes the week before which excluded certain transactions from being included in the overall volume totals, which some investors say spooked the market after traders eventually recognized the reduced totals.

However, Deng Ge with the CSRC says the suggestion doesn't make much sense, given the adjustment was brought in during the previous trading week.

"After the readjustment on June 10th, the Shenzhen Component Index actually rose for three days in a row. Investors generally bought stocks without a lot of selling. We're hoping investors carefully review market information and invest rationally."Nine new companies began trading on the mainland markets on Friday.

New issues often drain money from the existing shares, as traders move money into the new issues from their existing portfolios.

Social credit code system for legal entities to be unifiedChinese authorities are taking steps to try to ease the regulatory headaches business owners and companies have to deal with when it comes to issues such as registration and taxes.

Lian Weiliang, vice-Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, says they're now in the process of creating a unified code structure.

"People who register with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce will be issued a new code as of October 1st. At the same time, other departments are also implementing the unified code system, which should be finished by the end of this year."Business owners or groups currently registered in the existing system will eventually be transferred into the new structure over the next 3-years.

Right now business owners have various codes for the different departments they have to deal with.

Under the new plan, registrations through various departments will be unified under one, 18-digit code.

Qinghai to step up lithium output due to growing EV demandProvincial authorities in Qinghai are working on plans to turn the northwestern region into a global hub for lithium extraction.

Lithium carbonate is the key component of the batteries used to power electric vehicles.

Qinghai deputy governor Luo Yulin says they're working on expanding lithium output in the province.

"In recent years, we've been expanding the extraction of our lithium resources, as Qinghai is home to rich, salt lake resources. We now have a complete lithium industry chain which can build batteries. We are also making breakthroughs in extraction technologies. Our annual extraction capacity has surpassed 10-thousand tons. We are also hoping to build a large-scale lithium industrial park by 2020."Ma Peihua, vice-Chair of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, says they see no slowdown in the demand for lithium resources.

"The lithium battery industry in China is hot right now. Supply can't keep up with demand. In May, 20-thousand electric cars were produced in China. That number is even higher if you include the electric buses we've produced."It's believed the province of Qinghai is home to around one-third of all known lithium deposits in the world.

WeatherBeijing will be clear tonight with a low of 19 degrees, tomorrow will be cloudy with a high of 32.

Shanghai will be overcast overnight with a low of 22, tomorrow will have slight rain with a high of 26.

Chongqing will have showers tonight with a low of 24, overcast tomorrow, high of 28.

Lhasa will have slight rain tonight with a low of 12, tomorrow will be cloudy with a high of 25.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad will have slight rain with a high of 38.

Kabul, cloudy, 32.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney will have slight rain with a high of 15.

Brisbane will be cloudy with a high of 19.

Perth, rainy, 15.

And finally Auckland, New Zealand will have slight rain with a high of 15 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsChina issues storm alert for Dragon Boat Festival holidayA heavy-rain warning is now in effect in southern and central China.

Torrential rains are pounding the central parts of Guizhou and the western areas of Hunan.

Local authorities are on alert for flooding and landslides.

The weather warning is currently at blue.

This is the lowest of the four-tiered colored warning system in China for severe weather events.

Forecasters have been warning areas of central and southern China are likely to see additional severe weather situations this year because of the "El Nino" effect.

Firefighters put out primeval forest fire in Inner MongoliaA forest fire which has been burning in Inner Mongolia for the past few days has been fully contained.

The blaze, which broke out on Thursday, consumed about 25 hectares of forest in the Hulun Buir region, which is in the extreme northeast of Inner Mongolia along the border with both Mongolia and Russia.

Around 400 firefighters, along with 4 helicopters, were mobilized to tackle the blaze.

The fire was a considerable distance from the nearest community in the region.

It's believed the blaze was sparked by lightening.

Securities regulator fired for husband's illegal tradingThe China Securities Regulatory Commission has been forced to sack one of its officials in connection with illegal stock trades made by her husband.

Li Zhiling was a section chief with the CSRC's stock issuance supervision department.

The nature of the allegations against her and her husband have not been revealed.

The CSRC does say the case has been handed over to judicial authorities.

