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

Coming up on our program this morning...

China-US high level talks on cyber security, climate change, and a range of other issues have begun in Washington, DC...

Chinese authorities have unveiled plans for the country's first-ever victory day parade in September...

And Eurozone leaders pledge to reach a deal on the Greek debt crisis this week...

In Business...another 30 trillion yuan month for the Chinese A-share market...

In Sports...Team China will face the US in the quarter finals at the Women's World Cup...

In entertainment...the composer who wrote the soundtrack for Titanic has died...

Top NewsSino-U.S. S&ED and CPE Kick offAnchor:

High-level officials from China and the United States are gathering in Washington DC for the 7th round of the Sino-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue and the 6th round of the Consultation on People-to People Exchange.

Our Washington chief correspondent Xiaohong has the latest from the talks.

Ann:

Speaking at the opening session of the annual high-level talks between China and the United States, Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong says 40 senior officials are in the US to conduct a candid dialogue with their American counterparts.

They are expected to discuss a wide range of issues, such as climate change and cyber security.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry stressed that any decision the United States and China make will have a huge impact that goes beyond the two countries.

"There is never a routine moment in US-China relations. Every meeting matters. Everyday matters. And every decision matters because of the consequences that it may have for future choices."Chinese vice premier Wang Yang noted that bilateral dialogues have expanded to cover a wider range of issues.

"In addition, there are some outcomes that may seem insignificant right now. But the seeds of cooperation, once nurtured, can flourish into a pasture that benefits both countries."U.S. vice president Joe Biden stressed the U.S. stance of welcoming China's peaceful rise, saying the country needs a bigger role in world affairs.

"The United States believes strongly that whenever possible China needs to be at the table as these new rules are written."Vice President Biden says responsible competition and adhering to the rules are the essential ingredients necessary to manage areas of disagreement, and to build a long term sustainable US-China relationship.

Chinese vice premier Liu Yandong conveyed a message from Chinese President Xi Jinping.

President Xi says building a new type of major country relationship with the United States is a priority of China's foreign policy, and there is much room for cooperation between the two great nations. He encourages participants at the dialogues to continue to promote mutual trust and cooperation to benefit the people of both countries as well as the world.

Liu says China hopes to bring new dimensions to bilateral ties.

"To bring more warmth to our bilateral relations, as well as more resilience, we need to deepen and expand our cooperation in more areas."This year's talks are also expected to pave the way for President Xi's state visit to the United States in September.

Xiaohong, CRI, Washington DC.

China, U.S. launch new partnership programs to tackle environmental issuesDuring the ongoing talks in Washinton, China and the United States have announced six new partnership programs to tackle challenges in environmental protection, clean energy, and climate change.

The programs include building a pilot plant to convert waste oil into aviation biofuels.

The two sides will also work on converting iron and steel slag waste and recycle it for use in other industrial processes.

A solar power project and an online air pollution monitoring system are also among the programs.

Chinese investment to US IncreasingAnchorWith the deepening of China-US economic cooperation, more and more Chinese enterprises are investing in the United States.

Our reporter Qizhi has details.

ReporterFulton Street Ventures is a Chinese company in the San Francisco Bay area, one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country.

It has pumped in 100 million dollars to build the largest condominium project in the city.

The project is expected to create 500 permanent jobs when it is completed.

Fulton Street Ventures' general manager Mike Liu explains why the company is interested in the U.S. market.

"The economy, both China and the U.S., are very good. And China real estate is a little bit slow down, so that's why we diversify some investment in U.S.,"While Chinese tech investments are not at the point where widespread manufacturing in the U.S. is occurring, they are creating jobs.

Cheetah Mobile, headquartered in Beijing but listed on the New York Stock Exchange, recently held a launch party in San Francisco.

It added the Cheetah Ad Platform to its family of mobile apps, which already has 440 million monthly users worldwide.

In a year's time, Cheetah Mobile's U.S. operations have grown from 10 to 50 people, as it has been actively recruiting engineers and investing in research and development.

Liu Xinhua is chief marketing officer at Cheetah Mobile.

"As of Q1 this year, our international mobile ad revenue accounted for almost two-thirds of total mobile revenue. But by far, the U.S. is our number one mobile advertising market,"Darlene Chiu Bryant is executive director of ChinaSF, which promotes business and trade between China and the San Francisco Bay area. She attributes the rising investment by Chinese firms in the country to the evolving Chinese economy.

