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

Coming up on the program this morning...

Chinese President Xi Jinping meeting with US National Security Adviser Susan Rice ahead of his upcoming visit to the United States....

China set to showcase its aerial prowess with an aircraft refueling demonstration during the upcoming military parade in Beijing...

And a grisly discovery in Austria as a truck packed with the bodies of 71 dead migrants is found parked on a major highway...

In our weekly business review... China cutting its benchmark one-year interest rates ...

In Sports...the latest from the IAAF World Championships...

In Entertainment...Jennifer Lawrence set to make a new comedy with Amy Schumer...

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.

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Or email us directly at [email protected].

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Top NewsPresident Xi Meets US National Security Advisor ahead of VisitAnchor:

Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks on Friday with U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice in Beijing. Topics of discussion included bilateral relations and President Xi's state visit to the United States set for September.

CRI's Xie Cheng reports.

Reporter:

Susan Rice, as the top foreign policy adviser to US president Barack Obama, is paying a two-day visit in China to meet with Chinese officials in preparation for President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit.

"It's my honor to be back in Beijing on behalf of President Barack Obama to prepare for your very important state visit next month to Washington. President Obama looks forward to welcoming you and Madam Peng. It will be a great opportunity following President Obama's successful visit to Beijing last year to strengthen and deepen the cooperation."For his part, Chinese President Xi Jinping says he is willing to hold discussions with his US counterpart on promoting cooperation in various sectors during the visit.

"At the invitation of President Barack Obama, I will visit the United States next month and am willing to exchange views on major issues of common concern, in order to further promote bilateral development."The Chinese president says a stable and growing China-U.S. relationship will not only benefit the people in both countries, but also go a long way to promoting peace and development in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

Xi Jinping notes that China is willing to work with the U.S. to make sure the relationship can enjoy sustainable and steady growth.

"China highly values the development of China-US relations. China is ready to work with the United States to further boost the practical cooperation bilaterally, regionally and globally, and effectively manage the sensitive issues between us in a constructive way, so as to make the relationship benefit more people in the world."The Chinese president adds that China is committed to building a new model of major-country relations with the US, featuring no-conflict and no-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.

For her part, the U.S. National Security Adviser says the US hopes to exchange ideas with China on hot button issues.

"We obviously have issues of differences and some difficulties that we need to work through. I look forward your visit in Washington will be a milestone in deepening our cooperation and strengthening our relationship."During her visit, Rice is expected to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues with the Chinese side, especially the Renminbi exchange rate, the South China Seas, cyber security, UN peacekeeping and wildlife protection.

She has also met with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission Fan Changlong.

Rice's visit is scheduled to last until Saturday.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.

Aerial refueling during V-day parade to show Chinese combat abilityChina is set to showcase its aerial prowess with a refueling demonstration during the military parade on September 3.

Aerial-refueling maneuvers test the range and loiter time of receiver aircraft, which is an essential skill for pilots.

This procedure can illustrate the long-range combat ability of the Air Force.

It will be China's first military parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the end of WWII.

The parade will feature 12-thousand troops, 500 pieces of equipment and nearly 200 aircraft.

V-Day parade to feature anti-terrorist elite policeAn anti-terrorist formation consisting of 18 armored police vehicles is also ready to be displayed in the military parade.

The formation, completed in May, is the youngest armament in the parade.

The team also includes more than 100 armed police from the elite "Snow Leopard Commando" force.

This will be the first time that the commando force has appeared in China's annual military parade since its establishment in 2009.

In addition, two formations of domestically-designed surface-to-air missiles will be showcased in the parade.

Lien Chan to attend V-Day celebration in BeijingIt has been announced that the former chairman of the Taiwan-based Kuomintang will attend the V-day celebration events in Beijing.

Spokesperson with the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office Fan Liqing confirmed on Friday that, in addition to Lien, veteran soldiers and civilians from Taiwan who fought against Japanese aggression will also attend the celebration, along with their families.

Forces led by the Communist Party of China and KMT fought together in the eight-year war against Japanese invasion.

Fan said the victory is shared by all Chinese, including Taiwan compatriots, who made great sacrifices during the war.

