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

Coming up on the program this morning...

New armament to be showcased in China's V-Day Parade.....

Storm triggered flood leaving 12 dead in Sichuan....

And White House announcing IS's second-in-command killed in U.S. air strikeIn the second half of the show, we'll bring you a recap of the biggest news stories this week from the world of business...

In Sports...We'll bring you an IAAF World Championships preview...

In Entertainment...Author of novel "Wolf Totem" winning award in Mongolia...

All of that coming up in the next hour, 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/beijinghourFind 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.

Top NewsNew armament to be showcased in China's V-Day ParadeAnchor:

China's upcoming military parade on Sep 3 through Tian'anmen Square will feature hundreds of pieces of new military equipment. The event marking the 70th anniversary of China's victory over Japan and the end of WWII will also feature fifty formations.

CRI's Victor Ning has more.

Reporter:

These 50 formations will include 11 foot formations, two mounted formations of veterans, 27 armament formations, and 10 air echelons.

12,000 troops, 500 pieces of equipment, and nearly 200 aircraft will be demonstrated.

One of the highlights during this parade will be the armament formations.

Qu Rui, deputy director of the Office of the Parade Leading Team, noted that the armament represent new developments, new achievements, and a new image for Chinese armed forces.

"About 84 percent of the armament, to be showcased in the Sept. 3 military parade, has never been presented to the public before. All of the armaments are Chinese-made. The Army, Navy, Air Force, Second Artillery Force and Armed Police will all debut new armament."Training for the parade is being highlighted as well, as much has been accomplished in a very short period of time, involving great numbers of people and equipment.

Major General Wang Shun says parade units have been equipped with the Beidou automatic time service system in order to support a scientific approach to the training regime.

"Beidou orientation and measurement technology, part of China's satellite positioning system, has been used in training for the upcoming parade. The application of the electronic parade sand model and emulation system has greatly improved the efficiency of the training."Veterans who fought in the war against Japanese aggression will also be reviewed at the military parade, as will the children of veterans.

The veterans, in two mounted formations, are from both the forces led by the Communist Party of China (CPC) and those lead by the Kuomintang (KMT) Party.

Ten foreign armies will also march in the parade.

Qu did not provide a full list of the countries but says all corners of the globe will be represented.

"Russia and Kazakhstan and other over ten countries will join the parade. Countries that will send formations and representative teams to the parade are from all the continents of Asia, Europe, Africa, Oceania and America. Their participation in the parade is a clear indication of the attitude of commemorating the victory of the world anti-fascist war jointly, and a symbol of the pursuit and aspiration to the enduring world peace."The parade on September 3rd for the 70th anniversary of the war's end will be the first of its kind in China.

For CRI, I'm Victor Ning.

China steps up efforts to ensure a blue sky paradeChina's environment authorities have stepped up efforts to ensure a blue sky and clean air for war commemoration activities centering on a military parade on Sept. 3.

The Ministry of Environment ordered Beijing and its six surrounding provincial regions to "swiftly take action" to ensure a sound environment during the events.

Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Shandong and Henan authorities were given a deadline of Aug. 28 for monitoring various industries and shutting down companies with excessive emissions.

Temporary controls on industry, power plants and construction will be implemented in the region between Aug. 28 and Sept. 4.

Motor vehicles, especially trucks from out of town, will be restricted from entering the capital. Cars with excess emissions will not be allowed to enter.

Photo exhibition on China's contribution on WWII held in PolandAnchor:

A photo exhibition on the 70th anniversary of China's victory in the war of resistance against Japanese aggression and World War II is currently underway in Poland's capital Warsaw.

CRI's XYee has the details.

Reporter:

The exhibition shows Japan's crimes in the Asia-Pacific region, how the Chinese people helped Jews escape the holocaust, and the lives of Jews who sheltered in China.

Chinese ambassador to Poland Xu Jian says though peace and development is the main trend of the world today, conflicts and violence never stop. It is significant to remember the war and prevent the revival of militarism.

"In terms of the history, we must remember it and cherish the memory of the martyrs. In terms of the reality, we must introspect the war and reach consensus. And in terms of the future, we must unite to maintain a peaceful world and usher in a brighter future."Zhao Yihua, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification in Poland, also the organizer of the exhibition, says the exhibition is aimed to tell the Poles and other Europeans about Imperial Japan's crimes in the Asia-Pacific region and the Chinese people's arduous resistance of Japanese aggression.

"This exhibition aims to call on people to cherish peace rather than create hatred. Women and children are the biggest victims of the Second World War. We can protect them only through the power of justice. So I hope that we can unite to strengthen the power of peace so as to prevent a repeat of the tragedy."Polish parliament member Wojciech Papis says no one should forget the tragedy of 70 years ago.