"The economy in China has changed and so all the investors, the real estate developers in particular, are looking to diversify their portfolio. So the first place they go to is the USA. We're a more stable investment, reliable and safe,"According to China's Ministry of Commerce, total investment of Chinese companies in the US reached over 38.5 billion US dollars last year, increasing 60 percent from a year earlier. Most of the investment comes from private enterprises.

For CRI, this is Qizhi.

China unveils plans for first ever Victory Day parade to mark end of WWIIAnchorChina has unveiled plans for a major military parade in Beijing's Tiananmen Square to mark the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender and the end of the Second World War in Asia.

Japan signed a formal surrender on September 2, 1945 bringing an end to its occupation of parts of China and the Korean peninsula.

China has issued a new decree to celebrate September 3 as the country's official "Victory Day" each year, from this year onward.

CRI's Poornima Weerasekara has more.

ReporterThis year marks the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

It will be the first time that China has held a parade to commemorate the event.

President Xi Jinping and other leaders will attend the ceremony on September 3 to mark the end of the war following Japan's invasion of China. Last month, Xi joined Russian President Vladimir Putin for a similar military parade in Moscow's Red Square marking the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Qu Rui, Deputy Director of the Parade Steering Group Office under the General Staff Headquarters of the People's Liberation Army, China's armed forces, says the parade aims to preserve the memory of the sacrifices made by the Chinese people.

"This military parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the victory against Japanese aggression aims to make a statement of our nation's determination to follow a path of a peaceful development, and our firm determination to protect world peace, to protect our nation's sovereignty and security, and our development interests. We also want to make a statement of the Chinese people's sacrifice and historical contribution to the fight against fascism."President Xi is expected to hand out medals to veterans and families of martyrs who fell in the line of duty.

Several Kuomintang (KMT) veterans have also been invited to take part in the military parade.

Foreign troops have also been invited for the event that will showcase China's new homemade weapons systems.

China has issued a new decree to celebrate September 3 as the country's official "Victory Day" each year, from this year onward.

Wang Shiming, Vice Minister of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party's Central Committee says the day has also been made a national holiday.

"Every year the 3rd of September will be set as Victory Day against Japan's aggression. These decisions are based on that on September the 2nd, 1945, the Japanese government signed a letter of formal surrender, which symbolises the end of the "Chinese people's war of resistance against Japanese aggression, and the victory of the world's anti-fascist war'."A series of activities have been planned in September to draw attention to Japan's war-time legacy of aggression.

A traditional "bell-striking" ceremony will be held in northeast China's Shenyang city on September 18, to mark one of the earliest acts of violence that marked the beginning of Japan's aggression against China. A public memorial service will also be held for the 300,000 people killed in the Nanjing Massacre.

For CRI I'm Poornima Weeraskeara.

CPC meeting warns of slack discipline enforcement in SOEsChina's central disciplinary watchdog has announced a new round of inspections to 26 governmental agencies, institutions and state-owned enterprises.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection revealed that the inspectees include the Ministry of Transport, the People's Daily, China Resources and the Aluminum Corp.

In making the announcement, the commission said that slackness in disciplining Party members at SOEs is particularly grave.

The chief graft-buster publicly criticized six centrally-administered SOEs in June for violating anti-graft regulations, after it finished the first round of inspection this year.

NNCC: China faces serious situation in combating synthetic drugsChina National Narcotics Control Commission warns that the country is facing serious situation in combating synthetic drugs.

It says 80 percent of drug users arrested last year had been taking synthetic substances. Most of these users were under the age of 35.

Han Xuguang is deputy director of the commission.

He explains that synthetic drugs are more addictive and dangerous than traditional drugs like opium and heroin. They are widely associated with public safety issues such as traffic accidents, homicides, and other acts that harm the public, and self-injury.

"It is much more difficult to combat crimes related to synthetic drugs than those related to traditional drugs as their ingredients are easier to access and they can be made in private more easily. We also need to strengthen the research on synthetic drug addiction and rehabilitation treatment."The number of registered drug users in China has reached to nearly 3 million, with half of them dependent on synthetic drugs.