Li Zhiling had once been in charge of the review of financing and legal procedures for China's Growth Enterprise Market.

Airbus A380 deployed on Beijing-Amsterdam routeChina Southern Airlines has put one of its Airbus A380's on the route linking Beijing with the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

The world's largest passenger plane is replacing the A330 currently servicing the route.

The A380 will only service the Beijing-Amsterdam route for a few months.

China Southern plans to shift the aircraft to the Guangzhou-Sydney route in October.

10 confirmed dead after shootout in northern Mexico beer hallTen people are dead after a mass shooting at a beer hall in northern Mexico.

Local authorities say the shooters stole the equivalent of around 650 US dollars before fleeing.

However, it's unclear at this point if robbery was the motive behind the attack.

Northern Mexico is home to numerous drug cartels who operate trafficking rings across the US border.

Mexican authorities have yet to formally identify the victims.

Weekly Biz Roundup(Saturday)It's time to take a look back at some of the headlines from the business world this past week in our Weekly Business Review.

China and Australia signed a lucrative free trade agreement on Wednesday. The Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone is ready for a new round of financial reforms. China is now ready to participate in IMF's assessment of the yuan for Special Drawing Rights. The Bank of China becomes the first ever Chinese Bank to help set the gold price in London. And Cisco is planning to invest over 10 bln USD in China in coming years.

Let's catch all of that and more with CRI's Wenjie.

Reporter:

China and Australia signed their long-awaited free trade agreement on Wednesday in Canberra, Australia, capping off a decade of negotiations.

Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said the free trade agreement is a landmark achievement.

"The China-Australia FTA is or has attained its goal of being a comprehensive, high-quality and balanced agreement. It has the highest degree of liberalization amongst all the FTAs that China has so far signed with another economy. This signing is going to provide us with a more open, convenient and regulated institutional arrangement for our trade and investment exchanges going forward."One of the highlights of the deal includes Australia opening up its services sector using a negative-list approach.

As part of the deal, tariffs are going to be lifted on 95-percent of Australian exports to China.

China is Australia's largest trading partner, with the two-way trade between the two sides hitting 130-billion US dollars last year.

So far, more than one-third of China's foreign trade has been included in free trade agreements.

//////////The Chinese government on Thursday said it's launching a new internal coordination program amid concerns about the decline in foreign trade.

Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Shen Danyang said they're working on a number of different plans to increase trade.

"Our focus is to help ease burdens for Chinese companies and boost their growth. Currently, we are working on policies in three aspects based on Chinese firms' concerns. One is to cut procedural charges during import and export. Secondly, we are trying to find a better solution for enterprises' financing concerns. Meanwhile, we need to make overseas trading more convenient, including the set-up of cross-border e-commerce platforms."At the same time, Shen said weak global demand and currency devaluations are also contributing to what the Commerce ministry describes as a "grim" situation when it comes to trade.

China's foreign trade dipped by nearly 10 percent year on year in May, with imports plummeting over 18 percent.

//////////At the same time, the deputy head of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone says that close to 50 new plans are being worked on to try to cut red tape in the FTZ.

Sun Jiwei says the details of their plans are going to be discussed at a forum in the city next week.

It's widely-expected the new plans will include an update to the "Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor" program.

Wall Street Shanghai Bureau chief Shen Hong explains the focus of the plan.

"According to the planners, the focus will be on allowing individual investors from China to finally make investment overseas in a wide range of assets (such as) property, financial markets and even buying companies."At the same time, customs authorities are also working to streamline clearance procedures for products sold within the Shanghai Free Trade Zone.

The changes will allow importers to fly in a small sample of the products they're shipping in by sea so they can be inspected.

It's expected this change may cut customs clearance times by around 80-percent.

//////////A team from tThe International Monetary Fund is now in Beijing from this week to assess whether the Chinese currency should be included in the Special Drawing Rights basket.

Data collection and analysis for this year's review of the SDR basket has already started.

The possible addition of the yuan is a major issue for this year's assessment.

China says it will work actively with the IMF on the assessment.

The SDR basket is reviewed every five years.

It is an international reserve asset that currently includes the U.S. dollar, Japanese yen, British pound and the euro.