"China and Poland have a similar history. After WWII broke out, Poland was the first country that fought against fascism. And China also fought bravely against Japanese aggression. As we are now living in a peaceful era, we must cherish the peace, develop the economy, carry out cooperation and create favorable conditions for the future life."The exhibition will last until August 28.

For CRI, I'm XYee.

Tianjin blasts death toll rises to 116Two more deaths linked to the explosions in Tianjin last week have been confirmed, bringing the total to 116.

Sixty people are still listed as missing.

Of the dead, 65 were firemen and seven were police officers.

The rescue headquarters says all of the victims have been identified through DNA matches.

Among the missing, 39 are firefighters while four others are police officers.

About 700 people remain hospitalized.

Tianjin speeds up cleanup of blasts siteMeanwhile, chemical-hazard experts have sped up the cleanup operation at the core area of the two blasts which occurred in a warehouse in the eastern Chinese port city on August 12.

Wang Hongjiang, vice mayor of Tianjin, says 200 tonnes of sodium cyanide has been collected and removed from the site.

Wang says over 3,000 tonnes of polluted water in the core blast area has been removed from the area and treated.

He adds that the density of air pollutants in the core area has declined.

Deng Xiaowen, head of Tianjin environment monitoring center, says no excess level of cyanide was tested in the waters outside the explosion zone from Aug 14 to 20.

"Cyanide has been found at 25 monitoring sites, and eight of them with a content exceeding the national standard. All the eight sites are within the cordon zone, with the highest density 356 times higher than the standard. No excess cyanide has been tested at the 16 monitoring sites outside the zone."China's Public Security Ministry has ordered traffic police nationwide to be on high alert for dangerous chemicals, days after the warehouse blasts in Tianjin.

Most cars destroyed in Tianjin blasts come from JLR plants in Britain: reportJaguar Land Rover says that around 5,800 of its cars were destroyed in the recent Tianjin explosions.

The company said in a statement that the vehicles came from JLR assembly plants in the West Midlands and Liverpool in the UK and had recently arrived in Tianjin after being shipped from Britain.

It says access to facilities near the site of the explosion remains restricted and the company is presently unable to quantify the numbers of units affected.

The Birmingham Post newspaper reported on Friday that shares in Indian parent group Tata Motors fell by up to 4 percent on the Mumbai stock exchange Friday.

Xinhua news agency reported earlier that 8,000 cars worth around 630 million U.S. dollars were destroyed in the blasts on Wednesday night from a warehouse in Tianjin's port area.

Storm triggered flood leaves 12 dead in SichuanFlooding triggered by days of heavy rainstorms has left 12 people dead and 12 others missing in Baila Town, Xuyong County, southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The flooding has damaged power supplies and communication facilities in the town, besides destroying over 30 houses.

An ensuing landslide has also blocked the road connecting the town with outside areas.

A People's Liberation Army (PLA) engineering unit is now working on-site to reopen the road.

Cao Zhen is the commanding officer of the PLA unit.

"We estimate that about 100,000 cubic meters of rocks and mud need to be cleared from here. I don't think they could be excavated away. So we are adopting a combined method, by controlled explosion and excavation by heavy machinery. We'll try our best to reopen the road as soon as possible."The road is expected to be opened early on Saturday. Relief supplies could then be sent to the disaster-hit town.

The rain and floods since Sunday have affected over 560,000 people in over 16 counties in Sichuan, with Xuyong county suffering the most.

The county is in the southern part of Sichuan, bordering Guizhou province to the south.

Former Deputy Police Chief Prosecuted for Graft in ChinaChina's former vice minister of Public Security Li Dongsheng has been prosecuted.

Prosecutors in Tianjin filed the case with the city's No. 2 Intermediate People's Court.

Prosecutors believe Li took advantage of his posts to seek benefits for others, and extorted or accepted "a huge amount" of bribes. Li will now stand trial charged with accepting bribes.

Li was formerly a member of the 18th CPC Central Committee and was also the deputy head of a central leading group for cult prevention.

In 2014, Li was removed from his posts and was expelled from the Communist Party of China.

Chinese mainland lambastes Lee Teng-hui over treasonous remarksChinese mainland's Taiwan affairs authority has released a statement to rebuke former Taiwan leader Lee Teng-hui's "absurd remarks" such as "Taiwan and Japan were the same country."Lee, 92, also alleged to media in Japan that the comfort women issue had been settled and the 1992 consensus centering on the one-China principle was a fabricated formulation.

