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

Coming up on the program this evening...

The Chinese government has come out swinging following the release of a new Japanese Defense White Paper.

New regulations have kicked-in here in China, keeping debtors from riding this country's high-speed rail network.

It's been confirmed a leading al-Qaeda militant in Syria has been killed in a US air strike.

In Business.... Shandong becomes only the 2nd province in China to invest its pension fund money into the markets.

In Sports.... Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid announces the signing of a young Chinese footballer.

And in Entertainment... a new series of Hollywood film release dates have been set here in China.

All of that coming up in just a moment, but first, just a reminder there are several ways to reach out to us here on the Beijing Hour.

You can follow us on our weibo account at weibo.com/beijinghour, find us on WeChat by searching "beijinghour", or email us directly at [email protected]. You can also visit crienglish.com for the latest news and information from China Radio International.

topJapan Defense White Paper Stirs up Tensions: FMAnchor:

The Chinese government is blasting the contents of the latest Japanese defense white paper, saying this year's review is deliberately playing up the "China military threat."CRI's Qi Zhi has more.

Reporter:

The Japanese cabinet on Tuesday approved the defense white paper for 2015, in which it launched multiple accusations against China.

The paper was approved after a previous draft was rejected for not taking a strong enough line on China.

Jiang Feng, chief editor of the Tokyo-based Japan New-Generation Overseas Chinese Newspaper, explains the differences.

"The Japanese government specifically mentioned that it had repeatedly protested against China's activities in the East China Sea and asked China to stop such activities. In this year's defense white paper, Japan is no longer stating the facts concerning the East China Sea issue, it's actually issuing a warning to China."The white paper says Japan faces an increasingly severe security environment, highlighting China's supposed military build-up, and activities by China in the East China Sea and South China Sea.

It also criticizes China's increased military spending, saying it is now 41 times higher than what it was in fiscal 1989.

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang has criticized Japan for ignoring facts and making irresponsible remarks on China's normal military growth and maritime activities.

He says the white paper deliberately plays up the "China threat" and stirs up tensions.

On China's maritime activities, Lu Kang stresses that they are fully within China's sovereignty and beyond reproach.

He has also accused Japan of deliberately intervening in the South China Sea issue and playing up regional tensions.

Meanwhile, China's Defense Ministry has also expressed strong dissatisfaction over Japan's new defense report.

The Ministry stresses that modernizing national defense and the country's armed forces is China's legitimate right as a sovereign state.

Jiang Feng says he believes playing up the China military threat will not deter the development of China's armed forces.

"Japan's annual defense white paper tends to portray the changes in China's military, which actually reflect the achievements in China's military development, achievements that Japan find it hard to accept. However, China will surely not abandon its efforts to build up the military simply because it's hard for Japan to accept."In the annual defense white paper, Japan has also renewed its claim to a pair of disputed islets that are called as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry has denounced the paper and summoned a Japanese diplomat stationed in Seoul to file a protest.

Ministry spokesman Noh Kwang-il is urging Japan to respect history.

"The Japanese government adding an absurd assertion again in its 2015 Defense White Paper released today is an act denying past Japanese imperialism invading the Korean Peninsula. Such action is no better than notification to the international community that Japan is still not correctly understanding its own history, even though we have reached the 70th anniversary of the ceasefire."Analysts believe that by playing up perceived threats, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration provides excuses for formulating a more aggressive new national defense policy, by remolding its Self-Defense Forces and for amending its post-war pacifist constitution.

For CRI, I'm Qi Zhi.

Late Chinese leader Wan Li crematedNational mourning is underway following the cremation this Wednesday of former top Chinese legislator Wan Li.

Flags are being flown at half staff at major government sites across the country, as well as at Chinese embassies and consulates around the world.

President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, as well as former president Hu Jintao and other senior Chinese leaders have attended his funeral this Wednesday at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetary in western Beijing.

Wan Li died in Beijing last Wednesday at the age of 99.

He is credited with playing a key role in advancing China's rural reforms in the late 1970s during his time as Party chief in the eastern province of Anhui.

Wan Li also served as chair of the National People's Congress Standing Committee from 1988 to 1993.

Defaulters Banned from Taking High-speed TrainsAs of today, people in China who defy court-orders to repay their debts are being banned from taking high-speed trains.

Liu Guixiang with the Supreme People's Court says this is part of a broader-based program they first launched back in November.

"The most prominent change is not only banning violators from spending on luxury services but also preventing them from spending on anything not necessary to sustain normal life or businesses. For instance, we previously banned them from sleeper-cars on trains. As high-speed trains have become popular, we extended penalty restrictions to high-speed trains."At the same time, Liu Guixiang says it's not just individuals who are subject to the new restrictions, noting corporations are also affected by the new rules.

