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

Coming up on our program this morning...

The Chinese president calls on the BRICS nations to forge stronger bonds to achieve a common prosperity...

Chinese stocks rallied on Thursday, following the latest round of support from the central government...

And the US Secretary of State says despite the latest looming deadline for an Iran nuclear deal, there is no rush for a final agreement...

In Business...the IMF cuts its forecast for global economic growth, but the number for China remains unchanged...

In Sports...the women's final at Wimbledon has been set...

In entertainment...copyright regulators in China announce strict new rules for music streaming...

Top NewsXi calls on BRICS to forge community of destiny for common prosperityAnchorChinese President Xi Jinping has called for the BRICS countries to forge a community of destiny in a bid to strengthen the base of cooperation and achieve common prosperity.

He made the call when delivering a speech at the annual summit of the emerging market bloc held in the Russian city of Ufa.

CRI's Qi Zhi reports.

ReporterThe BRICS partnership is the theme of this year's summit of the five emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The meeting comes amid an economic slowdown among BRICS members and in other developing economies.

In his speech, President Xi Jinping voiced full confidence in the future of the BRICS cooperation mechanism, expressing the belief that the rising momentum of BRICS members will not waver.

"For emerging and developing economies their growth rate is slowing down and BRICS countries cooperation is presented with new challenges. At the same time, we need to be aware that BRICS countries' economies still have great potential to tap and there is a lot to be achieved in economic cooperation among BRICS countries."The Chinese president shared his vision of building the BRICS group on a partnership that focuses on safeguarding world peace, boosting common development, promoting diversified civilization and strengthening global economic governance.

He has called on member countries to implement the BRICS Economic Partnership Strategy adopted at the summit and find new cooperation highlights.

"We should forge a closer partnership with each member making use of complementary advantages in resources endowment and industrial structure and jointly expanding development space. At the same time we should push forward the construction of the headquarters of the BRICS New Development Bank and an African regional center, so as to put them into use and achieve early results as soon as possible."The BRICS New Development Bank with estimated capital of 100 billion US dollars and a Contingent Reserves Arrangement of another 100 billion dollars are the major concrete outcomes of the Ufa summit.

The new bank is expected to approve its inaugural investment projects in the beginning of 2016.

The leaders have all hailed the move as an important boost in their joint efforts to forge closer economic ties.

At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin has stressed the need to push for increased representation of BRICS countries in international financial institutions.

"We strongly support China to assume the rotating presidency of the G20 in 2016 to push for a louder voice of developing countries within the International Monetary Fund. In the near future, the new development bank will be actively involved in the construction of major transportation projects and other infrastructure. We've also approved a roadmap for investment, which is expected to be finalized before the year's end."In addition to economic cooperation, the BRICS leaders have also discussed such global challenges as terrorism, drug abuse and cyber security.

President Xi Jinping says collective efforts are the key in addressing such challenges.

"We must jointly guard against and combat all forms of terrorism and strengthen cooperation in areas including information sharing and law enforcement. China is ready to join other countries to speed up and enhance cooperation against drugs and to push for resolving the drug problem at both the regional and global level."At the end of the summit, the leaders adopted the Ufa Declaration and an action plan.

India has offered to host the 8th BRICS summit in 2016.

For CRI, I'm Qi Zhi.

Xi urges quickened construction of China-Russia-Mongolia economic corridorChinese President Xi Jinping is calling on China, Russia and Mongolia to push forward the construction of an economic corridor linking the three nations.

He was speaking at a meeting with the Russian and Mongolian Presidents on the sidelines of the annual summits of the BRICS countries and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the southwestern Russian city of Ufa.

Xi Jinping says economic cooperation is the priority area of trilateral cooperation.

"China and Russia, China and Mongolia, Russia and Mongolia are neighbors and strategic partners. We have a good basis and a good potential for our trilateral cooperation and our long-term strategy is to promote overall trilateral cooperation."The Chinese leader expressed hope the three countries can align China's Silk Road Economic Belt initiative with Russia's transcontinental rail plan and Mongolia's Prairie Road program, and push forward the construction of the China-proposed trilateral economic corridor.