Efforts Urged to Deal with Adolescent ViolenceAnchorA recent case of adolescent violence in eastern China has promoted calls from experts for more efforts to address an increase in the number of such cases across the country.

CRI's Luo Wen reports.

ReporterIn the latest case, a middle school student in eastern Zhejiang province tied up a Grade-2 pupil in a dark room, punching the kid and scalding him with a burning cigar butt.

He committed the violence in front of three of his schoolmates.

The four are under the police investigation now.

Concerns over adolescent violence have mounted in China in recent years.

Photos and video clips that show minors insulting their schoolmates with physical and verbal abuse can be easily found now in the country's cyberspace.

In some cases, the young victims were even forced to pose nude before cameras.

Professor Pi Yijun with China University of Political Science and Law says teenagers are naturally prone to committing violence.

"Generally speaking, teenagers can hardly think in a mature way and usually behave in a flippant and wayward manner. They have more activities than children and their physical conditions are nearly the same as adults', but meanwhile, they are weak in controlling themselves, which make it relatively easy for them to cross the line."Pi points out that doting parents is another factor leading to the unruliness of teenagers.

He suggests greater importance should be attached to moral education.

"Many teenagers committed violence since they had realized that laws would not punish those aged under 14. So it's more important to inculcate the sense of social morality into their minds than simply tell them about laws. They should know there are barriers to freedom."In the meantime, Xiong Bingqi from the 21st Century Education Research Institute urges schools to increase the awareness among students of respect for everyone.

"Many of our schools have seldom taught students to respect others and cherish the life, so in many cases of adolescent violence, the offenders showed severe cruelty. We must pay more attention to the education in this regard before it's too late."Experts also blame the lack of laws pertinent to adolescent crime in the country.

Current Chinese laws stipulate that offenders aged under 18 should not be imprisoned, while teenagers under the age of 14 will not face criminal penalties.

To address this, Pi Yijun is calling for special legislation.

"Our effort in dealing with this problem is still far away from being enough. It's widely believed that laws originally formulated for adults can also apply to teenager offenders, but it's not feasible indeed. We have also enacted a special law aiming to prevent adolescent crime, but it looks more like an empty uniform."So far, some foreign countries have established special law systems for teenagers. In the US, young offenders attend juvenile courts and educational institutions, while punishments for their parents and compensation for the victims of violent acts have also been mandated.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

Hong Kong Government is to Focus on Economic Development and Livelihood Improvement: CY LeungHong Kong's Chief Executive CY Leung says for the remainder of his term in office the regional government will continue to focus on developing Hong Kong's economy and improving people's livelihoods.

Leung says the regional government increased land supply in the property market last year and, as a result, the number of homes available for buyers in the next year will hit a ten-year high.

"The number of built homes will be 72 percent higher than the average amount in the past ten years. We hope this can alleviate the long-time shortage in home supply and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government will continue its effort in increasing the land supply."Announcing his 2015 policy address, the Chief Executive also reviewed several projects that the SAR government has achieved last year, including the launch of Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, the liberation of trade in services between the Hong Kong and Guangdong, and the decision to build a new runway at the Hong Kong International Airport.

He further calls on the city's legislators to cooperate with the regional government in policy-making.

"A few legislators used filibuster, or marathon speeches, at Legislative Council meetings to delay the SAR government's policies in developing the economy and improving people's living standards. It cost huge losses to the society. Some politicians' actions went too radical recently. I believe this is not benefiting Hong Kong society."Hong Kong's legislative council last week vetoed the motion proposing universal suffrage in 2017, meaning the next Chief Executive will not be selected under a "one-person, one-vote" system.

Eurozone leaders pledge to strike Greek bailout deal this weekLeaders from the Euro group will convene another emergency meeting later today in a race to finalize a bailout deal over the Greek debt issue.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker says new proposals from Greek authorities represent a major step toward meeting the expectations of Greece's creditors.

"I am convinced that we will come to a final agreement in the course of this week for the simple reason that we have to find an agreement this week. We cannot play as they are saying on a football field, we cannot play prolongations."Juncker says he is confident that the next Euro group meeting will produce results to be submitted to the European Council on Thursday.

Greek media report Athens tabled 8-billion-euros worth of fiscal consolidation and reform measures in exchange for financial aid needed to prevent Greece from defaulting on its debt.