"When a corporation fails to obey a court order, its legal representatives, chief executives, and those directly responsible for fulfilling the obligations of the courts will be subject to the same restrictions as individuals."Restrictions on high-speed train travel also applies to people who owe child-support payments, medical expenses or salaries to their employees.

New Zealand Farmers Expects Stronger Bilateral RelationshipAnchor:

The Governor-General of New Zealand, who is currently visiting China, is likely to be pressing for tighter agricultural ties with China amid the continued decline in global dairy prices, which is starting to take its toll on New Zealand's dairy industry.

CRI's Huang Shan has more.

Reporter:

Philip Bell's family has farmed for 150 years, and he predicts New Zealand's farmers may have to endure hard times, as global prices for milk powder have dropped to a six-year low.

Part of the problem is a slowdown in China's dairy consumption, which has seen New Zealand's exports to China drop by 45 percent since the peak in 2013.

Bell highlights the significant role of the Chinese market for New Zealand's dairy industry.

"The Chinese market is very, very important to us. It's the biggest dairy market in the world, it's where we're selling the biggest proportion of our produce."However, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, New Zealand's biggest bank, indicates that increased wealth in nations like China will boost future demand for food from New Zealand.

Managing Director Graham Turley with ANZ predicts the industry's fortunes will eventually turn around.

"The demand for protein as a result of that gives us confidence that the dairy industry and other protein industries in New Zealand have got a bright future in the long term."He also points out that China has been encouraging more foreign investment to promote industries and optimize development.

One of China's big three infant formula companies, Yashili, has already invested in a 220 million U.S.-dollar processing factory south of Auckland.

Meanwhile, China Construction Bank has established offices in New Zealand.

The executive general manager of CCB New Zealand, Lloyd Cartwright, says the falling Zealand dollar makes the country attractive to foreign investors.

"It's falling, so it's providing a cheaper entry point for capital into New Zealand, and I think that might actually have a bigger impact than actual falling dairy prices."Though the dairy industry may face a tough time, other parts of the New Zealand economy are accelerating due to the strong relationship with China.

The number of Chinese students coming to the country has increased by 12 percent last year, and tourists from China have soared by nearly 30 percent.

According to surveys released by the Chinese Tourism Academy, New Zealand is ranked as the number one destination.

For CRI, I'm Huang Shan.

Guangzhou to develop to an international portAnchor:

New plans have been laid out in Guangzhou to upgrade the maritime infrastructure in the southern Chinese port city to help it better deal with the expected growth in maritime trade created through the 21st century Maritime Silk Road initiative.

CRI's Guo Yan has the details.

Reporter:

For 2000 years, Guangzhou has functioned as a shipment hub due to its geographic merits. It's widely recognized as a bond between Chinese commodities and its culture, and East Asian and Persian Gulf countries.

In accordance with the construction of the 21st century Maritime Silk Road, and to meet international trade demand four main harbours in Guangzhou have been put under expansion plans.

Seven shipping routes have been opened this year for Nansha Port, one of the four main harbours.

Song Xiaoming is the vice manager of the project.

"The newly opened seven shipment routes are designed for the Road and Belt Initiative. In actuality, the Nansha Port performs better with lanes to Africa, boasting 19 shipment routes. "Statistics show that by the end of May the four harbours had 147 shipping lines. 59 of them are bound for Europe, America, East Asia, Africa, Middle East and Australia.

Chen Siyong, director of the Guangzhou Shipping Exchange, says the city has potential to become a major shipment hub.

"Guangzhou has comprehensive facilities. It ranks in the top 5 nationally and top 6 internationally in terms of throughput. Every year, 50 million tons of cargo is shipped from Guangzhou ports."But Chen adds that there is still a lot of work to do to improve the city's "software" as a harbor.

Currently, the city is trying to establish a shipping price index, a shipping financial investment platform and a shipping billing platform.

Song Xiaoming believes the efforts will make Guangzhou different from other major harbors like London and Singapore.

"For London and New York, the sheer amount of cargo isn't large. New York has five million tons of cargo shipments whereas London has 2 million. But because of a great number of shipment transactions and irregular contract shipping, the buisness volume is considerable. That makes it a higher level of shipment center. For Hongkong and Singapore, the amount of transacted cargo is large, so these harbours are "transaction type." I think that what makes Nansha Port different from them is that Nansha is the crux mainland as well as of the international market. It also serves the pan Pearl River Delta too."According to a plan of Guangzhou Harbour Bureau, by 2030, the city will be an international harbour with fully functioning shipment service system; on that is modern, efficient, and environmentally-friendly.

For CRI, I'm Guo Yan.

Ice-sports become popular in BeijingAnchor:

With Beijing waiting to hear if its bid for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games is going to be accepted, a growing number of Chinese people appear to be more interested in winter sports.

CRI's Yu Yang has more.