//////////On the banking front,Bank of China became the first non-western bank to participate in the electronic auctions that set London's Gold Price benchmark on Tuesday.

Being the world's largest bullion consumer, China has never directly played a role in global gold pricing before now.

Sun Yu, general manager of Bank of China's London branch said participating in the gold auctions will increase the link between China and international markets.

"Participating directly in the electronic auctions means we will be able to reflect the supply and demand in the Chinese market on a global platform, which can also help the global pricing of gold to be more accurate and comprehensive."Sun adds that it will also help reduce the trading cost of Chinese clients and enable the bank to introduce services based on the global gold price benchmark.

//////////In the stock market,Chinese mainland markets took another major hit Friday on the heel of Thursday's sell-off, ending a brutal week for Chinese A share market.

This week's panic selling is being driven by fresh government moves to tighten margin financing amid a new wave of initial public offerings.

Meanwhile, signs of improvement in the real estate sector has also prompted investors to sell early amid speculation money may be moving from the stock markets back into the housing sector.

This has led to over 6 percent plunge for major benchmark indexes in Shanghai and Shenzhen.

//////////A new report says China will become the largest market for buying and selling products online across international borders by 2020.

The report jointly released by Alibaba and Accenture says the total value of products sold by online retailers to overseas consumers will reach nearly a trillion U.S. dollars in the next five years.

Official statistics from China E-Commerce Research Center shows total cross-border retail rose more than 30 percent last year to 4.2 trillion yuan.

China's Commerce Ministry predicts this number will climb to 6.5 trillion next year.

//////////On the Corporate front,US-based internet technology firm Cisco announced plans on Wedneday to invest more than 10-billion US dollars in China over the coming years.

The MOU signed with the National Development and Reform Commission says the focus of the investment will be research and development.

The agreement also includes working with Chinese universities to develop talent in science and technology.

CRI's financial commentator Cao Can says the investment will help boost China's research ability.

"It brings China hopefully a lot more research opportunities for scientists; it also makes China an attractive place for R&D. Let's bear in mind that Cisco has actually made a huge cut in the United States. I remember (there is) a massive lay-off in the past years. So it just shows China getting more popular for research and development."//////////And finally China's leading IT equipment maker, Huawei, has reiterated that it is not sponsored by the Chinese government, nor does it spy on customers through its equipment.

As for the funding of Huawei, Glenn Schloss, the spokesperson for Public Affairs and Communications at Huawei Technologies says the international financing of the company mainly comes from international investment banks and some Chinese banks.

Schloss stresses that Huawei acts purely in the interests of their customers, and fully complies with the law.

And that concludes this edition of the weekly business review; I'm wenjie, thank you for listening.

SportsChina and Cameroon Prepare for WWC MatchIn upcoming Women's World Cup action:

China and Cameroon prepare to clash as the tournament's knockout stage kicks off.

Chinese coach Hao Wei says, while Cameroon are fierce on offense, their lack of defense will give China an edge.

Hao was sent off during his squad's final Group A encounter against New Zealand for interfering with the match and is suspended from the coming match.

But Chinese captain, Wu Haiyan says with the gameplan already laid out, Hao's absence won't impede team China:

"We have a coaching team and every coach is working together with us for every match, not just our head coach. Nevertheless, our head coach has delivered his game strategy in training, so we can carry out his game plan in the competition, if not necessarily with his presence by the field."Cameroon made history in qualifying for the round 16 after beating Ecuador and Sweden. Their captain, Christine Nanie, says that, if they stick to the gameplan, Cameroon will continue their impressive run:

"We have to stay focus and we have to keep together.　If we follow the coach's advice, it can work and it's what happened.　What we achieved here is history and we are making history. We are happy to be here and we can dream about quarter final, why not?"China and Cameroon will be the day's second knockout stage match tomorrow. The action begins when Germany clash against Sweden.

Chinese Super League PreviewIn the Chinese Super League:

Former league leaders Shanghai SIPG stopped a four-game losing streak with a 5-3 win over Changchun Yatai in Shanghai.