A statement from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council says the absurd remarks have seriously distorted the facts and blurred out the important contributions made by the Taiwan compatriots to the victory of the war against the Japanese invaders.

It says Lee is trying to defend the Japanese imperialists' crimes.

Lee, also a former Kuomintang chairman, is known for his pro-Japan and Taiwan-independence stance.

IS's second-in-command killed in U.S. air strike: White HouseThe White House has said that Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali, the second-in-command of extremist group Islamic State (IS), was killed in a U.S. air strike on Aug. 18 while travelling in a vehicle near Mosul, Iraq.

Also known as Hajji Mutazz, al-Hayali supported IS operations in Syria and Iraq and was in charge of the group's operations in Iraq.

National Security Council spokesman Ned Price says Al-Hayali was also a primary coordinator for moving large amounts of weapons, explosives, vehicles, and people between Iraq and Syria.

Price says the death of al-Hayali was a blow to IS's operations given that his influence spanned ISIL's finance, media, operations, and logistics.

Shots fired on European Highspeed TrainSeveral people were injured by an armed man on a Thalys high-speed train between Amsterdam and Paris on Friday, the French interior ministry said.

A man was arrested when the train stopped at Arras station in northern France but his motives were not yet known, a ministry spokesman said. Thalys said in a tweet that travellers were safe and the situation was under control.

France has been on high security alert since Islamist militants killed 17 people in and around Paris in January.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve was en route to Arras in response to the train shooting.

No one at the SNCF French railways was immediately available to comment on the situation.

South Korea Warns of response to North Korea's further provocationsAnchor:

Tensions in the Korean Peninsula continue to escalate after an exchange of fire across the Demilitarized Zone earlier this week.

CRI's Wang Mengzhen has more.

Reporter:

South Korean Defence Minister Han Min-koo vows that Seoul will punish North Korea if it carries out additional attacks.

"As a minister who is responsible for the national defence, this time, I will make sure to sever the vicious cycle of North Korea's provocations while keeping our people's safety as a priority."South Korea said its military on Thursday fired dozens of shells toward North Korea, which Seoul said had earlier launched artillery shells twice into the south side in the western border. The North Korean side has strongly denied the accusation.

According to South Korean officials, 11 sites with loudspeakers broadcasting anti-Pyongyang messages near the border are likely to be the targets.

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un has put his country's troops in a fully armed state of war on Friday.

North Korea's state run television KRT says the North is prepared for military action if Seoul did not meet the Saturday deadline to cease the broadcasts.

"General Staff of Korean People's Army on Thursday sent an ultimatum to the South Korean Defence Ministry that the KPA would launch a strong military action unless South Korea stops broadcasting towards the North. It must also dismantle its psychological warfare system on the border within 48 hours."No causalities have been reported from the exchange of fire.

As a response, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the parties to refrain from taking any further measures that might increase tensions.

On Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying also called for relevant parties to stay calm and deal with the situation through contact and dialogue.

At the same time, US Assistant Secretary of Defence for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs David Shear has expressed concerns over the latest tensions.

"The United States remains steadfast in its commitment to the defence of its allies, and will continue to coordinate closely with the Republic of Korea. The DPRK's provocative actions heighten tensions, and we call on Pyongyang to refrain from actions and rhetoric that threaten regional peace and stability, and we are at one with our ROK ally on this."It is also being reported that US has resumed its annual military exercise with South Korea after a temporary halt to coordinate over South Korea's shelling with the north.

Earlier this month, South Korea resumed blaring anti-north propaganda messages through 11 loudspeakers, after accusing Pyongyang of planting landmines that wounded two South Korean soldiers.

For CRI, I am Wang Mengzhen.

Progress Made in the Investigation of Fatal Bombing in Thailand: PMThai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha has said that progress is being made in the investigation of the recent fatal bombing in Bangkok.

"The government insists on speeding up the investigation to bring the suspects and the networks to justice. The investigation process has had many developments, I would like to ask everyone to have confidence (in the government) and have consciousness (not to believe in online rumours)."Thai authorities have tripled the reward for information leading to the arrest of the main suspect to $85,000.

Police are hunting the bomber who carried out the Monday evening attack at one of Bangkok's top tourist attractions.

20 people were killed in the blast at the Erawan shrine, including seven Chinese.

Currently the only solid evidence is grainy security camera footage showing an unidentified young man with dark hair dressed in a yellow shirt leaving a backpack at the scene.

Police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang has promised that they will patrol all areas to guarantee safety and build up tourists' confidence, ensuring that the authorities will take great care in keeping them safe.

Initial speculation that the plot could be the work of an international terror network has for now been set aside.