Reporter:

When the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games took place, it was clear that China had been the perfect hosts for the Summer games. Take a look around the city and across the country now and you can still see the legacy of the games – young people playing basketball in the park, children taking swimming lessons and of course the Birds Nest and Water Cube.

As Beijing seeks to become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics, it's hoped that the Olympic legacy can continue into the winter sports world.

The interest in winter sports is already seeing an increase.

Mrs. Liang is a parent who enrolled her daughter in ice skating classes at Beijing's Capital Gymnasium.

"I think skating is not just a skill, it's fun and a workout for your body. Unlike the time when I was a kid, now we have good facilities and coaches. My child loves it as well. So she picked up skating while enjoying it. When she grows up, it would be a relaxing activity when she feels tired after work or study."Mrs. Liang is not the only parent who has enrolled her child in a winter sport. The only concern is that ice-sports are still currently underdeveloped in China. The country is lacking highly-qualified coaches to meet the demand.

Even in Beijing, a megacity with 20 million residents, there are only 20 or so indoor ice rinks open throughout the year. That's why Fan Jun, the owner of a skating club is hoping Beijing will win the bid for the Winter Olympic Games in 2022.

"Should Beijing succeed, there's no doubt that ice-sports would be greatly propelled in Beijing or even across whole China. To build and maintain an ice rink is costly. The Olympics would promote the facilities in the first place, it will surely foster the market and make these sports known and accepted by people as well."It's thought that winning the bid could bring ice-sports to an estimated 300 million people across China.

The winning host city bid is set to be announced on July 31. Beijing and Almaty, Kazakstan are the two candidate cities for hosting the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

For CRI. I'm Yuyang.

Al Qaeda operative killed in air strikeThe Pentagon says it's now able to confirm a long-time al-Qaeda operative was killed in a US strike in Syria earlier this month.

The US Defense Department says Muhsin al-Fadhli was killed in a US strike on July 8th.

Pentagon confirmation comes on the heels of initial reports from anonymous US sources that al-Fadhli had been killed.

Al-Fadhli has been considered one of the leaders of al-Qaeda for years.

US officials say he was one of only a handful of trusted few in al-Qaeda who were given advance notice of the 9/11 terror attacks in New York and Washington.

Al-Fadhli is also said to have been a key figure in the so-called Khorasan Group.

This is a network of veteran al-Qaeda operatives reportedly operating out of Syria.

First UN aid ship in 4 months docks in Yemen's AdenA ship filled with United Nations aid has finally managed to dock in the Yemeni port city of Aden, bringing in desperately needed relief supplies after some 4-months of fierce fighting.

The humanitarian aid has arrived as forces loyal to exiled President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi continue to try to tighten their control over the southern city.

Transport Minister Badr Basalmeh says the delivery, which has arrived from the United Arab Emirates, will be the first of many.

"We want to say to the whole world that the city of Aden is open to welcome all boats. Thanks to God, today, in this strategic port Caltex, we welcome the first boat that has arrived, a boat from the UAE."The United Nations has been warning of an increasing humanitarian crisis in Yemen, as the fighting between loyalist forces and the country's Houthi rebels has severely restricted the amount of international aid making it into the country.

Mastermind of Mumbai blast stands trialIndia's Supreme Court has decided not to hear a last-minute appeal by Yakub Memon.

He's the only person to be sentenced to death for a series of bombings in Mumbai back in 1993.

The decision by the Indian Supreme Court clears the way for his execution, which is set to take place in just over a week, July 30th.

Memon has been on India's death row for nearly the past 2-decades after being convicted in a series of bombings which left 257 people dead across India's financial hub, still known then as Bombay.

Retired Justice P.D. Kode, who originally sentenced Memon to death in 2007, says he's pleased with the Indian Supreme Court's decision.

"This is a solace for the common man, who keeps a faith in the judiciary, who keeps a faith in the investigative agencies and the government. I am also happy because it seems that finality has been now reached."Indian authorities still consider Memon's brother "Tiger," as well as mafia don Dawood Ibrahim, as the main masterminds behind the attack.

Both are still on-the-loose.

Indian officials say they belive the pair are in-hiding in Pakistan.

Greece Starts Emergency Debate on demands for New BailoutGreece's parliament has begun an emergency debate on a 2nd round of conditions demanded by international creditors for a new bailout.

Greek lawmakers are due to vote later on this Wednesday on judicial and banking reforms being required by Eurozone countries for Greece to qualify for a new rescue package worth 85-billion euros.

Professor Dimitri Sotiropoulos with the University of Athens says this vote will be a litmus test for embattled Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

"The effect may be a sign that there is at last the political will on the part of the Greek government to formulate and effect and implement reforms. This was not a given in all past efforts of negotiations and agreement between the Greek government and its creditors."Tsipras is relying on support from pro-European opposition parties to get the bailout through parliament.