Tonight:

Beijing Guo'an will take on regional rivals Tianjin Teda;First place Shandong Luneng will take on second place Guangzhou Evergrande;In other action,Hangzhou will take on Jiangsu Guoxin;Chongqing Lifan will face Guangzhou R&F;Shanghai Shenhua hit the pitch against Liaoning;Henan Jianye will face Shanghai Shenxin;Then on Sunday,Guizhou will take on Shijiazhuang.

Football: Ecuador, Chile Advance, Mexico Out of Copa AmericaIn football action from the Copa America:

Mexico crashed out on Friday after losing their final Group A game 2-1 to Ecuador in Rancagua.

Gustavo Quinteros' Ecuador looked more likely to opening the scoring, and they did just that in the 26th minute when Miler Bolanos scrambled the ball in to send them 1-0 ahead.

And Bolivia qualified for the Copa America quarter-finals on Friday as the second-placed team in Group A, despite a 5-0 thrashing at the boots of group leaders and hosts, Chile.

Football: Neymar Gets 4-Game Ban, Will Miss Rest of CopaIn off-pitch Copa news:

Brazilian star and national team captain Neymar will miss the remainder of the Copa America.

Brazil's football federation slapped Neymar with a four-game ban after he was sent off at the end of Brazil's upset loss to Colombia for attempting to headbutt a defender.

Neymar's absence will be a huge loss not just for Brazil but for the entire tournament. Along with Argentina's Lionel Messi, he is the biggest name.

Golf: Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed Lead U.S. Open at End of Round 2Masters winner Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed share a one-shot lead at five-under after two rounds of the U.S. Open.

Spieth made birdie on the 15th hole to grab a share of the lead at five-under.

Two holes later, Spieth made another birdie to lower his score to six-under.

Trying to become the first player to win the first two legs of the Grand Slam since Tiger Woods, Spieth navigated Chambers Bay on Friday to a three-under 67.

Spieth says his experience from the Masters helps, but this course requires a different approach:

"So I'll draw some on Augusta, but at the same time my patience level has to be even that much higher. I'm not quite putting myself in the same positions off the tee, so I've got to be a little more methodical. At Augusta I was kind of finding fairways, hitting it on the green and I was making everything. That would be nice here if I could do that, but it's a harder golf course than the Masters played this year."Patrick Reed tied Johnson for the lead at seven-under with an eagle putt on the 12th hole.

With a tap-in birdie on the 16th, Patrick Reed overtook Dustin Johnson to eventually share the lead with Spieth.

Reed carded a one-under 69 on Friday.

Tennis RecapIn tennis:

In Germany at the Halle Open:

Eighth-seed Ivo Karlovic set a new ATP record, wacking 45 aces in his win over no. 3 Tomas Berdych 5-7, 7-6, 6-3.

Top-seed Roger Federer beat home country's Florian Mayer 6-0, 7-6.

No. 2 Japanese Kei Nishikori beat Poland's Jerzy Janowicz 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.

At the Aegon Championships:

Top-seed Andy Murray bet Luxembourg's Gilles Muller 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.

South African Kevin Anderson beat Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in straight sets.

Also through are Serbian Viktor Troicki and no. 7 Gille Simon.

In women's action from the Aegon Championships:

Kristina Mladenovic beat top seed Simona Halep 2-6, 6-0, 7-6.

No. 8 Sabine Lisiki of Germany downed Daniela Hantuchova in straight sets.

Advancing as well is no. 6 Czech Karolina Pliskova and fourth seed German Angelique Kerber.

Alex Rodriguez Gets 3000th Hit in Homer Against DetroitIn Major League Baseball news:

New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez became the 29th player to reach the three-thousand hit plateau, with a first inning home run in his team's 7-2 win over Detroit.

A-Rod says that he is honored to be a new member of the "three thousand club.""Well I mean it's a magical number, 3,000, I've been watching baseball and a lot of it ever since I was five-years-old and 3,000 is a special number I'm very happy to be in the club, and I'm especially happy that my two beautiful daughters were behind home plate to share in the moment."The only other players to hit a homer for number three-thousand were Derek Jeter and Wade Boggs.

Snooker World Cup RecapIn Snooker action from the sport's World Cup in Wuxi:

China's A team lost to Scotland 4-1;India beat Belgium 4-1;EntertainmentIranian Film '13' Becomes Biggest Winner at Asian New Talent AwardsIranian film '13' has come away the big winner at the Asian New Talent Awards at this year's Shanghai International Film Festival.