Migrants tear-gased after flood into MacedoniaHundreds of migrants and refugees streamed into Macedonia from Greece on Friday, hours after police fired tear gas to drive them back after sealing the frontier under an emergency decree.

Migrants flooded Gevgelija train station waiting for trains to take them to the northern border where they would cross into Serbia.

From Serbia, migrants are aiming to reach Hungary, but for many, the ultimate goal is to reach Germany.

Earlier in the day, at least 1,000 migrants and refugees pressed against Macedonian police lines on the Greek-Macedonian border and at least 10 people appeared to faint in the crush.

People could be heard screaming and medical workers raced to treat those who passed out or were hurt. The crush ensued after police let several hundred through into Macedonia, having kept them out since Thursday under an emergency decree.

One migrant from Syria named Hussa, explained the groups motivation for the crush.

"They told us that all the people will enter to Macedonia and all the people there are happy now. We have families, we have pregnant women, they were bleeding and it was really bad situation for everyone for two or three days,"Macedonia is allowing migrants to enter from Greece in numbers that the country can provide transport and care for, an interior ministry spokesman said on Friday after hundreds streamed across the border.

IS kills Syrian ArchaeologistIslamic State extremists demolished a Christian monastery founded more than 1,500 years ago near the town of Qaryatain, central Syria on Friday.

Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO says the destruction of these heritage sites are a major cause for concern.

We haven't seen something similar since the second world war. I think this is the biggest and the most brutal systematic destruction of world heritage. And this is where I think the danger lies. We have to understand what it represents for the people.

This comes after Khaled al-Assad, an antiquities scholar who helped get Palmyra inscribed as a World Heritage Site was killed by Islamic State militants on Tuesday after trying to save the site's moveable objects from extremists.

Bokova spoke out about this loss.

"We have all the reasons to think that he was brutally murdered precisely for that reason – that he did not tell where some of these moveable objects were hidden and stored. And also because the extremists want to silence this voice, not just of reason but this voice of dialogue, of tolerance, of history, of respect."Since capturing about a third of Syria and Iraq last year, IS fighters have destroyed mosques, churches and archaeological sites, causing extensive damage to the ancient cities of Nimrud, Hatra and Dura Europos.

UNOSAT released satellite pictures showing severe looting in Necropolis and Dura Europos.

Europe's largest theatre organ restored to original gloryAnchor:

A project to restore Europe's largest Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ has been completed after six years of hard work. It's now set to fill an ancient venue in London on Saturday with its unique sound.

CRI's Xie Cheng has more.

Reporter:

Before the days of IMAX cinemas and Dolby Digital Surround Sound, silent film was brought to life by the Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ.

The instrument, boasting over 1,700 pipes, 4 keyboards, a pedal board and 241 stop keys, was widely used during the 1930s to create the ambience of a full orchestra from one platform.

Organist Richard Hills says the United Kingdom is the birthplace of the organ.

"The Wurlitzer was introduced in the 1920s in cinemas in the UK and its primary function was to accompany the silent pictures. And as such, its design developed so that it was rather different from a church organ, many of the same sounds, but very much an orchestral organ. It was designed to imitate sounds of a full orchestra, so we find percussions as well as brass sections and string sections."He adds that its console can create the sounds of drums, cymbals, xylophones, glockenspiels, marimbas and pianos, all under the control of one person.

In the early 20th century, thousands of these organs were installed in cinemas throughout the US, Canada, the UK and Australia to accompany silent films. But their time was relatively short.

'The Jazz Singer', the first movie with dialogue and music in 1927, had accelerated the end of the theatre organs. Theatres gradually replaced organs with speaker systems.

The Wurlitzer was originally brought to the UK from the US in 1930, settling down in a cinema in London. But it was put into storage when the cinema closed 30 years later.

To restore the organ to its original glory as possible, volunteers worked for over 5,000 hours to bring the Wurlitzer back to life. It's hoped now that the Wurlitzer will last for many years to come.

"It was stored in an underground car park so it was in reasonable condition. But it was an opportunity when we installed it here to replace all the leathers to make it really good, so it'll last for many years and also to get the best sound."Organists are scheduled to play the Wurlitzer on Saturday at The Troxy theatre for a performance dubbed 'A Night of 1,000 Pipes'.

The performance is thought to be the first time British audiences will experience this instrument in a venue for which it was originally intended for in over 40 years.

Organist Richard Hills has full confidence that the show will be a fantastic experience.

"The sound that comes from having one of these instruments in a big theatre is very unique and so this will be arguably the first time for many decades that it's possible to hear that in this country."For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.

Russia says to build cross-border aerial ropeway with ChinaChina and Russia are ready to build an aerial ropeway across a border river to promote tourism and facilitate border crossing.