He's already been forced to bring in a new series of tough austerity measures to get the money before August 20th.

This is when Greece has to repay loans worth more than 3-billion euros to the European Central Bank.

Tsipras has been taking a political beating after announcing new austerity measures to secure a new loan package, even though Greek voters rejected a referendum on a package put forward by the country's European creditors.

His party shot to power on a political pledge to end the austerity measures Greece has been forced to endure to secure its previous loans.

Deal reached between Ukraine and militants in Donesk to withdraw heavy weaponsA preliminary agreement has been reached between Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russia militants in the Donetsk region to extend a pull-back of weapons in eastern Ukraine.

This comes amid the continued failure of a ceasefire agreement inked back in February.

Denis Pushilin with the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic says they hope Kiev will uphold the agreement.

"We are confident that our initiative on arms withdrawal from the contact line influenced this, contributed to the intensification of this process. We hope this document will be signed soon. And there is serious understanding in terms of the economic group."The militants in Donetsk are pledging to pull back heavy weapons from villages near a strategic rail hub in the region.

The OSCE, which has been monitoring February's ceasefire agreement, notes neither side has fully withdrawn heavy artillery from the frontlines as required.

More than 65-hundred people have been killed since the conflict first broke out in eastern Ukraine in April of last year.

Children Globally Learn Computer Programming Through Free ClassesAnchor:

A global organization called CoderDojo is hoping to expand its reach to try to help groom the computer programmers of tomorrow.

CRI's Victor Ning explains.

Reporter:

In the Manchester UK branch of CoderDojo, a global youth club for young computer programmers, 10 year old Sam Fogett is learning advanced digital skills that would baffle most adults.

"It's a fun place that you can code and do all sorts of programming, programming robots, programming games, all sorts of stuff like that."CoderDojo, a registered charity started in Ireland in 2011, now offers 640 events in 57 countries. Children aged 7 to 17 come to these monthly free events to learn robotics, animation and web design. The mission of the organization is to teach children to think creatively about computing.

Manchester Founder Steven Flower elaborates:

"We think it's really important that kids can begin to understand that they can control the computer as well as play it. So it's creating things rather than just consuming. For us the real thing is around the fact that you can get a computer, get a phone, you can make things with that phone or computer. You don't necessarily have to use things that others have made for you."The club has also been well received by parents. Sam's dad, Tony Fogget says the sessions also encourage the children to think creatively, as well as teaching them basic math and English skills"It's a really, really well rounded process. For me, the thing I love to watch him do the most is the problem solving."Girls also make up a good portion of the participants. According to the organization, 40 percent of the children are girls.

Ellen Lee, a 9 year old, is excited about what she has learned.

"I made a game where when you click it makes fireworks."While some may think that the children are pushed too hard to learn the complicated topics, Flower says the opposite is true.

"Oh, it's not complicated enough, believe me. I think the challenge for us is how we get people to the next level because already, many of the young people that have come here for the first or the fifteenth time, they're already at a level that's - they're ready for the next levels really, so the challenge is how we get it more complicated and equally accessible as well."To ensure that the children only spend a healthy amount of time in front of the computer, some parents say they have started managing and limiting their child's screen time.

The events in Manchester attract around 130 children each month. CoderDojo says it has reached 22,000 children globally through their classes.

For CRI, I'm Victor Ning.

North China's Inner Mongolia fights rampant locust swarmsLocal governments across Inner Mongolia are taking steps to try to battle a massive locust infestation said to be taking over large parts of the region.

Both chemical and biological means are being used to fight the locusts.

Around 200-thousand hectares of farmland has come under attack since Friday.

Bateer, a local grassland management official in the city of Chifeng, says this is something they have to cope with on an annual basis.

"Last year, the population base of locusts was huge. In July when the temperatures are right, the locusts can reproduce in a very short time, creating dense swarms of the insects."Around 73-hundred hectares of grassland has already been sprayed with pesticide since Friday.

Some 50-thousand chickens have also been put into the grassland regions of Inner Mongolia to help fight the locust infestation this year.

Water consumption record high in Urumqi as hot wave continuesWater consumption in Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi, has been hitting historic highs the past few days amid the massive heat-wave gripping the city.

Ouyang Changlei with the local water supply management firm in Urumqi says temperatures as high as 40-degrees have been gripping the city this week.

"We have been providing more than 1.2 million cubic meters of water on a daily basis since July 16th, which is record-high numbers."Forecasters are warning the hot weather is likely to continue gripping Urumqi and its surrounding areas through most of this week.

weatherBeijing has thundershowers tonight with a low of 21 degrees Celsius; overcast tomorrow with a high of 32.

Shanghai has light rain tonight with a low of 26; moderate rain tomorrow with a high of 31.