WWII's China TheatreAnchor:

As China marks the 70th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World's Anti-Fascist War, CRI brings you a five-part series, to look back at the tenacious battles on the Chinese Theatre as part of World War Two. We record the pains and contributions as well as the efforts to reflect on history.

Our first report features an overview of the Chinese Theatre.

Xiao Yi finds out what it really meant to the global anti-fascist war and what makes the Chinese Theatre so historically important.

Reporter:

August 15th, 1945, three months after Nazi Germany's final defeat, the world heard the then Emperor Hirohito conceding defeat, and announcing that Japan would surrender to allied countries unconditionally.

"We have ordered our government to communicate to the governments of the United States, Great Britain, China, and the Soviet Union that our Empire accepts the provisions of their joint declaration."A surrender ceremony was held on USS Missouri at Tokyo Bay on September 2nd.

As a main battlefield in World War Two, China's resistance war lasted longer, suffered one-third of the world's total casualty and paved the way for a quicker defeat of Nazi-Germany and Italy in Europe.

For Europe, it was a war of almost 6 years since the occupation and partition of Poland in September 1939. But for China, the war dragged on for 14 years, starting with the occupation of its northeast in September 1931, and then turning to a full-out war after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in Beijing on July 7th, 1937.

Rana Mitter, Professor of History and Politics of Modern China at University of Oxford, also the author of "Forgotten Ally: China's World War II, 1937-1945", believes China played an important and substantial role during the war through its lengthy resistance to Japanese aggression.

"Because China did continue to resist Japan, it made it possible eventually for the allies to join it after Pearl Harbor, and eventually win the victory in Asia."Hu Dekun, President of the Chinese Association for the History of World War Two, says China was the first country to fight against the fascists, and it fought alone against Japan until 1941, when the Pacific War broke out.

"The Marco Polo Bridge Incident marks the whole nation's resistance against Japanese invasion. China is the first battlefield against fascism in the world. The Communist Party of China and Kuomintang both fight against the Japanese invaders. In the following 4 years, China fought alone. That was incredible."As incredible indeed, as Britain once did in Europe, fighting alone, in the early years against the German military machine after the fall of France, till Adolf Hitler opened a second battlefront against Josef Stalin's Red Army.

Japan struck Pearl Harbor in 1941, and attacked British and US troops in Southeast Asian nations at the same time.

Even then, China was still the main battlefield against the Axis powers in the east. Among Japan's 51 ground corps, nearly 70% were located in China.

Rana Mitter says China's resistance is of great strategic significance to World War II.

"They made sure that very large numbers of Japanese troops……were held down in China rather than being redeployed, sent away instead to the Pacific or elsewhere. And that means that by making that contribution, China played a significant role in the overall ally's victory."Sugiyama Hajime, Japan's then Chief of Army General Staff once admitted "It is actually impossible to move northward since massive troops have been deployed in China."Then U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt praised Chinese people's efforts against Japanese aggression.

"We are fighting on the same side as the brave people of China—those millions who for four and a half long years have withstood bombs and starvation and have whipped the invaders time and again in spite of the superior Japanese equipment and arms."Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said: "If the Japanese attack the West Indian Ocean, all our positions in the Middle East will be lost. Only China can help us to prevent that from happening."Former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin said: "Only when the Japanese invaders' hands and feet are tied up, can we avoid fighting on two fronts simultaneously when the German invaders attack us."Pinning down the majority of Japanese divisions in China -- that helped ensure a quicker victory in Europe, as China effectively delayed or prevented Japanese troops from advancing elsewhere as planned. This made it impossible for the three Axis countries from joining hands in Euro-Asia, relieving Russia of fighting on two battlefronts, while allied nations could fight side by side on both theatres.

Besides fighting at home, China also sent expedition troops to Burma, today's Myanmar in 1942, to fight alongside British forces, helping secure vital supply lines in Southeast Asia.

But the cost of war, which involved four million troops from both sides, was bitter pains and heavy losses. Approximately 35 million Chinese people were killed or wounded, that's about one-third of the world's total casualty.

Back Anchor:

Xiaoyi with Part One of our special series on the 70th anniversary of VJ Day, focusing on the Chinese Theatre. Tomorrow, our second report reviews the difficult battles, featuring two Chinese individuals, a guerrilla soldier and an oxherd boy.