The 750-meter-long ropeway is set to cross the Amur River in Russia's Far East on the common border.

The project is due to start later this year.

In addition, a 2,200-meter-long railway bridge, which also crosses the river, is slated for completion by the end of 2016.

It links China's Heilongjiang Province and Russia's Jewish Autonomous Oblast.

A package of investment programs in connection with the two cross-border projects will be discussed at the 2015 Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) scheduled for Sept. 3-5 in Russia's Far Eastern city of Vladivostok.

WeatherBeijing will see showers today with a high of 30 degrees Celsius.

Overnight temperatures should drop down to 20.

Tianjin will have thundershowers with a high of 31 and lows of 23.

Shanghai will see moderate rain with a high of 27 and a low of 24.

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

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Kathmandu, slight rain, 27.

Islamabad will see slight rain with a high of 33.

Kabul will be sunny with a high of 30.

Over to North America,New York will see slight rain with a high of 28 degrees.

Washington, cloudy with a high of 30 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 29.

Toronto will be overcast with a high of 25 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will see slight rain with a high of 19.

And Rio de Janeiro will have slight rain with a high of 25 degrees Celsius.

Headline NewsNew armament to be showcased in China's V-Day ParadeChina's upcoming military parade on Sep 3 through Tian'anmen Square will feature hundreds of pieces of new military equipment.

The event marking the 70th anniversary of China's victory over Japan and the end of WWII will also feature fifty formations.

These 50 formations will include 11 foot formations, two mounted formations of veterans, 27 armament formations, and 10 air echelons.

A total of 12,000 troops, 500 pieces of equipment, and nearly 200 aircraft will be demonstrated.

Veterans who fought in the war against Japanese aggression will also take part in the military parade.

Ten foreign armies will also march in the parade.

China to assess care of the elderlyChina's top legislature will send lawmakers to six provinces in the coming months to assess the country's revised elderly care law.

A revised Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly was passed in December 2012 and went into effect on July 1 in 2013.

The law differentiates the responsibility for attending to the needs of the elderly, including the duties of relatives, local governments and social organizations.

The number of people in China at the age of 60 or above hit 202 million in 2013, nearly 15 percent of the total population.

That number is expected to exceed 300 million in 2025 and hit 30 percent by 2050.

Taiwan to relax daily cap on mainland independent travelersTaiwan has announced it will increase the number of mainland tourists it allows to enter the island from 4,000 to 5,000 a day, after the island saw a slump in tourism data.

The island's development council says a policy package is being discussed to attract more tourists and generate higher tourism profits.

Certain tour groups from five Southeast Asian countries -- India, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam -- could have their visa fees waived.

The threshold for tax refunds will be lowered from the current 3,000 new Taiwan dollars to 2,000.

The tax-refund process will be streamlined.

China tests deep-sea mining exploration vehicleIt's been announced that the first phase of trials on China's independently-developed autonomous underwater vehicle in the South China Sea has finished.

The deep-sea mining exploration vehicle is designed to record a maximum depth of nearly 45-hundred meters.

It recorded a maximum depth of 4,446 meters in its first phase of trials.

Weekly Biz RoundupAnchor:

It's time to take a look back at some business headlines from this past week in our Weekly Business Review.

One gauge of China's general manufacturing PMI has sunk to a 77-month low.

China's exports plunged in July, but officials still hope to achieve their annual trade growth targetAnd the IMF decides to extend the current SDR currency basket until September of next yearLet's catch up on all of that and more with CRI's Wenjie.

Reporter:

The Caixin Flash China General Manufacturing PMI has plunged to a 77-month low in August.

The reading stands at 47.1, down from 47.8 in July.

Readings above 50 indicate expansion.

The survey shows new orders and new export orders continued to decline at a faster rate in August, and employment dropped at a faster pace than in July.

However, He Fan, an expert with Caixin Insight Group says systemic risk remains under control and the structure of the economy is still improving.

China's exports plunged 8.9 percent in July, the biggest drop in four months.

Shen Danyang, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce, said on Wednesday that exports are likely to stay in positive territory this year, though negative growth cannot be ruled out for a few months.

"The figure of the same period in the second half last year was relatively higher. Considering last year's figure and abnormal growth in some months, the possibility of exports seeing negative growth in some months cannot be ruled out. But despite all this, we are still hopeful to see overall export growth for the whole year".

China's exports fell 0.9 percent year on year in the first seven months of the year.

China's imports slumped by 14.6 percent in the first seven months, when foreign trade dropped 7.3 percent.

The target for trade growth for 2015 is around 6 percent.