He says the linking of those development strategies is important for boosting regional economic cooperation and the development of the Eurasian continent.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he's pleased to see smooth cooperation in railway transportation, tourism and other sectors since the first trilateral meeting of the three countries was held last year.

For his part, Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj said the people of the three countries will benefit from the trilateral cooperation on railway transportation, logistics, facilitation of agricultural and mineral trade, infrastructure construction and other sectors.

During the meeting, the three heads of state approved a roadmap for the development of trilateral cooperation and witnessed the signing of several documents.

China Stocks Rally on Government SupportAnchorChinese stock markets staged a strong rally on Thursday, recovering from a steep drop in the past three weeks, as the latest government prop-up measures appear to be effective.

CRI's Niu Honglin has more.

ReporterChina Securities Depository and Clearing Company Limited announced on Thursday night that both the transaction and scrip fees in the A-share market will be cut by 30 percent, starting next month.

This is the latest supportive measures made by the central government to lower trading costs for investors and further ease the stock market.

On Thursday, six monitored insurance companies made net purchases of stocks and funds with a combined value of more than 15 billion yuan.

That same morning, the China Banking Regulatory Commission announced it will allow banks to extend mortgage loans that use share funds as collateral to prop up the stock market.

At the end of Thursday, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was up 6 percent.

The Shenzhen Component Index surged 4 percent.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, climbed 3 percent.

Tang Yonggang, an analyst at Shenyin Wanguo Securities says the market shows signs of stabilizing as the regulator came to the rescue of small-caps, especially those on the ChiNext, easing the liquidity crisis and giving investors a much-needed dose of confidence.

"Individual stocks on ChiNext reached their daily limits, which have greatly influenced market confidence. We can see this has rapidly provided incentives for growth enterprises in emerging industries. Judging from the mainboard, aerospace and military industry stocks took the lead to pick up, which has significantly helped boost the public's confidence in the market. "In the meantime, Chinese police joined the securities regulator to investigate "malicious short selling."Liu Dong, deputy director of Economic Crimes Investigation Bureau under Ministry of Public Security, says cracking down on illegal and criminal activities in securities and futures areas in accordance with law is the duty of public security departments.

"We will increase close cooperation with securities regulators. According to the division of labor, we'll work together to crack down on alleged criminal activities. We'll also investigate and deal with illegal behaviors of spreading rumors through internet and contribute to maintaining market economic order."Meanwhile, the State Council, China's cabinet, has also assured that the government had plenty of tools at its disposal to restore confidence in the economy.

The announcement comes after a cabinet meeting presided by Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday.

For CRI, I'm Niu Honglin.

Typhoon Linfa Makes Landfall in S ChinaAnchorLocal transportation has been disrupted as Typhoon Linfa has made landfall in southern China's Guangdong.

Meanwhile in eastern Chinese cities, preventative measures are in full swing for the arrival of Typhoon Chan-hom.

CRI's Huang Shan has more.

ReporterThousands of people evacuated from coastal areas and more than ten thousands ships returned to ports before Typhoon Linfa hit Guangdong.

No injuries or deaths have been reported.

Railways, airports and schools in part of the province have closed.

In one of the worst-hit cities, Jieyang, the typhoon has triggered flooding, caused trees to topple, and has damaged power utilities.

The city's Chaoshan International Airport has canceled 53 flights, and 5 thousand passengers are temporarily stranded.

Local authorities say the high-speed trains linking Xiamen and Shenzhen, traveling through the Chaoshan, have been detained and 14 more incoming commuter trains will be suspended over the next two days.

Meteorological stations indicate the typhoon has reduced in power to a strong tropical storm and is expected to move westward.

Meanwhile, typhoon Chan-Hom is quickly approaching.

Xu Yinglong, chief weather forecaster of the national meteorological station, says Chan-Hom is likely to exert a larger influence on Eastern China.

"Typhoon Chan-Hom is expected to stay in East China for 2-3 days and its impact could be relatively long-lived. The coastal region of China such as the north part of Fujian province and the Shandong Peninsula will suffer most from Chan-Hom. And the precipitation in Hangzhou Bay of Zhejiang province may exceed 500 mm."Some cities in Zhejiang Province have activated emergency response plans ahead of the landing of Typhoon Chan-Hom.