Ministry: No troops sent to border with DPRKThe Ministry of National Defense has dismissed a rumor that the Chinese Army has been reinforcing the border with North Korea.

Spokesperson Yang Yujun says the reports do not square up to the facts.

"The reports are not in accordance with facts and are purely hype. The Sino-North Korean border remains stable and Chinese border defense forces have consistently maintained regular combat readiness and training status."Tension recently flared on the Korean Peninsula and then eased within days. Some online speculation and media reports have said photos of tanks were proof of Chinese reinforcements marching toward the border.

The spokesperson also confirms that "progress" has been achieved between China and the US in terms of building trust between the countries' militaries.

Yang says Chinese and American defense chiefs signed two memorandums of understanding in November, addressing the establishment of a mutual reporting and trust mechanism on major military operations, and a Code of Conduct on naval and air military encounters.

China-Russia"Joint Sea-2015(II)" ConcludesThe Chinese and Russian navies have completed a 9-day joint drill in the waters off the east coast of Russia.

The two navies deployed amphibious equipment and more than 400 marines, conducting a range of missions such as anti-submarine warfare simulations, air defense drills, and beach landings.

It marked the first time that China had shipped tanks and armored vehicles, and landed soldiers directly into an overseas drill area after a long-distance voyage.

The beach landing used various methods, including parachuting and descending by rope from helicopters, as well as using amphibious armored vehicles and landing ships.

Chen Chenyang, an officer attending the joint drill, says the landing was a great challenge for them.

"First, the waters are totally strange for us as we have never been here before nor did we have enough material. Second, we have to coordinate with other troops. It is a great challenge for us to land in the accurate place at the accurate time. We can say today's landing mission is successful. Our position deviation is within three meters and time deviation within 10 seconds."The Chinese navy says the success of the drill demonstrates that both nations' navies are capable of high-level cooperation.

This is the second time this year that Chinese and Russian navies have taken part in joint operations.

Tianjin blasts death toll rises to 146One hundred- and- 46 deaths have now been confirmed in the blast zone in Tianjin, with 27 others listed as missing.

Rescue authorities say all of the dead have been identified.

The explosions two weeks ago ripped through a warehouse in the city's port area. The facility had been storing a large amount of toxic chemicals including around 700 tonnes of sodium cyanide.

Excessive levels of pollution have not been found outside of the blast-area exclusion zone but high levels of cyanide have been detected in water samples inside of that zone.

The worst readings have been recorded at about 28 times above levels officially recognized as "safe."Elevated levels of cyanide have been found in seawater and groundwater in a few locations, but the numbers are within safe levels.

Chinese Experts Focus on South Asia Role in "One Belt, One Road"Anchor:

The Center for China and Globalization has held a seminar on the role of South Asia in the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives, also known as "One Belt, One Road".

The main topics discussed at the event included investment opportunities and risks faced by Chinese enterprises in South Asia.

CRI's Zhao Jianfu reports.

Reporter:

The tourism industry, construction, and cultural communication are the main fields of cooperation.

According to Wang Huiyao, director of the Center for China and Globalization, "One Belt, One Road" will focus more on exports than imports.

India is seen as a key area for the overall success and development of the program.

CCG Deputy Director Chu Yin offers his opinions on investment in India.

"Investment in production and manufacturing will be difficult in India but we can start from the tourism industry. And considering the fairly high quality of education in India, we can import talents but not invest too much in building infrastructure. "Countries in South Asia including India have abundant tourist resources which face less political restrictions and legal procedures, making investment in the sector more feasible in the early going.

CCG Executive Director Huang Rihan says investment in tourism can also deepen the friendship between China and India.

"The diplomatic relationship between the two countries is based on exchanges between the people. So strengthening the development of tourism also means better cultural exchanges between people in the two countries. "In terms of the investment in production and manufacturing, Pakistan is considered an ideal target with low risk and high profits.

In 2013, Chinese premier Li Keqiang made a proposal to strengthen the communication and cooperation between China and Pakistan in the field of transportation, resources, and oceans, promoting Pakistan's strategic role in connecting Europe, Asia and Africa.