The International Monetary Fund appears to have given a signal that it's not likely to add the renminbi into its basket of special drawing rights this year.

The IMF on Wednesday said it's extending the current valuation of the current basket until the end of September of next year.

It says it's made the decision to allow users of the SDR basket to avoid any changes in the basket's valuation before the end of the calendar year, as to give them more time to adjust to any new changes if a new currency were added.

A number of countries around the world use the valuation of the Special Drawing Rights basket as a peg for their currencies.

The International Monetary Fund has yet to make a final decision on whether or not to add any new currency to its SDR basket this year.

That decision is due in November.

China's central bank injected 120 billion yuan, or about 18 billion U.S. dollars, into the money market via open market operation on Thursday.

The yield for the seven-day reverse repo stands at 2.5%.

On Wednesday, the People's bank of China pumped an extra 110 billion yuan into the market through its Medium-term Lending Facility.

The MLF is a new liquidity tool designed for commercial and policy banks to borrow from the central bank by using securities as collateral.

On Tuesday, the central bank injected 120-billion yuan into the money market through 7-day bond repurchases.

Cao Can, CRI's financial commentator, said several factors contribute to the tight liquidity in the market.

"First, there are less depositors in the banking system, because Chinese consumers are consuming more. On the other hand, Chinese people instead of putting their money into the banks, they speculate on properties or stock market. Another point is Chinese banks are investing in long term commitment, for example, infrastructure construction."US Federal Reserve officials appear to be closer to a decision on whether to raise interest rates as early as next month.

Minutes of the Fed's July meeting released on Wednesday indicate that Fed officials want to see further improvement in the job market and inflation outlook before making their first rate increase in 9 years.

Peter Lai, Consultant at CASH Financial Services Group Limited, says the recent RMB depreciation in China may affect their decision.

"Well of course we can see that the US tried to increase the interest rate under the so-called global condition in the past months, but as I have just mentioned, the depreciation of renminbi (also known as yuan, which is the basic unit of the renminbi) was unexpected, so that's why they have to measure and adjust the whole global economic development before they try to increase the interest rate."The Fed has held the benchmark rate near zero since 2008.

US inflation has remained below the Fed's 2 percent target for more than three years.

The Chinese government is objecting to a US decision to levy new anti-dumping and anti-subsidies tariffs on Chinese-produced tires for passenger vehicles and light trucks.

Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Shen Danyang on Wednesday said the US decision will significantly hurt the interests of Chinese tire producers.

"In the process of investigation, the U.S. investigatory apparatus used improper practices like using alternative countries' data and presumption of adverse facts, and finally decided the high tax rate. The U.S. side also ignored the national conditions of China and relevant cases handled by the WTO. They refused the application from Chinese companies for separate taxes, and applied it with unified tax rate, thus leading to the discrimination and limitation to the Chinese companies and our economic system."The final ruling on that case is expected at the end of December.

China's State Council on Wednesday announced it's going to extend tax breaks to more small businesses.

Starting October 1st and lasting until the end of 2017, companies with annual taxable income under 300-thousand yuan will see their corporate income tax cut in half. The previous threshold was set at 200-thousand yuan.

At the same time, companies with average monthly revenues under 30-thousand yuan will be exempted from the value-added tax and business tax until the end of 2017.

The move is the latest attempt to help small businesses in China, which provide nearly 80-percent of all urban jobs.

A dozen foreign auto and equipment makers have been affected by last Wednesday's explosions in Tianjin.

Both Toyota and John Deere have suspended factory operations near Tianjin port after many of their staff were injured in the blasts.

Meanwhile, Renault has announced that around 1,500 of its cars were damaged in the explosions.

Other foreign brands including Volkswagen and Mitsubishi have also reported severe damage.

It is estimated that the combined losses for these companies is over 2 billion yuan, or over 310 million US dollars.

Tianjin port, China's fourth-largest port, handles around 40 percent of China's auto imports.

Meanwhile, industry observers estimate that the total amount of insurance compensation for the Tianjin blasts could reach 6 billion yuan.

Australia's national airline Qantas has posted one of the fastest turnarounds in Australian corporate history with a return to full-year profit.

Qantas on Thursday said its net profit reached 410 million US dollars for 2014-2015.

While oil prices at multi-year lows helped cut fuel costs, Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce took the credit for his controversial plan to cut 5,000 jobs, trim capacity, raise fares and overhaul the airline's frequent flyer program.

"This transformation has all about getting our foundations right, being smarter with our cost, faster with our decisions, more productive with our assets and on these stronger foundations we can build a much stronger Qantas,"The airline suffered from high fuel prices and aging jets at the turn of the decade, eventually announcing a plan in 2013 to cut 2 billion U.S. dollars in costs by 2017.