The manager of Laohutan Reservoir operational department, Yu Cong, says four out of five reservoirs in Hangzhou city have begun discharging water.

"The Laohutan Reservoir discharged at 12:00, with a flux of 30 cubic meters per second. It mainly will be affected by the typhoon, so we need to carry out pre-discharge of water. We haven't discharged the water since 2012. This is the first time."China's meteorological station says typhoon Chan-Hom is expected to hit Zhejiang and Fujian provinces on Friday night or Saturday morning as a strong or super typhoon.

For CRI, this is Huang ShanGreek Submits its 3rd Economic Reform PlanThe Euro group president says the Greek government has submitted a new economic reform plan including tax increases and pension changes before a Thursday-midnight deadline.

This is Greece's third bailout plan to avoid a possible financial breakdown and an exit from the Eurozone.

On Friday, Greece's parliament will debate the new proposals, and if passed they will submit them to Eurozone finance ministers on Saturday, a day before a European Union leaders' emergency summit of all 28 European Union members.

According to Greek media reports, the measures submitted involve tax increases and spending cuts worth more than 12billion euros - more than those rejected in its referendum last Sunday.

Greece's Tourism Hit by Debt CrisisAnchorGreece's debt crisis has hit the country's tourism industry hard. The impact on the industry may be limited for the time being, though, as the flare-up comes late into the season when most summer holidays to the country have already been booked.

CRI's Shen Ting has more.

ReporterThe Greek Tourism Confederation says it has seen a 30 percent drop in last-minute bookings, which typically account for one-fifth of bookings to the country.

But on the island of Santorini, one of Greece's most iconic tourist destinations, local businesses say the crisis has not yet dealt a major blow to tourism.

Lina is an employee of a local shop on the island.

"A lot of people come to visit Santorini, and it doesn't affect Santorini island so much, it's about 10 percent lower than it was expected to be."Yet some businesses on the island are beginning to feel the effects of the crisis.

Although tourists have been able to use credit cards, many businesses have been facing demands by suppliers to pay cash for goods.

Penelope Theodosopoulo, who runs a family restaurant, explains it is the suppliers who need cash.

"We are working with suppliers here, but our suppliers are working with suppliers in Athens, for example. The big ones, they need cash, and they say if you don't give me cash, I won't give you the products. So eventually, we won't have any products. I don't know how long, that will take."Despite their fears, business owners want to deliver a message of confidence for potential visitors.

And for some business owners like William Mandeilaras, even the threat of Greece succumbing to a state bankruptcy is not enough to dampen their confidence.

"In the short-term there will be problems, but for the long term I think there won't be any problems because people won't stop travelling and especially if we get a lower currency, it will have actually encourage tourists travel to Greece even more because their currency will be stronger than ours, they will be able to make more travels to Greece."Travel website Opodo.de says Greece flight bookings from Germany suddenly dropped off after June 26, when talks broke down between Greece and its euro zone creditors.

Between June 27 and July 6, daily flight bookings have been down most days by around 30-35 percent from the previous year, with one day showing a decrease of 68 percent.

The reduction in bookings seems particularly to affect German travellers. Flight website Skyscanner said earlier this week that interest from Britain and Spain had actually increased. Some European tourists are switching holiday plans to Greece from Tunisia following an attack on tourists there.

For CRI, I'm Shen Ting.

Countries not in a rush to finalize the Iran nuclear deal: John KerryUS Secretary of State John Kerry says the US and other major countries are not in a rush to complete the Iran nuclear agreement.

This comes just hours ahead of a deadline set by the U.S Congress to review the agreement.

"We're here because we believe we are making real progress toward a comprehensive deal. But as I have said many times and as I have discussed with President Obama last night, we are not going to sit at the negotiating table forever. We also recognize that we shouldn't get up and leave simply because the clock strikes midnight."However, Kerry did not disclose how long the negotiations could still continue.

At the same time, Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has gone on-record saying he'll stay in Vienna "for as long as it takes" in an effort to reach the final deal.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also applauds the progress made during the negotiations, saying China stands ready to work with all sides to push for a deal at an early date.