Pakistan Research Center Deputy Director Sun Lizhou with Tsinghua University says the Pakistani government has attached great importance to Chinese enterprises and citizens, and is guaranteeing a safe environment for both.

"The electric power industry has great potential in Pakistan. In areas where rich people live, electricity can be cut off 3-4times a day. For Chinese enterprises, hydropower, thermal power or nuclear power can achieve good returns. And the use of new energy in Pakistan could also enjoy subsidies from the government."The World Bank has forecast that from 2015 to 2020, South Asia will see 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars of investment flowing to new infrastructure to support development in power generation, transportation and drinking water supply.

For CRI, I am Zhao Jianfu.

Lorry contains 71 dead migrants in AustriaResidents of Vienna on Friday said they were shocked over the grisly discovery of a truck packed with 71 dead migrants parked on an Austrian highway.

An Austrian motorway patrol discovered the abandoned truck near the Hungarian border on Thursday.

The deceased migrants inside had been dead for up to two days and fluids from the decomposing bodies were said to be seeping from the vehicles doors.

Peter Neusser, a Vienna resident, has this reaction to the news:

"It is awful that the lorry was able to get to Austria. It's awful that it was able to happen altogether. And the Interior Minister is probably right in saying that the migrants should probably be registered properly in the country where they first arrive so that they can legally get to Austria. That would also be my proposal."Austria's Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner said on Friday the best way to handle the refugee crisis was to create legal pathways into Europe rather than stricter border controls.

The 28 member states of the European Union have not yet agreed on introducing binding quotas for the distribution of refugees.

The number of asylum requests in Austria has risen to 28-thousand in the first six months of 2015, already more than all the requests for 2014.

Migrants rescued off the coast of LibyaLibya's head of the Red Crescent in the coastal city of Zuwara has said at least 105 migrants have drowned off the Libyan coast after their boat capsized.

Fishermen and coast guard found a waterlogged vessel in sea on Thursday and towed it back to Zuwara, about 105 kilometers west of Tripoli.

Once on shore, responders had to break the ship's deck to reach the people trapped inside.

Most of the people rescued were from Syria and sub-Saharan African countriesAccording to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, about 100 people were rescued, with at least 100 more believed to be missing.

European Refugee Numbers Increase in 2015More than 300,000 refugees and migrants have risked their lives crossing the Mediterranean to Europe so far this year.

Spokesperson for the UN refugee agency Melissa Fleming gave reporters more details during a press conference in Geneva.

"The number of refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean this year has now exceeded 300,000. That includes 200,000 people landing in Greece and a 110,000 in Italy. This represents a large increase from last year when about 219,000 people crossed the Mediterranean during the whole of 2014."Many of these migrants are people fleeing from Syria's bloody civil war.

But as casualty reports show, getting into Europe isn't easy for these refugees.

Since the beginning of the year, some 2,500 people are known to have died or gone missing trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, compared to 3,500 for all of last year.

Fleming said the Mediterranean Sea continues to be the deadliest route for refugees and migrants fleeing into Europe.

Tropical Storm Erika Gears Up for a Landfall in Florida: OfficialsU.S. officials have warned that tropical storm Erica is gearing up for a run at South Florida.

Though Erika was no longer forecast to make U.S. landfall as a hurricane due to some likely weakening over mountainous areas, it could still smack the Miami area with sustained winds of 60 miles per hour by tomorrow night before sweeping northward up the Florida peninsula.

Florida Governor Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency ahead of Erika, noting the storm could travel up the Florida coast from tomorrow into next week.

"We've got concerns all across the state now, because it's going to be coming clear across the state. Right now we know that the Tampa Hillsborough Pinellas set, those areas have been saturated because of the storms we had couple weeks ago. So we've got to continue to focus on that."He also urges every citizen to make sure they're fully prepared and know their special circumstances, especially the location of nearby shelters.

The storm has also threatened Haiti and the Dominican Republic with heavy rain and strong winds as it swirled across the Caribbean.

Dominican Republic Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said on his Twitter account that the storm has claimed 12 lives on the small island of Dominca.

Emergency officials have been searching for several missing people after rain-triggered landslides on the island of Dominica, where several roads and bridges have been washed away by the overflowing rivers.