Chongqing will be overcast tonight with a low of 23, cloudy tomorrow with a high of 33.

Lhasa will be cloudy tonight with a low of 11, still cloudy tomorrow with a high of 25.

Headline newsJapan Defense White Paper Stirs up Tensions: FMChina has voiced its firm opposition to Japan's newly-released defense white paper, saying it deliberately plays up the so-called "China military threat."The white paper says Japan faces an increasingly severe security environment, highlighting China's supposed military build-up and activities in the East China Sea and South China Sea.

It also criticizes China's increased military spending.

In response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry says Japan is ignoring facts and making irresponsible remarks on China's normal military growth and maritime activities.

China's Defense Ministry has also expressed strong dissatisfaction, stressing that modernizing national defense and the country's armed forces are China's legitimate right as a sovereign state.

China plays important role in Iran nuclear talks: UN chiefUN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has held a telephone conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi connected to the Iranian nuclear agreement.

Ban Ki-moon says he wants to see the Chinese side continue to provide strong support for the implementation of the deal.

In making the suggestion, the UN chief has also noted China played a significant role in the nuclear talks.

For his part, Wang Yi is hailing the adoption of a resolution by the UN Security Council to endorse the nuclear accord.

El Nino leaves NE China thirstyEl Nino is being pointed to as one of the key factors behind the current drought gripping the northeastern Chinese province of Liaoning.

More than 230-thousand people are currently short of drinking water in the province, which has been gripped by high temperatures and dry conditions since the start of this month.

Underground water levels and reservoirs are continuing to dry up.

Liaoning's government has already earmarked more than 130-million yuan to help cope with the drought.

Navy starts exercise in S. China SeaThe Chinese navy has begun a 10-day exercise off the east coast of Hainan in the South China Sea.

This is going to create restrictions for local maritime traffic.

A "Bison class" amphibious hovercraft is part of the drill, the first time the Chinese Navy has deployed the craft as part of its exercises.

The exercise comes on the heels of the new commander of the US Pacific Fleet taking part in surveillance flights over the South China Sea this past weekend.

That move is drawing criticism from the Chinese side, saying the close-reconnaissance flights are undermining Sino-US military trust.

13 died, 22 affected by Japanese Encephalitis in NE IndiaIndian authorities say 13 people have died and 22 others are currently being treated for Japanese Encephalitis in the country's northeast.

The virus first emerged in the state of Assam 10-days ago.

Officials have already distributed around 40-thousand mosquito nets to the affected areas.

Japanese Encephalitis is a mosquito-borne virus which can be fatal if not diagnosed and treated in-time, as it can cause potentially-fatal brain swelling.

biz reportsTurning now to business news.

First a look at the numbers from across the Asian markets to close out this Wednesday evening.

Joining me on the desk is CRI's Wang Mengzhen.

Reporter:

Chinese stocks closed higher today, extending gains for 5 consecutive days.

Shanghai Composite Index has closed above the psychologically-important 4-thousand mark.

Shanghai's resurgence above 4-thousand comes on the heels of the massive volatility on the market recently.

This volitility is what prompted Chinese regulators to bring in a series of measures earlier this month to stem the sell-off in both Shanghai and Shenzhen.

Shares related to aviation, military and online education have led the gains, while railway construction, insurance and securities mostly ended down.

At close,Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2 percent, finishing at 4-thousand-26.

The Shenzhen Component Index gained 0.8 percent on the day.

Hong Kong stocks edged down today, with the Hang Seng dipping 1 percent.

Elsewhere in Asia,Japanese stocks fell today as declines on Wall Street overnight dampened investors' sentiment.

The Nikkei lost 1.2 percent.

South Korea's KOSPI also ended down 0.9 percent.

Singapore stocks finished slightly lower, with the Straits Times Index down 0.4 percent.

Finally, Australian stocks fell with the ASX 200 down 1.6 percent.

China's A share market closes 2 days in SepMeanwhile, Chinese security regulators have announced a 2-day trading suspension on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges to coincide with this year's commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Both markets will be shut down on September 3rd and 4th, a Thursday and Friday.

Normal trading will resume the following Monday, September 7th.

100 bln yuan pension fund in Shandong to enter the marketProvincial authorities in Shandong have been given approval to put 100 billion yuan of its public pension fund into the Chinese market.

The money is going to be invested through the National Social Security Fund Council.

10 billion yuan worth of Shandong's pension fund has already been transferred to the Council for investment.

Shandong becomes only the 2nd province, after Guangdong, to invest part of its pension funds into the markets.

Under new regulations, Chinese authorities are allowing over 2-trillion yuan worth of pension fund money into the system.

However, only 30-percent of any provincial-level fund will be allowed into the stock markets to reduce risk.

Since first dumping 100-billion yuan into the markets in 2012, Guangdong has managed to gain 6-percent on its investments.