The remark was made in a phone conversation requested by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

Wang Yi is now in Ufa, Russia, attending the ongoing summits of the BRICS nations.

The P5+1 countries including China, US, and Russia have extended the deadline twice for the Iran nuclear agreement over the past two weeks.

The final deal will depend on Iran's acceptance of curbs to its nuclear programme in return for the easing of economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations, United States and European Union.

U.S. Army to cut 40,000 soldiers by fiscal 2018The United States has confirmed 40 thousand troops will be cut from the armed forces over the next 2 years.

The plan will start from this October, affecting soldiers and civilian employees at home and overseas.

The U.S. Army's Director of Force Management Randy George says further cuts are planned.

"Unfortunately under sequestration and automatic budget cuts, today's announcement may not be the last, unless the provisions of the budget control act are changed or reversed the army will have to cut an additional 30,000 soldiers by 2019. The resulting force will be incapable of simultaneously meeting current deployment requirements and responding to overseas contingency requirements of the combatant commands"The cuts would reduce the active-duty Army from its current size of about 490,000 soldiers to about 450,000, its smallest number since before the United States entered World War Two.

The personnel cuts come as the Pentagon is attempting to absorb nearly $1 trillion in reductions to planned defense spending over a decade.

Britain Urges All Nationals to Leave TunisiaThe British government is now urging all nationals to leave Tunisia as a further terrorist attack is said to be "highly likely".

Making the announcement on Thursday, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond says because of the attack in Sousse "the intelligence and threat picture has developed considerably".

"We are in close contact with the tour operators, who are now putting in place arrangements to bring their customers home as quickly as possible. I would advise British nationals currently in Tunisia to get in touch with their tour operator this afternoon to plan their return. To those traveling independently, our advice is to return on commercial flights which are operating normally."2,500 to 3,000 UK tourists are still in Tunisia.

Last month, 30 Britons were among the 38 tourists killed during an attack in the beach resort of Sousse.

Yeman to start a week-long ceasefire till the end of RamadanYemen has agreed to start a week-long humanitarian ceasefire from Friday night.

This comes more than one week after the United Nations declared Yemen a level-3 humanitarian emergency, the highest on its scale.

The pause will allow the delivery of needed supplies to over 21 million Yemenis, accounting for 80 percent of the population.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric says the ceasefire will last until July 17th.

"The Secretary-General looks forward to the commitments of all parties to the conflict in Yemen to an unconditional humanitarian pause to start on Friday, 10 July at 23:59 (GMT +3) until the end of Ramadan. It is imperative and urgent that humanitarian aid can reach all vulnerable people of Yemen unimpeded and through an unconditional humanitarian pause. "Earlier, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon received support from both Yemen's exiled President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi and Shiite Houthi rebels to respect the ceasefire.

Over 3,200 people have been killed and over one million Yemenis displaced since the air strikes started in March.

Uganda to Introduce the Chinese Language in School CurriculumAnchorUganda plans to introduce the Chinese language in the country's high school program.

Some private schools, including major Universities, already teach Mandarin but the government wants to incorporate it in the syllabus.

Michael Baleke reports from Kampala.

ReporterUganda is keen at having the Chinese language taught in high school.

According to Patrick Muinda, a Commissioner in the Education Ministry a plan to have Ugandan students master Mandarin at an early stage is still in its initial stages.

"We are looking at people who can work with us to help us develop the content that is to be taught, to work with the National Curriculum development center to see which areas of the Chinese language maybe incorporated into the curriculum and find out the best possible ways of teaching and causing the retooling of teachers who are actually going to do the teaching."German, French and Arabic are the common foreign languages taught in Uganda.

China accounts for about 30% of the foreign trade in Uganda.

Stanley Ndolelire a Professor of languages says it's important to know mandarin to ease doing business.

"You can see these young peope are studying today. There are many Chinese companies coming on board and If i were a Chinese company, all things being equal, I would give advantage to somebody who knows the language,to someone who does not."Uganda's oldest University, Makerere has also begun teaching Mandarin.

Professor Stanley Ndolelire a language lecturer at the institution welcomes the move by the government to introduce it in high school.