Although Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has promised that the burden is not going to be on pensioners and wage-earners, media reports say the new proposals are likely to include indirect salary and pension cuts, increases on taxes, and the abolition of early retirements as of 2016.

In Athens, the Greek capital, residents have voiced anger over the proposals.

"All the indirect taxes that they will put, this will affect very much the businesses because most of them here are small enterprises, and they live off the tourists which they come only for a few months, and this will affect them to the very great extent."Thousands of protesters have held separate marches in the city to protest planned austerity measures.

Amid the widespread anger, Tsipras will have a hard time passing the agreement in parliament.

WikiLeaks: US spied on French presidentsWhistleblower website WikiLeaks says the US National Security Agency spied on French Presidents Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande between 2006 and 2012.

WikiLeaks is citing "top secret intelligence reports and technical documents" from the US spy agency.

It says one of the files, dated 2012, is about Hollande discussing Greece's possible exit from the eurozone.

The NSA was earlier accused of spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

That allegation came from documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden in 2013.

The US State Department says it does not comment on leaked documents.

There's also no comment yet from the French government.

New round of diplomatic move on UkraineForeign Ministers from Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany have met in Paris to discuss the Ukraine crisis.

The new round of diplomatic efforts aims to stop a spike in fighting in eastern Ukraine between rebels and government forces.

The meeting comes as the Ukrainian military accuses rebels of conducting long-range artillery attacks on villages in the east.

Both sides accuse the other of regularly violating the ceasefire deal signed in Minsk.

A surge in violence in the past few weeks has caused international monitors to warn of a wider escalation of the conflict.

German Foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is calling for the Minsk agreement, which includes a cease-fire, to be respected.

"No one, neither France nor Germany can handle the situation instead of the parties involved in the conflict. The parties involved in the conflict have to put in practice the Minsk agreement by themselves."Meanwhile in Minsk, representatives of Russia, Ukraine, the rebels and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have also held talks on the Ukraine conflict.

No concrete results were achieved at the meeting.

Fighting between Ukrainian forces and rebels has killed more than 6,400 people over the past 14 months.

U.S. to boost heavy armament deployment in 6 former Soviet bloc nationsThe United States has announced the deployment of heavy weaponry including about 250 tanks across six former Soviet bloc nations.

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter says the move will help reassure NATO allies facing threats from Russia and extremist groups.

"This pre-positioned European activity set includes tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and artillery. Estonia, as well as Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Romania and Poland have agreed to host company to battalion-sized elements of this equipment, which will be moved around the region for training and exercises."Carter commented in Estonia where he met with his counterpart from that country, and those from Latvia and Lithuania.

The defense chiefs standing with Carter all spoke bluntly about the threat they perceive from Russia.

Estonian Defense Minister Sven Mikser says the additional military presence will be a deterrent.

"In global terms Russia is no match conventionally to US or to NATO, but here in this narrow corner of the world, Putin believes that he enjoys superiority, regional superiority and that makes us vulnerable in a sense. We are not talking about entering into a new Cold War type of arms race. We are not trying collectively to match Putin tank by tank or helicopter by helicopter in the Baltic Sea region either."Responding earlier to the planned deployment, Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the new NATO and US moves, accusing NATO of coming to the Russian borders.

Last week, Putin announced a drive to achieve 70 percent modern armament by 2020 for the country's armed forces.

Two S. Korean detainees sentenced to life imprisonment in DPRKTwo South Koreans detained in the North have been sentenced to life imprisonment.

North Korean authorities have claimed that the two people are spies sent by South Korea's National Intelligence Service to pry into the country's military secrets.

The supreme court has declared them guilty of anti-North Korea espionage activities under the manipulation of the U.S. and South Korea.

The two South Koreans have been sentenced to a lifetime of hard labor.

Seoul has criticized the sentences and asked for the repatriation of the two people.

Heat Waves Hit PakistanThe heat wave in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi has caused the deaths of nearly 700 people.

Local officials say the temperature has reached as high as 44 degrees Celsius, breaking a record that has stood since 1979.

Dr Seemin Jamali from Karachi's main state-run Jinnah Hospital says the facility has been overrun with people suffering from dehydration or heat exhaustion.