The storm's sustained winds are measured at 50 miles per hour as it nears the country's capital city of Santo Domingo.

Experts have predicted that the heavy rainfall over the country may cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, posing the most serious threat.

They also say that Erika may weaken as it passes over the mountains of the Dominican Republic and Haiti and could degenerate to a tropical wave.

WeatherBeijing will have thundershowers today with a high of 29 degrees Celsius, more showers tonight with a low of 20.

Shanghai will be cloudy with a high of 30 and a low of 23.

In Chongqing, it will be cloudy with a high of 31 and lows of 24.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Kathmandu, slight rain, 26.

Islamabad will see slight rain with a high of 35.

Kabul will be cloudy with a high of 27.

Over to North America,New York will be overcast with a high of 29 degrees.

Washington, cloudy with a high of 30 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 29.

Toronto will be overcast with a high of 26 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will be overcast with a high of 27.

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

Headline NewsPresident Xi Meets US National Security Advisor ahead of VisitChinese President Xi Jinping has held talks with visiting U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice in Beijing.

Topics of discussion included bilateral relations and President Xi's state visit to the United States set for September.

President Xi Jinping says he is willing to hold discussions with US President Barack Obama on major issues of common concern.

He notes that China is willing to work with the U.S. to make sure the relationship can enjoy sustainable and steady growth.

For her part, Rice says the US will make joint efforts with China to work through "issues of difference" to advance bilateral relations in a stable way.

More Chinese travel overseasNew stats show about 107 million Chinese traveled overseas in 2014, up nearly 20 percent from the previous year.

The China Tourism Academy says the country remains the top source for overseas travelers for the second year running.

Chinese are also spending more abroad.

They spent nearly 165 billion U.S. dollars overseas last year, about four times the amount they spent in 2008.

The Academy forecast that the number of Chinese outbound tourists will grow more than 16 percent this year.

Guangzhou schools to teach about financial investmentSchools in south China's Guangzhou city will begin teaching students about financial investment.

The capital of south China's booming Guangdong Province is home to a large concentration of the country's individual stock market investors.

Provincial authorities will incorporate the courses into the curriculum for some schools from the fall semester.

The pilot program, the first of its kind in China, will involve nearly 10,000 students in three grades from 36 primary and high schools.

The biweekly course includes lectures on the basics of financial services, such as stock trading.

Risk awareness will be a major part of the syllabus.

Pentagon confirms top IS hacker killed in air strikeThe Pentagon has confirmed one of the top computer experts of the extremist group the Islamic State (IS) has been killed in a U.S. airstrike earlier this week.

U.S. Air Force Col. Pat Ryder says Junaid Hussain, a 21-year-old British hacker, was killed on Monday during a U.S. military air strike on the IS stronghold of Raqqa, Syria.

Ryder says the hacker has been involved in actively recruiting IS sympathizers in the West to carry out lone wolf style attacks.

He says the hacker has also been responsible for releasing personally identifying information of approximately 1,300 U.S. military and government employees.

Weekly Biz RoundupAnchor:

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

China has cut its benchmark one-year interest rates and the requirement reserve ratio.

The State Council has published its final guideline on investment scheme for the country's massive pension fund.

And Chinese industrial profits fell faster in July.

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

Reporter:

Chinese stocks recovered more than 10 percent in two days after a five-day losing streak that wiped out a fifth of the market value.

The rebound came after the sharpest stock market decline in eight years on Monday, followed by another 7.63-percent dive the next day.

Thursday's turnaround trailed an overnight rally in the United States on hints from the Federal Reserve that a rate hike is not likely next month.

China's central bank has announced cuts to its benchmark one-year interest rates and to the requirement reserve ratio, or the amount of reserves that banks are required to hold.

The interest rates have been shaved by 25 bps to 4.6 percent and 1.75 percent respectively.

The central bank also cut the requirement reserve ratio by 50 basis points, starting from September 6.

Lu Lei, Head of the Central Bank's Research Bureau, says there are mainly two targets for this round of monetary policy.