"We are going to form Chinese clubs in secondary schools so that if a student who is doing other things also does Chinese, we offer that student an elementary certificate, then an intermediary certificate then an advanced certificate given by the Confucius Institute of China. So that by the time he comes to the university that student will not do a beginners course in Chinese but an advanced course."Mandarin is widely spoken, by about 1.3 billion people worldwide.

China is Africa's major trading partner and in Uganda it has massive investments among them within the country's nascent oil and gas industry.

For CRI I am Michael Baleke in KampalaSteamed Potato Buns Emerges in Chinese MarketSteamed buns made of potato have emerged on the Chinese market following a national strategy to convert the potato into a staple of the Chinese people's diet.

The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences has spent two years developing the steamed bun made of potato powder and wheat powder.

Three loafs of potato bread weighing 350 grams cost 4.2 yuan, twice the cost of the more commonly found steamed buns.

One woman who came out to get a first taste of the buns says she wanted to try the new style due to its nutritional value.

"I saw the news on TV so I came here especially to buy some. It is expensive, I know. But I think it's more nutritious."The Ministry of Agriculture has said that the potato will soon become a staple after rice, wheat and corn, and 50 percent of the annual potato production will be consumed as staple food by 2020.

Sun Junmao, researcher at the Ministry of Agriculture, says potato provides a new choice as a staple food since the whole population of China is still rising.

"It is a new alternative concerning food security. As the population is increasing, our demand for food is also rising. So a very important plan for the 2020 to 2030 period is to improve the per unit yield. Compared to rice, corn and wheat, potato's per unit yield is higher."By October, potato bread will be available in more than 500 supermarkets in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei. Researchers are still developing staple foods made of potato.

WeatherBeijing will be cloudy with a high of 32 degrees Celsius.

Overnight temperatures should drop down to 23.

Shanghai will see showers with a high of 28 and a low of 25.

In Chongqing, it will be cloudy during the daytime with a high of 34 and lows of 24.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Kathmandu, moderate rain, 30.

Islamabad will have slight rain with a high of 32.

Kabul will be cloudy with a high of 31.

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

Washington, overcast with a high of 32 degrees.

Honolulu, cloudy, 29.

Toronto will be cloudy with a high of 24 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will be cloudy with a high of 17.

And Rio de Janeiro will be overcast with a high of 24 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsUfa summit marks entry into forces of NDB, CRALeaders of the BRICS emerging market bloc have officially launched a BRICS New Development Bank and a Contingent Reserves Arrangement with a total estimated capital of 200 billion US dollars.

The leaders have reaffirmed their focus on strengthening partnership in a declaration released following their annual summit in the southwestern Russian city of Ufa.

They say the new bank shall serve as a powerful instrument for financing infrastructure investment and sustainable development projects in the BRICS and other developing countries.

The bank is expected to approve its inaugural investment projects in the beginning of 2016.

Addressing the summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the BRICS countries to forge a community of destiny in a bid to strengthen the base of cooperation and achieve common prosperity.

No reason to lose confidence in Chinese economy, IMF official saysThe International Monetary Fund says there is no reason to lose confidence in the Chinese economy, despite recent volatility in the stock market.

IMF Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard calls the sharp decline in stocks "very much a sideshow" to the overall economy, adding there is really no reason to lose confidence in the real economy in China.

He also says adjustments in the real economy are rather "healthy" and desirable, with credit growth and the adjustment of real estate investment under control, and the government's intervention to slow the market's descent "might actually be appropriate."The IMF is so far maintaining its prediction of 6.8 percent growth for the Chinese economy for 2015.

Greek Submits its 3rd Economic Reform PlanThe Euro group president says the Greek government has submitted a new economic reform plan including tax increases and pension changes before a Thursday-midnight deadline.

This is Greece's third bailout plan to avoid a possible financial breakdown and an exit from the Eurozone.

Greek lawmakers will debate the new proposals later on today, and if passed they will submit them to Eurozone finance ministers on Saturday.

The measures reportedly involve tax increases and spending cuts worth more than 12 billion euros - more than those rejected in its referendum last Sunday.

South Carolina governor signs bill on removing Confederate flagThe US state of South Carolina has passed the legislation to permanently remove the Confederate battle flag from the state capitol grounds.