"The mortality of heatstroke patients is very high throughout the world. Likewise, the mortality rate here is also very high. Karachi has never seen this type of weather. This is a very difficult situation. People get fever, followed by headaches and fits and then they fall unconscious. Victims are being brought here with such symptoms. A large number of them are people who are diabetic, who have heart disease and those who are elderly."Pakistan's army has set up emergency camps in the city to offer free medical assistance, water and anti-dehydration salts.

A group of Karachi residents protested on Tuesday against the provincial government and the major electricity supply company, as the heat wave coincides with power outages.

Solar Impulse 2 Postpones Departure from JapanSolar Impulse 2 has postponed its departure from Japan for Hawaii due to bad weather conditions.

The solar-powered plane was scheduled to take off early today.

During its cross-Pacific trip from China's Nanjing to Hawaii, the Solar Impulse 2 made an unplanned landing on June 1 in Japan due to weather conditions.

WeatherBeijing will see thundershowers with a high of 30 degrees Celsius.

Overnight temperatures should drop down to 22.

Shanghai will have moderate rain with a high of 31 and a low of 25.

In Chongqing, it will see moderate rain during the daytime with a high of 30 and lows of 24.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Kathmandu, slight rain, 28.

Islamabad will see slight rain with a high of 29.

Kabul will have slight rain with a high of 26.

Over to North America,New York will be sunny with a high of 30 degrees.

Washington, cloudy with a high of 32 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 27.

Toronto will be cloudy with a high of 24 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will be cloudy with a high of 15.

And Rio de Janeiro will have some rain with a high of 21 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsChina, U.S. reaffirm commitment to continue cooperation as annual high-level talks openChina and the United States have started their annual high- level talks in Washington, with both sides pledging to continue close cooperation and properly manage their differences.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden opened the seventh China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue and the sixth China-U.S. High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange at the State Department.

In his opening speech, Biden said the US wants to see China's rise as it could be a significant asset for the region and the whole world.

For her part, Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong stressed that China and the US should and can work together in a wide range of areas.

The two-day talks will focus on a wide range of issues, such as the South China Sea, cyber security, economy and climate change.

Beijing seeks public views on development planAuthorities in Beijing are encouraging the public to express views or proposals on the city's five-year development plan which begins in 2016.

City planning officials say more than 17,000 people have participated in symposiums and 4,000 proposals have been received.

Suggestions cover such issues as the transfer of non-capital functions, environmental protection, and urban management.

Beijing is preparing to lay out its 13th five-year development plan, as the country is also soliciting proposals regarding a national blueprint for the same period.

Death toll rises to 16 in Mexican-U.S. border city nursing home fireA fire at a nursing home in northwestern Mexico has killed 16 senior citizens.

There were 45 people living in the home in Mexicali, a city near the US border. The fire started at around 4 o'clock in the morning local time on Tuesday.

Authorities say 15 people died at the scene and another died in hospital. One person is missing. Four others are being treated for injuries.

Blast derails train in E. IndiaThree train cars and a locomotive have derailed following an explosion in an eastern state in India.

The blast, believed to be the work of the leftist Naxal insurgents, occurred near a bridge.

No casualties have been reported.

The incident happened on the day the insurgents called for a shutdown in Jharkhand state to protest the killing of 12 of their colleagues by police earlier this month.

The Naxalites in India seek the violent overthrow of the Indian state and have fought authorities for decades, particularly in rural areas of central and eastern India.

Biz reportsAnchorFirst, a quick check on the closing numbers across North America and Europe, our reporter Sophie Williams.

ReporterU.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq Composite Index eclipsing the previous day's closing record, as Greek debt talks continue with a positive outlook.

The Dow Jones added 0.1 percent.

The S&P 500 edged up slightly.

The Nasdaq gained 0.1 percent.

According to media reports, the European Central Bank increased its emergency liquidity funds to Greek banks for the third consecutive day on Tuesday.

With no breakthrough during Monday's Eurogroup summit in Brussels, talks on the long-awaited deal for the Greek debt resolution will continue with the aim of striking a compromise by the weekend.

European equities ended higher on the improvement in the Greek debt situation.

UK's FTSE 100 edged up 0.1 percent.

Germany's DAX added 0.7 percent.

French benchmark index CAC 40 continued its winning streak, rising 1.2 percent, with only three companies on the bourse losing ground.

The top gainers on were Lafarge, up nearly 3 percent, Peugeot, up 2.5 percent, and Airbus Group, up 2.2 percent.