Chinese online peer-to-peer lending platform Dianrong.com has managed to generate 207-million U.S. dollars in its latest round of financing.

It is the biggest investment in the Chinese Internet finance industry so far.

The investment has been led by Standard Chartered, the China Fintech Fund, and Shanghai-listed Bohai Leasing.

The latest financing follows a similar investment back in January when Dianrong received money from U.S. investment firm Tiger Global Management, which is an investor in Alibaba and JD.com.

Shanghai-based Dianrong offers lenders 5.5 to 10-percent annual returns for online P2P services, which is much higher than bank interest rates.

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

SportsIAAF World Championships PreviewHitting the starting block with athletics news ahead of the IAAF World Championships that kick off today in Beijing:

International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, says that the IOC will work closer with IAAF president-elect, Michael Coe, and his association on combatting doping and addressing the alleged abuses that came to light in the media.

"We will work very very closely together in zero tolerance policy against doping and we will do everything within our power to protect the clean athletes. While protecting the clean athletes in this circumstance also means now we are not making allegations against athletes who enjoy the presumption of innocence."On the competition side of things, Jamaican sprinter, Warren Weir,That is the only event the London Olympics bronze medalist will race this time around.

With a personal best of 19.79 seconds two years ago, Weir says he's confident in will hit the podium at the Bird's Nest.

"Well, preparation for coming here are good, just recovering from the seasonal injuries, and mentally I am ready. There are a few days before the 200 metres, I think I will be ready for the 200 metres World Championship."However, the 25-year-old Jamaican will compete against not only team-mate and friend Usain Bolt - but also Justine Gatlin - in the 200 metres in Beijing.

Guangzhou Evergrande Tops League After 4-2 Win Over Shanghai ShenxinKicking things off with football action from the Chinese Super League:

Former Brazil international Robinho grabbed a brace to propel Guangzhou Evergrande to top of the Chinese Super League on Friday, after beating Shanghai Shenxin 4-2.

Guangzhou dominated from the start but had to wait until midway through the first half to take the lead.

It was worth it. Zhang Linpeng's spectacular long-range effort flew into the Shanghai goal.

Guangzhou doubled their advantage in the 58th minute.

Former Brazil international Robinho scored his first goal in the Chinese Super League with a left-foot finish.

Two minutes later, Shanghai Shenxin's Michael Barrantes produced a shot to rival Zhang's first half effort to make it 2-1.

But on 76 minutes, Yu Hanchao completed a flowing move with a simple tap-in from Zou Zheng's cross.

The scoreboard read 4-1 three minutes later.

Costa Rican Michael Barrantes converted a penalty to give Shanghai their second goal, but it wasn't enought to reduce their two-goal deficit.

with the win, Evergrande is two points clear at the top of the table on 51 points.

Football: La Liga, Bundesliga RecapIn more football news:

In La Liga:

Andalusian rivals Malaga and Sevilla had an uneventful draw in their season opener.

The only notable action came when Sevilla's new edition, Steven N'Zonzi, was sent off midway through the match after picking up his second yellow card in the 69th minute.

In the Bundesliga:

Hertha Berlin and Werder Bremen fought to a 1-1 tie.

The draw temporarily places Hertha Berlin at the top of the league standings.

Tiger Woods Tied for 1st at Wyndham ChampionshipIn Golf:

Tiger Woods is on a tear at the Wyndham Championship and now sits tied at the top with Tom Hoge at a score of 11 under at the end of Round 2 on Friday.

Woods ended the first round in in fifth place, two strokes behind overnight leader William McGirt.

At the end of round 1, Woods, who has missed the cut at the last three majors, says this about being back in top form:

"That's kind of the nature of that golf course. Granted if you play well you're going to do what Jordan and Jason did, but I wasn't playing quite that sharp for sure. But you need any kind of borderline shot and I never got away with it. And that's the way it goes. I felt like I was hitting the ball good enough and just keep progressing and today was just a continuation of it."The former world number one, now ranked 286th, needs to win this week to reach the end-of-season FedExCup Play-offs.

Tennis: Western & Southern Open RecapIn tennis action from the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, Ohio:

World No. 1, Novak Djokovic ousted fifth-seeded Stan Wawrinka in straight sets.

The top-seeded Serbian opened his Cincinnati campaign with a win against Belgium's David Goffin 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

Djokovic is heading into the next round to face Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov, who overcame no. 6 Czech Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-2.

Third-seeded Scot, Andy Murray, mixed it up with no. 12 Frenchman Richard GasquetAnd second-seed Roger Federer is taking on Feliciano Lopez, the man who downed Rafael Nadal in three sets, the last of which was tie-breaker.