China to Lower Internet Prices till OctoberChina's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has announced fees for internet use will be coming down across the country as of the end of October.

Under new plans announced this Wednesday, rates for both broadband and mobile data are being reduced.

Broadband users with plans between 50 and 100 Megabytes Per Second will see their rates cut by at least 30-percent.

Users with slower packages of around 20 Megabytes Per Second will see their rates cut by around 20-percent.

At the same time, costs for roaming mobile data traffic are expected to come down by more than 80-percent.

The State Council issued new regulations back in May, demanding internet providers both increase their services and reduce costs amid growing complaints in China about the costs associated with internet services.

Chinese pork price hikes nearly 50% since MarchNew analysis shows pork prices in China have spiked by nearly 50-percent since March.

Pork prices are now at their highest levels in some 3-years.

Pork prices in 36 different cities in China have increased over 2-percent over this past week, despite an overall slowdown in pork consumption.

Industry observers are suggesting this is mostly because of a shortage of pork suppliers in China.

In response, share prices for listed companies with connections to the pork industry have been surging this month.

Share prices for companies involved in the pork industry have jumped over 60-percent over the past 9 trading days.

Shares of Muyuan Food have hit the daily 10-percent limit over 8 of those days.

Pork prices currently account for around 10-percent of the overall weighting of the Consumer Price Index in China.

Apple Reports Record Third Quarter ResultsAnchor:

Investors in the US are going to be keeping a close eye on Apple shares later on this evening when the markets open for Wednesday trading in New York.

Its shares have been down in after-hours trading, despite posting a quarterly-profit increase on Tuesday of 38-percent on the back of iPhone sales.

Our William Denselow has more from New York.

Reporter:

Beating analysts' estimates for profits and revenue, Apple posted 3rd quarter earnings of $1.85 per share.

But with IPhone sales coming in below expectations at around 47.5 million for the last three months, Apple shares took a dive shortly after earnings were announced.

And senior equity analyst at S&P Capital IQ Angelo Zino says Apple's performance is significant not only for the tech sector but the US stock market in general.

"Apple now contributes to about 20% to the total of the S&P 500 market cap, the total weighting of the S&P 500 so Apple's results are extremely important. We believe for the technology sector and the overall broader market indices."This year China became the world's biggest market for iPhones- due largely to the huge demand for the iPhone 6 and the larger screened iPhone 6 Plus.

But after strong sales at the start of the year, many analysts feared that a saturated marketplace along with fears over a stagnating economy could see sales dwindle.

Posting sales in Greater China at $13.23 billion dollars the picture however remains rosy, with Apple CEO Tim Cook calling the performance "outstanding."And for CEO of Quantum Networks Ari Zoldan- he says Apple's dominance in China is likely to stay.

"Every smartphone manufacturer, every technology company across every sector is going to be vulnerable to any kind of economic swing and as long as Apple continues to focus on their core technology and continues to build a very good brand, they're going to be in a great position."Analysts are eager for a glimpse into how the Apple Watch is selling but they'll have to wait a little longer.

Watch figures were bundled into other sales of products like iPods and Apple TVs but S&P Capital estimate around 4-5 million devises were sold in the third quarter.

Some analysts expect the smartwatch to sell better when the second and third generations are released- but Ari Zoldan believes Apple should focus on their major seller - the iPhone.

"I don't see the Apple Watch as the holy grail, I think that Apple has to continue to focus on what they're good at and that's the iPhone. I just don't see the Apple Watch really taking off as a lot of people were expecting it too."But according to Apple's CEO Tim Cook the Apple Watch has exceeded sales expectations.

Investors hope this trend continues especially with sales of the iPad once again falling short of Wall Street expectations.

For CRI, I'm William Denselow in New York.

Microsoft posts a record quarterly profit lossMicrosoft is reporting a 3.2-billion US dollar net loss through its fiscal 4th quarter, the company's largest-ever quarterly loss.

The loss is mostly because of the 7.5 billion US dollars charge it had to take to write down the value of Nokia mobile phones.

Microsoft has already announced nearly 8-thousand job cuts to narrow down its mobile business losses.

FAW-VW sees car sales slump over 11% in H1The joint-venture between FAW and Volkswagen is reporting a more than 11-percent drop in vehicle sales through the first half of this year.

A company spokesperson is pointing to a capacity crunch as one of the reasons behind the slowdown in sales.

At the same time, FAW-Volkswagon contends the massive influx of money into the Chinese stock markets earlier this year is also a reason for the slowdown in vehicle sales.

Other joint ventures, including Chang'an Ford and Beijing Hyundai, have also been reporting a slowdown in sales.

But at the same time, sales of fully-owned Chinese brands are up nearly 25-percent through the first half of this year.

Sales of new-energy vehicles have more than doubled among stand-alone Chinese vehicle makers.