The Monday winner Bouygues was down 0.1 percent, amid profit taking.

Back to you Shane.

Chinese A-share transactions top 30 trln for 2nd consecutive monthThe latest stats show the total turnover of Chinese A-share stocks rose sharply, boosted by a bull market.

China Securities Regulatory Commission on Tuesday said the number exceeded the 30 trillion yuan threshold for the second-consecutive month in May.

Total turnover of the A-share market hit 31 trillion yuan, or about 5 trillion U.S. dollars, last month, up nearly 4 percent from April.

Average daily turnover on the A-share market reached a record high of 1.6 trillion yuan in May.

China's A-share market on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses is home to more than 2,700 companies, with combined value of about 63 trillion yuan.

Chinese shares closed higher on Tuesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index and the Shenzhen Component Index both gained more than 2 percent.

Bank of China Joins Gold Price Setting Auction in LondonThe Bank of China (BoC) has made its first bid in the electronic auction process that sets the gold price benchmark at the Intercontinental Exchange's London Office.

The bank was approved last Tuesday as the first Chinese and first Asian bank to participate directly in the London Bullion Market Association gold price auction.

Li Huibo, a senior trader from the Global Marketing Department of the Bank of China, says the bank can help Chinese customers express their needs on the international gold market.

"Chinese customers have been following the international gold price for a long time, and when a Chinese bank became a participant in the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Gold Price, these customers expressed their needs in the international market through the Chinese bank participating in setting the gold price."The first operation of the BoC in the gold price benchmarking process was selling gold to customers.

The price was about 1,193 U.S. dollars an ounce after eight-rounds of price setting on Monday.

For more on this, CRI's Spencer Musick earlier spoke with Benjamin Cavender, the Principal of China Market Research in Shanghai.

Back anchorThat was Benjamin Cavender, Principal of China Market Research in Shanghai, speaking with CRI's Spencer Musick.

China's June flash HSBC manufacturing PMI reboundsA preliminary HSBC survey shows China's factories did better last month, though overall manufacturing activity still contracted slightly.

The HSBC flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index recovered to 49.6 in June from May's final reading of 49.2, beating the market forecast of 49.4.

A reading below 50-points indicates contraction.

A breakdown of the data shows the sub-indices of output, new orders and quantity of purchases all improved in June.

The index of new orders rose above the 50-point mark for the first time in four months.

However, the sub-index of employment shows manufacturers continued to cut staff, with the latest reduction the sharpest in over six years.

Analysts say this indicates companies have relatively muted growth expectations as demand conditions both at home and abroad remain subdued.

Alibaba, Ant Financial to set up local services JVAlibaba and Ant Financial Services have announced a 1 billion U.S. dollars joint venture to tap the fast-growing services market.

Each company will hold a 50 percent stake in the new entity, which is called Koubei.

Ant Financial was once a subsidiary of Alibaba. It operates Alipay, China's Paypal-like third-party payment platform which currently has over 300 million users.

Mobile payment, consumer credit, and small and micro loans and other financial services for Koubei will be provided by Ant Financial.

Taodiandian, Alibaba's food delivery business, will also be merged into the new company.

The announcement of this joint venture follows Tencent, Alibaba's major rival, buying a 20-percent stake in restaurant ratings and group buying website Dianping.

Price cuts on 7 Estee Lauder brandsEstee Lauder is cutting prices for all seven of its brands from July 1st, one month after the Chinese government said it will cut tariffs on imported skincare products and cosmetics.

The company is cutting suggested prices on some of its best-selling skincare products, such as Estee Lauder, Clinique, Origins, La Mer, BOBBI BROWN and MAC.

The Ministry of Finance said last month that tariffs for such imported skincare products will be slashed from 5 percent to 2 percent.

An Estee Lauder China official says the move will further strengthen the appeal of their best-selling products in the Chinese market.

Thai AirAsia's Bangkok-Sapporo flights to be temporarily haltedThai AirAsia X has announced it is suspending daily flights to Japan's Sapporo from August 1 due to a downgrade its aviation safety rating in Thailand.

The airline is a part of Malaysia's AirAsia.

Other Thai AirAsia X flights between Bangkok and Tokyo or Bangkok and Osaka will continue as normal.

Those who brought tickets already will be given a refund.