The coming-of-age film about a teenager struggling with the divorce of his parents has taken home the "Best Film" and "Best Cinematographer" awards.

"Best Director" honors has gone to Japanese director Momoko Ando for her film '0.5mm'.

9-year-old actress Yangchen Lhamo from Tibet has taken home the "Best Actress" title for her role in the film "River."She's the youngest actress ever to receive the award.

Taiwan actor Sean Huang has taken home "Best Actor" for his performance in 'Appeal'.

The jury panel for this year's Asian New Talent Award has been headed by South Korean director Kim Han-min.

"As new directors, their filming is truly outstanding. Film should be soulful. It should present fresh and live contents to the audiences and let the audiences know what the film is talking about."This year's Shanghai International Film Festival will wrap up tomorrow.

It will conclude with the awarding of the Golden Goblet for best picture.

'Jurassic World' Passes $300 Mln Benchmark in Record TimeSummer blockbuster "Jurassic World" has set a new North American box-office record.

The film has managed to surpass the 300-million US dollar benchmark in 8-days after its premiere in North America.

This has surpassed the previous record say by "The Avengers" in 2012, which took 9-days to earn 300-million in North America.

It's the latest record "Jurassic World" has snatched from "The Avengers."The film, staring Chris Pratt as a dinosaur trainer, broke the record for an opening weekend, earning 209-million US dollars.

"Jurassic World" has already grossed more than 730-million dollars around the world ahead of this weekend.

At issue is whether it will continue to have staying power.

The release of Pixar's much-hyped new release "Inside Out" is now in theatres.

"Inside Out" is an action-comedy about the personified emotions of a young girl who is coping with life after she and her family move to a new city.

Industry observers are suggesting the 3D animation, which includes voices by comedians Amy Poheler, Bill Hader and Lewis Black, among others, could earn around 85-million US dollars this weekend.

'Easy Life' Releases Pre-lead TrailerThe first trailer for the Chinese action-comedy "Easy Life" has been released.

The movie is adapted from Chinese author Han Han's 2004 fiction "Chaos in Chang'an."It follows a monk and a girl he grew up with in a monastery getting into an adventure during a turbulent time in the ancient capital of the Tang Dynasty.

"Easy Life" is directed by Zhu Qing.

The actress-turned-director has been working on the film for the last 4-years.

"Easy Life" is scheduled to open in Chinese theatres on September 11th.

Van Morrison, Lady Gaga Added to Songwriters Hall of FameSingers Van Morrison, Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper have been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

The stars have been honored at a three-hour ceremony in New York's Times Square.

Among those on-hand for the event was country singer Toby Keith, who is also a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

"I don't do award shows very often, they are all organizations and politically - you gotta go kiss everybody's rear and do all that. This is voted on by your peers and they recognized 21 years of hard work and I am honored to be here."The event in New York has also seen Lady Gaga perform a cover of the "4 Non Blondes" hit 'What's Up' to honor fellow Hall of Famer Linda Perry.

When it comes to Van Morrison, his introduction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame comes on the heels of a somewhat different honor.

The Northern Irishman was knighted last week by Queen Elizabeth.

The Simpsons Break Split Rumour in Special Video ReleaseFox has released a new video in an attempt to dispel reports that Marge and Homer Simpson are going to split up next season.

The internet exploded after Variety released an interview it did with the show's Executive Producer Al Jean in which he suggested the couple is going to legally separate at the start of Season 27 this fall.

This sent fans of the show into crisis mode on the internet, prompting Fox to put together a video.

It has the cartoon couple sitting on two chairs under a banner reading "Together Forever," calling the rumours "baseless." That's it for this weekend edition of the Beijing Hour.

A quick look at the headlines before we go...

A leading member of the Chinese government is in the US city of Pittsburgh to promote people-to-people exchanges.

A trade promotion event is coming to a close in Russia, with China high on this years agenda.

Dozens of people are dead in the Indian city of Mumbai after drinking tainted alcohol.

On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Paul James in Beijing hoping you'll join us for the next edition of the Beijing Hour, and open a window to the world together.