This follows an emotional debate spurred by the massacre of nine black churchgoers last month.

The flag, carried by Confederate troops in the Civil War, is seen as a symbol of racism and slavery by many, while others proudly hail it as an emblem of Southern heritage.

It has flown at the state capitol for 54 years.

Biz reportsClosing numbers across North America and EuropeAnchorFirst, a quick check on the closing numbers across North America and Europe.

Here is our reporter Min Rui.

ReporterU.S. stocks shaved some early gains to end mildly higher on Thursday, as investors cheered over an across-the-board stock increase around the world with Chinese indices topping all winners.

In the U.S., both Dow Jones and the S&P 500 increased 0. 2 percent.

The Nasdaq gained nearly 0.3 percent.

The International Monetary Fund's chief economist Olivier Blanchard said at a press conference on Thursday that the fund lowered its 2015 global economic growth forecast.

We will have more on that is a minute.

European equities surged on hopes for a Greek debt deal, with British benchmark FTSE 100 Index jumping 1.4 percent.

The French CAC 40 gained 2.6 percent.

Germany's benchmark DAX index added 2.3 percent.

IMF downgrades 2015 world economic growth to 3.3 pctThe International Monetary Fund on Thursday downgraded its global economic growth projection to 3.3 percent for 2015This is down 0.2 points from a forecast of 3.5 percent it made in April.

The U.S. economy's weaker-than-expected performance in the first quarter is the culprit of the lower projection.

The IMF maintained its projection for the world economic growth in 2016 at 3.8 percent.

In terms of the Chinese economy, IMF Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard says the forecast is unchanged.

"We have left unchanged our forecast for China. Our forecast is a bit at 6.8% for 2015. We have a bit more uncertainty around the forecast probably than in April. Let me look at two aspects of what's happening in China. The first one is the puncture of what was obviously the stock market bubble. Stock markets had increased by 150% in less than a year. There was no evidence that this was justified by dividends or fundamentals, and the bubble has burst, only in part, nowhere close to the earlier levels, but it has burst and that's potentially worrisome."In terms of Greek debt, Blanchard says Greece is a small part of the world economy, and its possible exit from the euro zone should have limited impact on the rest of the world.

China's consumer price index edged up in JuneThe National Bureau of Statistics says China's consumer price index or CPI, a main gauge of inflation, edged up 1.4 percent year-on-year in June.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices in June remained unchanged.

The rise of the index was attributed mainly to higher food prices, including vegetables and pork.

Pan Jiancheng, deputy director-general of China Economic Monitoring and Analysis Center, says stable agricultural production ensures the stability of the prices of farm produce, particularly food prices.

"On the other hand, continuous and modest rise of salary has pushed up service prices. So under the influence of these two factors, a modest rise of prices in the first half of this year can be viewed as a stable performance."The bureau also announced China's producer price index or PPI, which measures wholesale inflation, slid 4.8 percent year on year in June.

The reading also marked the 40th straight month of decline, a sign of prolonged weakness of demand.

Month on month, producer prices in June decreased 0.4 percent.

Experts attributed the dive mainly to price declines in oil refining, chemistry materials and products.

"The continuous drop in PPI has a great impact on the economy. Seen from the current situation, it seems that destocking has not come to an end and will continue to put downward pressure on PPI for some time to come."Weighed down by a housing market downturn, weak domestic and external demand, along with overcapacity, China's economy grew at its lowest rate in six years in the first quarter, expanding 7 percent.

Given the still weak strength in growth, experts also forecast an interest rate cut and more reductions in bank reserve requirement ratio in the third quarter.

Corporate News of the WeekAnchorLet's check out some of the main events taking place on the corporate front in China this week.

Joining me on the line now is Doug Young, associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief at Reuters.

===Story 1Meituan.com, a Chinese startup backed by Alibaba, is planning to raise more than $1 billion in a new funding round.

This could value the online group-buying service at more than $15 billion.

The last round of fundraising, in January, valued the company at only 7 billion dollars.

Rumor says the company is actively expanding their online-to-offline services including delivery and on-site services.

[Talking point]

A: So, judging from the current situation, is there's a chance the market instability could have a negative impact on the fundraising?