Last week, the aviation authority in Thailand was under scrutiny after the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization downgraded its safety rating for failing to solve significant safety concerns.

China allocates 25 bln yuan for water projectsChina's central government will spend 25 billion yuan, or 4 billion U.S. dollars, on water projects.

The Ministry of Finance announced on Tuesday that the fund will replenish capital for 29 existing projects.

The rest will also be used on 143 new projects for irrigation, diversion, water saving and cleaning up lakes and rivers.

Last year, China's total investment on water projects reached 488 billion yuan, or 80 billion U.S. dollars.

SportsChina to play United States in WWC quarter-finalsChina will face the United States in the quarter-finals of the Women's World Cup.

The United States defeated Colombia 2-0 in the last 16 to set up a clash against China.

China holds the advantage of having had a longer lay-over after a win against Cameroon.

Gu Yasha thinks China has a good chance of taking down the United States.

"The United States has rich experiences in large-scale events. They have a very good command of the game no matter how many players they replace. But we can be more confident, having played them a few times. The idea for the game is to give it all we have and leave no regrets."The United States is down in the midfield with both Lauren Holiday and Megan Rapinoe suspended for receiving two yellow cards in the previous game.

The two teams will fight for a spot in the semi-finals on Saturday morning Beijing time.

In other quarter-final matches include Germany facing France,Australia will play the winner between Japan and the Netherlands,And the host nation, Canada, will play England.

MERS plaguing sports events in South KoreaChina's national ping pong team has withdrawn from the Korean Open to be held in Incheon in July due to the MERS outbreak.

Team leader Huang Biao says another reason for the withdrawal is there is not much point going to Incheon as China's arch rivals, including Germany, are not taking part.

Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Singapore and Russia have also pulled out from the event.

MERS is also affecting other sports events to be held in South Korea. There are fewer than 9,000 athletes who remain committed for the Gwangju Universiade in July, whereas more than 13,000 were expected.

Paris declares bid for 2014 OlympicsParis has declared its bid for the 2024 Olympic Games with the hope of bringing the event back for the first time in 100 years.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo expressed her strong desire for the success of the bid.

"I very much want these games to serve Paris, the young people of Paris. I hope that Paris will reveal to the world things that it has not yet revealed. And I hope that we will truly do the best we can to match the values of the Olympics."French president Francois Hollande has promised full support for the bid.

Paris hosted the Olympics in 1900 and in 1924. It's last three bids for the games have failed.

Paris is the fourth city to declare for the bid after Boston, Rome and Hamburg. Budapest, Baku and Doha are also planning a move.

Brazil unveils Rio Olympics mascotBrazil has unveiled its mascot for next year's Rio Olympic Games.

The mascot is a jaguar named Ginga in the colors of Brazil's national flag.

It was presented at a ceremony to see off athletes for the Pan American Games.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was at the ceremony.

"I'm sure that the whole of Brazil together with you, through this sporting event, will leave a mark on the global history of sport in this country and the world. The result will be a victorious Brazil, a Brazil proud of its athletes."Ginga will be making its appearance with 600 athletes at the Pan American Games in Toronto in July.

F1 European GP to be held in Baku in 2016After the success of the European Games, Azerbaijan will host Formula One's European Grand Prix next year.

The race will be on a street circuit around its capital Baku.

Azerbaijan's Minister of Youth and Sport Azad Rahimov says the European Games have certainly helped in planning the Formula One circuit.

"The European Games really helped us to create a strategy for the downtown city when we are still trying to make the conditions for the people and to get all the city - a part of the city - closed to the destination without any problems and we can see that we achieved that and using different solutions for how to close partially, how to open for some while and how to close again during the race and I think past this point all the rest will have very high standards with the hospitality with the regions of the world. "The European Grand Prix has previously been held in Germany, Spain and Britain.

Bjarne Riis facing new doping allegationsIn off-road cycling news,Former Tour de France winner and Team CSC owner Bjarne Riis is facing new doping allegations from Denmark's anti-doping agency.

A report claimed Riis ignored his riders using banned substances and encouraged some of them to dope.

A string of riders who had worked with Riis have come clean about their doping records, including Lance Armstrong's wingman Tyler Hamilton and 2007 Tour leader Michael Rasmussen.