SportsFootball: Real Madrid Signs 19 y.o. Chinese Midfielder Lin LiangmingKicking things off with news from the world of football:

La Liga giants Real Madrid have reportedly signed 19-year-old Chinese midfielder Lin Liangming to a five-year deal worth 300-thousand euros.

Lin will join Real's U-19 youth team and play in the European Youth League before a call-up to join the La Liga line-up.

The Chinese midfielder first caught the eye of several clubs during the U-19 eight-nation tournament in Slovakia back in April and the Iber Cup global youth tournament in June.

Lin was also being coveted by Chinese Super League clubs Guangzhou Evergrande and Shandong Luneng. Spanish sports news website as.com reports that both CSL clubs were prepared to offer Lin a deal worth two million euros, but the midfielder skipped on the bigger payday for a chance to play with Real Madrid.

Football: Bayern Munich Downed Inter Milan 1-0 in ShanghaiIn more football action from China,Bayern Munich defeated Inter Milan 1-0 in the second game of its pre-season China tour.

Mario Goetze scored the winner for the German Bundesliga champions at the 80th minute.

Coach Pep Guardiola says he'll have a full squad to choose from for the next game against Guangzhou Evergrande.

"We will play against Guangzhou Evergrande in two days. We must carefully select the start list for each match and see which player is good to play and which players have problems. Now we do need to have a good rest, have some good sleep for physical recovery. We will be facing the best team in China in the next match."Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini says his team played a good game, but still has room to improve.

Football: Int'l Champions Cup RecapIn football action from the International Champions Cup:

Barcelona opened its U.S. pre-season tour with a 2-1 victory over the LA Galaxy on Tuesday night before 93,226 fans at the Rose Bowl.

Luis Suzrez and Sergi Roberto notched Barca's two goals as the UEFA Champions League winners largely controlled their first match of the new season, delighting the biggest crowd for a club soccer game involving an MLS team in U.S. history.

And Raheem Sterling opened up scored after just three minutes of the start of his debut with Manchester City, as the Premiere League club beat AS Roma 5-4 in penalties after drawing 2-2.

James Horsfield netted the game-winning penalty for Man City.

In more action:

Manchester United beat the San Jose Earthquakes 3-1 in their International Champions Cup match on at Levi's Stadium in California. Juan Mata and Memphis Depay scored five minutes apart in the first half to set the tone for the Man U win.

French league 1 champs Paris St. Germaine beat Fiorentina 4-2 in their match, thanks in part to Jean-Kevin Augustin's pair of goals at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey.

Boxing: Tyson Fury Throws Verbal Jabs at Klitschko During Pre-Fight PresserIn boxing:

WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion Vladimir Klitschko and his latest challenger, Britain's Tyson Fury, began the verbal sparring on Tuesday at a joint press conference in Duesseldorf, the venue for their title showdown on October 24th.

The 39-year-old Ukrainian has not been defeated in 11 years, but will face an opponent in Fury who is bigger than him, a situation he is not accustomed to.

True to his reputation, the outspoken Fury ramped up the trash talk:

Fury: "Well, to be honest, Vlad, you know, it is a world title fight and what? It is what it is. It's an event, yes, for the fans, but this is personal between me and you, when we go out there and fight in front of fifty thousand or a hundred thousand people..."Klitschko: "Nothing personal, but business."Fury: "No, it is. it isn't business."Klitschko: "I have nothing personal against you."Fury: "It's very personal... it's a personal mission for me to rid boxing of a boring person like you."Fury's 24-0 record - with 18 knock-outs - will be seriously tested when he gets into the ring with the champ, who holds a career record of 64-3, with 53 KOs and will again start as the heavy favorite.　Klitschko will also beat Joe Louis' record of 27 heavyweight title fights in the bout.

Baseball: Barry Bonds Cleared of Obstruction ChargesThe U.S. Department of Justice will not appeal a court ruling that cleared baseball player Barry Bonds of obstruction of justice in a probe over steroids, effectively ending the long criminal prosecution of the sport's career home run leader.

The case involved testimony Bonds gave to a grand jury in 2003 about whether he used steroids to help him hit more long balls. The slugger was convicted on one obstruction charge in 2011, and the jury deadlocked on three perjury counts. His sentence of two years of probation and 30 days of home confinement was put on hold pending his appeal.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April said prosecutors did not provide enough evidence that his statements were material to their investigation, and that Bonds could not be retried for obstruction.

In a court filing on Tuesday, prosecutors said they would not try to litigate the case in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Bonds holds numerous MLB, including the highest number of career home runs at 762 and the most home runs in a single season at 73 back in 2001.

Tennis: Venus Williams Ousted in Round 1 of Istanbul OpenIn women's tennis action from the WTA Istanbul Open:

Top-seeded Venus Williams was ousted in the first round of the tournament by Ukrainian qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko.