In women's action in Cincinnati:

World no. 1 Serena Williams fought back from a set down to overcome sixth-seeded Serbian Ana Ivanovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Also through is no. 14 Ukrainian, Elina Svitolina, who beat seventh-seeded Czech Lucie Safarova 6-4, 2-6, 6-0.

Still coming up:

No. 3 Romanian Simona Halep is taking on Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

And Serbia's Jelena Jankovic will face Slovakia's Anna Schmiedlova.

F1: Nico Rosberg Clocks Fastest Time at Belgian GP PracticeIn Formula 1 racing news:

Nico Rosberg clocked the fastest time in Friday's practice for the Belgian Grand Prix despite a scary puncture coming into one of the fastest corners of the circuit.

Rosberg's rear right tyre burst as he sped into the Blanchimont corner in the afternoon session but he did not crash into any of the barriers and stopped across the outside of the track, drawing a red flag.

Despite the incident, Rosberg was 0.302 seconds faster than Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Rosberg also also edged Hamilton in the morning session.

Hamilton leads Rosberg by 21 points in the Formula One drivers' standings, but both Mercedes cars underperformed in the final race before the summer break in Hungary.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was third, ahead of team-mate Daniil Kvyat.

EntertainmentJiang Rong-Author of Novel "Wolf Totem" Wins Award in MongoliaChinese writer Jiang Rong, author of the best-selling novel "Wolf Totem", has been awarded the Bichgiin Mergen Prize (Genius Writer Prize) by the World Mongol Authors Association in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator.

Jiang has become the first Chinese writer to win the highest award from the World Mongol Authors Association.

He's announced that he will donate all of the prize money and copyright royalty from the Mongolian version of "Wolf Totem" to an environment protection foundation in Mongolia.

"Wolf Totem" has sold over 5 million copies and has been reprinted over 160 times.

The semi-autobiographical novel was turned into a movie of the same name.

The movie is directed by French director Jean-Jacques Annaud and has grossed over $110 million dollars in China.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Show up in 'The Voice of China'

Hollywood superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger has made an appearance at the recording site of renowned reality talent show 'The Voice of China', in Jiaxing city, Zhejiang province.

During his appearance in the battle stage of the fourth season, the star recorded his opening remarks for the show.

During the recording, six of the 12 contestants in celebrity coach Jay Chou's team have gone through the next round of the competition.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is now in China for the promotion of his film 'Terminator Genisys'

The latest installment in the Terminator franchise eyes John Connor continuing to lead the war against Skynet in 2029. Connor sends his loyal soldier Kyle back in time to 1984 to save his mother Sarah but the pair are forced to join forces with the Terminator to tackle a larger threat.

Arnold Schwarzenegger reprises his role as the Terminator after skipping the 2009 installment.

'Terminator Genisys' was released in the US on July 1, and is expected to hit China on August 23rd.

British Film Industry Enjoys Further Tax BreaksBritain's film industry will enjoy further tax breaks from the European Union in a plan proposed by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.

According to the plan, the 25 percent tax credit is designed to attract more filmmakers to come to UK to produce their films, such as the forthcoming James Bond installment 'Spectre'.

The chancellor George Osborne has unveiled more details on the new film tax credit.

"Today we're announcing a much more generous film tax credit for filmingin Britain that will support jobs here, it will support creative industries here. It's not just the actors, it's the camera crews, the lighting people, the set designers, the costume designers. And it brings many hundreds of millions of pounds into Britain every year. With this new tax credit, we'll get even more film production here in Britain."The chancellor also indicates that he hope the credit can give the industry more competitiveness over its US counterpart.

WeatherBeijing will see showers today with a high of 30 degrees Celsius.

Overnight temperatures should drop down to 20.

Tianjin will have thundershowers with a high of 31 and lows of 23.

Shanghai will see moderate rain with a high of 27 and a low of 24.

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

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Kathmandu, slight rain, 27.

Islamabad will see slight rain with a high of 33.

Kabul will be sunny with a high of 30.

Over to North America,New York will see slight rain with a high of 28 degrees.

Washington, cloudy with a high of 30 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 29.

Toronto will be overcast with a high of 25 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will see slight rain with a high of 19.

And Rio de Janeiro will have slight rain with a high of 25 degrees Celsius.

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

A recap of your headlines:

New armament to be showcased in China's V-Day Parade.....

Storm triggered flood leaving 12 dead in Sichuan....

And White House announcing IS's second-in-command killed in U.S. air strikeOn behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers: I'm Sophie Williams in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour, to open a window to the world together.