Riis admitted that he used EPO to win the Tour de France in 1996 and knew about Hamilton doping but denied everything else.

The anti-doping agency's Morten Molholm said they don't believe Riis and are working on a final report.

EntertainmentShowbiz world pays tribute to composer James HornerMembers of the showbiz world have paid tribute to James Horner, the Oscar winning composer who died in a plane crash on Monday.

Celine Dion, Russell Crowe and Kirstie Alley have all released statements regarding the composer's death.

Celine Dion who sang the Titanic theme song 'My Heart Will Go On' which Horner wrote said she was deeply saddened by his death.

The single engine plane owned by Horner crashed Monday morning in Los Padres National Forest.

The pilot was killed. No one else was on board.

Horner has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards, winning two for 1997's best picture, "Titanic."His scores for "Alien," `'Apollo 13," `'Field of Dreams," `'Braveheart," `'A Beautiful Mind," `'House of Sand and Fog" and "Avatar" also earned Oscar nods, as did his original song, "Somewhere Out There," from "An American Tail."Tencent working on reality tv showTencent and Dutch company Talpa are joining forces for a reality tv programme 'The 15 of Us'.

The show which will launch on Tencent Video has generated a lot of interest in the country with over 100,000 users applying to take part in the social experiment.

The show will focus on 15 people who come from different areas of China and find themselves on an isolated mountain.

The contestants must create a new home, be fully self sufficient and earn money before they can help each other and achieve their dreams.

The program will air on Dragon TV on June 29.

Official title for Independence Day sequel revealedThe official title for the Independence Day sequel has been revealed.

The next installment in the Independence Day franchise will be called Independence Day: Resurgence.

The title was confirmed by director Roland Emmerich at a press conference in Alberquerque. The director was joined on stage by returning cast members including Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Brent Spiner along with newcomers Liam Hemsworth and Jessie Usher.

Independence Day: Resurgence is set 20 years after the events of the original with the world now equipped with a defence system thought tough enough to defend the planet from another alien invasion. However the aliens are also prepared with an advanced force.

The film will drop on June 24, 2016 to mark the 20th anniversary of the original movie.

Sony and Marvel announce new SpidermanMarvel and Sony have found their new Spiderman.

Actor Tom Holland is set to play the superhero in the next Spiderman franchise with John Watts signed up to direct the film.

Holland will first make an appearance in Captain America: Civil War in order to introduce him to the Marvel universe.

The actor's last film was The Impossible starring alongside Ewan McGreggor and Naomi Watts.

In February, Sony announced a new partnership with Marvel that would see Spiderman enter the Marvel universe.

The first standalone Spiderman film is penned for release on July 28, 2017.

New Fifty Shades book breaks UK book sales recordThe new Fifty Shades of Grey book has broken the UK record for first week adult book sales.

Grey sold just under 650,000 copies in the first three days beating previous record holder Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol which sold 550,000 copies within the space of five days in 2009.

The latest book tells the Fifty Shades story but from the point of view of Christian Grey.

It's also been a hit in the US, selling more than 1.1 million copies in four days.

However Grey has been panned by critics with many fans of the book saying that it some of the extracts felt copied and pasted from the original three.

The Fifty Shades trilogy has sold more than 125 million copies worldwide.

Jeremy Clarkson to return with new motoring showJeremy Clarkson has confirmed that he will be returning to British television with a new motoring show.

Joining the charismatic host will be his former Top Gear co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May.

Clarkson confirmed the news in an interview with The Sunday Times and an announcement is expected within the coming weeks. The exact network the show will be aired on is yet to be confirmed however there have been lots of rumours that the trio could head to Netflix.

This comes just as radio DJ Chris Evans was announced as Top Gear's new host which means the next series of Top Gear will feature all new hosts.

Top Gear came to an abrupt halt after Clarkson punched a producer and was dismissed from his post.

Top Gear is the most watched factual TV program in the world with more than 350 million weekly viewers.

That’s it for this edition of the Beijing Hour.

Our top headlines this morning...

China-US high level talks on cyber security, climate change, and a range of other issues have begun in Washington, DC...

Chinese authorities have unveiled plans for the country's first-ever victory day parade in September...

And Eurozone leaders pledge to reach a deal on the Greek debt crisis this week...

In Business...another 30 trillion yuan month for the Chinese A-share market...

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