The Ukrainian hit three service breaks in the first set and jumped ahead 5-2 in the second before Williams blasted back, winning four-straight games and serving at 6-5 to take the set.

But it was Bondarenko's day, as the Ukrainian snatched 11 of the last 15 points to earn the upset win.

EntertainmentHollywood Blockbusters Lock Release Dates in ChinaA new slew of Chinese release dates for summer Hollywood blockbusters have been unveiled.

This coincides with end of the mid-summer domestic film protection period.

Among the Hollywood films with new Chinese release dates include Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Terminator: Gynesis" which will open on August 23rd.

New film "Pixels" will open 4-days later.

Tom Cruise's "Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation" will open in Chinese theatres on September 8th.

Universal's animation "Minions" now has a September 13th release date in China.

Featuring the voices of Sandra Bullock, John Hamm and Michael Keaton, "Minions" has already taken in around 630-million US dollars globally.

Marvel's much-anticipated superhero film "Ant-Man" will hit Chinese theatres on September 18th.

Starring Paul Rudd, "Ant-Man" managed to top the US box office in its opening weekend a few days back, taking in nearly 60-million US dollars in North America.

Pixar's "Inside Out" is also slated for an October 8th release in China.

9th FIRST International Film Festival Opens in XiningChinese comedy "A Fool" has opened this year's International Film Festival in Qinghai's capital, Xining.

"A Fool" follows the adventures of a farmer and a slow-witted beggar.

The film, actor Chen Jianbing's directorial debut, took home the Best Actor and Best New Director awards at last year's Golden Horse awards in Taiwan.

Established in 2006, the FIRST film festival is designed to try to promote independent Chinese films.

This year's jury in Xining is headed by Chinese director Jiang Wen.

This year's festival will also include a "Xining Image" component, which is focused on ethnic minorities.

The festival will run until July 30th.

Center for Ancient Tibetan Books Set up in LhasaA center for restoring ancient Tibetan manuscripts has been established in the regional capital Lhasa.

The new center is also hosting a 10-day ancient book restoration workshop, which will show people how to use modern techniques to repair books and manuscripts.

Traditionally, people in Tibet have repaired damaged books using traditional methods such as sewing with thread or pasting on pages with starch.

There are around a million ancient Tibetan books in China, two-thirds of which are in Tibet.

However, many of the books remain scattered around the remote region, making it difficult for preservation.

'Paper Towns' Premieres in New YorkThe coming-of-age film "Paper Towns" has premiered in New York.

"Paper Towns" is written and produced by John Green.

He's the man behind the coming-of-age drama "The Fault in Our Stars."Green says he hopes both the book and the film will help develop some lasting lessons for young people.

"I hope they walk away from the movie feeling like they've made six friends, the same way I did, but I also hope that they walk away from it thinking about how difficult it is but important it is to imagine the other complexly and to understand that other people's grief and joy and pain is as real as ours and that it's kind of our biggest challenge and our biggest responsibility to understand that other people also contain multitudes just as we do.""Paper Towns" opens in North America on Friday.

Taylor Swift to Launch Clothes Brand on JD.comTaylor Swift is moving to launch her clothing label here in China.

Swift has announced a partnership with JD.com to sell her clothing lines in China.

Products for sale will include her dresses, sweatshirts and other tops.

The Grammy-winning singer also has a shoe line, which she sells on her official website in the US.

This comes on the heels of Swift confirming 3-straight days of concerts in Shanghai in November as part of her "1989" world tour.

Nicki Minaj Slashes VMA Nominations, Highlighting Racial IssuesNicki Minaj has issued a public rebuke of the latest MTV Video Music Award nominations.

The singer has gone to twitter, suggesting her videos for "Feeling Myself" and "Anaconda" should have been given more recognition.

Minaj's "Anaconda" is up for the best hip-hop video award.

However, "Feeling Myself" featuring Beyonce, has failed to get any nominations.

Minaj, obviously upset, sent out a tweet saying "Anaconda" would have received more nominations if it starred "women with very slim bodies."This has been widely seen as a slight against Taylor Swift and her star-studded video "Bad Blood".

Swift has since responded, saying its unusual for Minaj to pit women against one-another.

This year's VMA will take place on August 30th in Los Angeles, with Miley Cyrus as the host.

weatherBeijing has thundershowers tonight with a low of 21 degrees Celsius; overcast tomorrow with a high of 32.

Shanghai has light rain tonight with a low of 26; moderate rain tomorrow with a high of 31.

Chongqing will be overcast tonight with a low of 23, cloudy tomorrow with a high of 33.

Lhasa will be cloudy tonight with a low of 11, still cloudy tomorrow with a high of 25.

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

The Chinese government has come out swinging following the release of a new Japanese Defense White Paper.

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