B: With the 7 billion Meituan got in January used up; the company is now hunger for liquidity again. Does this mean Meituan is on the edge of desperate?

===Story 2Sina Weibo recently rolled out a new e-commerce initiative.

The company says the weibo-based e-commerce platform will integrate the system and data of Taobao and Tmall so that retailers will be able to sell goods to Weibo users.

As of the first quarter of this year, Weibo had nearly 200 million active users, of which 86 percent are connected through their mobile devices.

[Talking points]

A: isn't it a little late for Weibo to roll out an ecommerce plan? There are so many mature ecommerce platforms to challenge like Taobao and JD.

B: What are weibo's strength and weaknesses?

Back anchor:

That was Doug Young, associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief at Reuters.

Bank profits waning under new competitionSenior Chinese bankers have complained of slowing profit growth due to heightened competition.

Profit growth in listed banks dropped to 3.2 percent in the first quarter of 2015, from an annual 7.7 percent last year, and 12.8 percent in the year before.

China is preparing to free up deposit interest rates. Although there is no timetable, insiders expect the liberalization to come before the end of the year.

Ping'an Bank President Shao Ping says as smaller banks may eat into client bases with higher interest rates, big banks need to adjust to better manage assets and liquidity.

SportsSerena Williams and Garbine Muguruza through to Wimbledon FinalAnchorFirst, a look at Wimbledon,World number one Serena Williams and rising Spanish player Garbine Muguruza are through to the finals,CRI's London Correspondent Duan Xuelian has more.

ReporterFirst to emerge on Centre Court in the semi-finals were Spanish player Garbine Muguruza and her Polish opponent Agnieszka Radwanska.

It was Muguruza's best achievement at the Wimbledon so far.

Reflecting on her progress since she burst onto the tennis stage in 2012 at the French Open, beating World Number One Serena Williams, the star player says years following have given her time to develop her skills.

"I grow so much mentally, I'm tougher now, technically I have also improved a lot, I'm stronger now. In two years, you have a lot of time to improve a lot of things, and also I have learnt to how to play better on grass than before."The match following Muguruza's victory saw Serena Williams meet her long time rival Maria Sharapova. The World Number One blitzed Sharapova 6-2, 6-4 to reach the final for the eighth time.

Standing between Williams and her sixth Wimbledon title and a calendar year Grand Slam is Garbine Muguruza who beat her in the French Open two years ago.

"She has me on my toes, she's a really good player and she obviously has what it takes and it's not gonna be an easy match. I will be fighting a lot."Still to come, in the Men's semi finals on Friday, seven time champion Roger Federer will play home favorite Andy Murray, while world number one Novak Djokovic will face French player Richard Gasquet.

Being in the semi finals for the sixth time, reigning champion Novak Djokovic hopes his experience will assist him in bringing home another Wimbledon trophy.

"I'm hoping that I have that extra gear. The semi finals are the most important matches in the final stages of the tournament, and obviously the experience of being in these final stages of Wimbledon many times is going to help me to approach it in a proper way."For CRI, I'm Duan Xuelian at Wimbledon.

Zheng Jie to play at China OpenOn the sidelines of Wimbledon,Ticket pre-sales for the China Open have already started outside the courts.

Zheng Jie was at the pre-sale and has quashed retirement rumours announcing that she will be playing at the tournament.

Zheng said retirement is not an option at the moment and she will quit when her physical strength doesn't allow her to compete anymore.

Zheng's Wimbledon journey this year has just come to an end. She and Chan Yung-jan from Taiwan were defeated in the first round of women's doubles, and she was stopped in the second round of the mixed doubles along with her Finnish partner.

The China Open begins in Beijing at the end of September.

Hao Wei to join Guangzhou EvergrandeChina's football association has agreed for coach Hao Wei to leave the women's football team and join Guangzhou Evergrande.

Hao had previously offered to resign after leading China into the quarter finals at the Women's World Cup.

The Chinese Super League club and Hao have conducted talks and mutually agreed on the collaboration.

He will fill a coaching vacancy left by Li Tie after Li stepped down from the position.

Hao will have no problem working with head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari as he speaks fluent Portuguese having lived and trained in Brazil.

He will also be coaching the back-up team at Guangzhou Evergrande.

Golf recapIn golf,The US Women's Open has teed off in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Karrie Webb and Marina Alex are sharing an early lead at four-under 66 in round one.

Defending champion Michelle Wie got off to a shaky start, shooting a two-over 72. But Wie insists she is still in touch with the title.

"You can't win the tournament on the first day, but you definitely can lose it. I definitely feel like I'm in there. I kind of held it together today. There were a lot of opportunities where I had to make good par saves and I'm proud of myself for that. I definitely feel like I'm still in there, definitely not as many birdies as I wanted to. It's a tough golf course, so I think you have to try to make pars and try to take birdies as and when you can."Over at the Scottish Open at Gullane,Thorbjorn Olesen from Denmark is leading the field at seven-under 63 after the opening round.

Olesen had seven birdies in a bogey-free round to lead by one shot.

Defending champion Justin Rose lies three shots off the pace.

Tony Martin crashes out of TourIn cycling,Etixx-QuickStep's Zdenek Stybar sprinted to victory among chaos near the finish line at stage six of the Tour de France.

Race leader and Stybar's teammate Tony Martin crashed in the last kilometer and abandoned the race after going on the podium with a broken collarbone.

Martin brought down Vincenzo Nibali and Nairo Quintana who each sustained cuts and bruises.

Team Sky's Chris Froome now has the overall lead going into today's stage seven.

He still leads Alberto Contador by 48 seconds in the general classification. Nibali and Quintana are about two minutes off.

EntertainmentChina's copyright watchdog bans unlicensed music streamingChina's copyright regulator has announced new strict rules on music streaming.

The National Copyright Administration (NCA) says online streaming services must stop providing unlicensed music to users.

Service providers are given until the end of this month to remove unlicensed music.

The move is to update a copyright system that has for years been out of sync with the way people listen to music.

However, how the regulation will affect the streaming industry is yet to be seen.

Principals of Movie-"Only You" Meet with PressChinese romantic comedy-"Only You" has held a press conference in Beijing.

Director Zhang Hao, along with actress Tang Wei and actor Liao Fan, attended the event.

The movie tells the romantic story of a man and a woman looking for their true love in Italy.

Their distinct characters and funny experiences lead to a destined relationship with each other.

Actress Tang Wei says the love story in the movie resembles her bond with her husband-South Korean director Kim Tae Yong, which is also a destiny:

"After reading the script, I realized that this was the same story as what my husband and I experienced. I believe in such a destiny. I believe the woman in the movie can find her true love and so I am here."The movie is slated for release on July 24.

'Star Wars' talk dominates as Comic-Con opensDirector J.J. Abrams' eagerly anticipated "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens" is the film on the lips of many attendees at this year's Comic-Con.

"Star Wars" has a major presence in the massive showroom at the San Diego Convention Center, with a mini-mall of booths dedicated to its characters.

There are Chewbacca rugs and Stormtrooper sweaters, limited-edition Darth Vader skateboard decks and Yoda backpacks, plus Sith Lord pet outfits and stuffed Ewok toys.

And even entertainment competitors are excited about the seventh "Star Wars" installment.

Lisa Gregorian is the chief marketing officer for Warner Bros. Television Group:

"I'm as excited. I'm a fan. I'm a fan girl and so, for me, as much as I'm excited about the Warner Bros programs, I'm excited that 'Star Wars' is coming here. I love J.J. Abrams and we have his television shows. So, for us, 'Star Wars,' 'Batman v. Superman,' which is the Warner Bros - there's so much going on here. I have to work. I wish I was able to run around and be a fan."Other anticipated properties at the convention include "The Walking Dead," "Game of Thrones," "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" and "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2."That's it for this edition of the Beijing Hour.

Recapping our top stories this morning...

The Chinese president calls on the BRICS nations to forge stronger bonds to achieve a common prosperity...

Chinese stocks rallied on Thursday, following the latest round of support from the central government...

And the US Secretary of State says despite the latest looming deadline for an Iran nuclear deal, there is no rush for a final agreement...

In Business...the IMF cuts its forecast for global economic growth, but the number for China remains unchanged...

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.