"Interest rates for one-year lending and deposits have been cut by 25 basis points. This will definitely help to reduce corporate borrowing costs. The central bank also takes adequate liquidity in financial areas into consideration, which is necessary for the development of real economy. "The reserve ratio for county-level rural financial institutions has been further cut by an additional half-a-percent and the ratio for financial leasing and auto financing firms by an additional 3 percent.

China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFEX) launched a string of measures on Tuesday evening to ease excessive speculation of stock index futures trading.

These measures include raising guarantee deposits for non-hedging-purposed transactions, tightening restrictions on an investor's intraday position-opening amounts for a single product, and raising commission fees for intraday position-closing transactions.

These measures took effect starting from Wednesday.

China's State Council published its final guideline on investment for the country's massive pension fund on Sunday.

New rules will allow authorities to press for larger returns, including allowing pension money to be invested into the domestic stock market.

The country's combined pension fund value hit 3.5 trillion yuan, or 500 billion US dollars, late last year.

Around 2 trillion yuan could be invested.

You Jun, vice minister of human resources and social security said on Friday that safety is the priority of this investment.

"We will realize the protection and expansion of the fund's value on the basis of ensuring its safety. Safety comes first, and safety is our top priority. This is a principle we will always stick to."You added the new rules are not designed to act as support for the volatile stock market.

China's pension fund was previously only deposited in banks or invested in treasury bonds. An estimate from Chinese Academy of Social Sciences says the fund depreciated by nearly 100 billion yuan in the past 20 years.

Authorities in China have launched a nationwide 3-month crackdown targeting money laundering and the illegal transfer of funds that take place outside the formal banking sector.

Tan Yaling, head of the China Forex Investment Research Institute, says it's important for the authorities to maintain order in the financial and capital markets.

"A crackdown on underground banking is meant to stop illegal or non-compliant moves which go against market rules. Offenders will be sanctioned. This is very important to maintain order and stability in the Chinese economy, as many speculators have been able to shift money out of the financial and capital markets."This isn't the first crackdown on underground banks in China.

In April, 66 banks were caught illegally transferring 430-billion yuan, or 67.5 billion U.S. dollars, out of China illegally.

The decline in Chinese industrial firms' profits accelerated in July.

Profits of China's major industrial firms fell 2.9 percent year on year, down sharply from the 0.3-percent decline posted in June.

The National Bureau of Statistics attributes the poor performance to weak domestic demand and a continuous fall in factory gate prices, which have suffered 41 consecutive months of declines.

During the first seven months, industrial profits dropped one percent from a year earlier, compared with a fall of 0.7 percent registered in the first half of the year.

Despite overall weakness, the high-tech manufacturing and consumer goods sectors posted strong profit gains. They rose 8.4 percent and 7.5 percent year on year respectively.

China has eased property investment rules for foreign individuals and institutions across the country.

The Ministry of Commerce says foreign institutional investors are exempt from registration fees when taking out domestic and foreign loans for property and settling foreign exchange transactions.

Foreign individuals and companies are now allowed to buy as many properties as they wish, but they are still subject to local housing purchase limits.

Previously, foreign residents were allowed to buy no more than one property on the mainland and had to first have worked in China for a year.

Yang Hongxu, E-House China R&D Institute, believes the adjustment is unlikely to have a major impact on the overall real estate market.

"The Chinese currency appreciated quickly ten years ago and the property price had a big increase at that time. But things are different now. The value of RMB has stopped rising, or may even be on a trend of depreciation. At the same time, the housing price is not increasing so sharp as ten years ago. So the foreign capital has less driving force now."Research by Centaline Property shows the average profits of 60 Chinese property developers rose 8.4 percent in the first half of this year, down from the 10 percent posted last year.

Of the 60 property developers, 36 posted a profit margin below 10 percent and 28 reported a decline in net profit.

Dalian Wanda has purchased US-based World Triathlon Corporation in a deal worth 650-million US dollars.

The Florida-based World Triathlon organizes virtually all of the triathlon competitions around the world.

Wanda chair Wang Jianlin says the acquisition has turned Dalian Wanda into the world's largest sports operations company.

He says it will also promote triathlon's in China through training programs.

"What we want to do now is teach those who ride to run marathons and teach runners how to swim. Those who register will be given training and coaching. But I think it will take time to have 100-thousand people take part in the event in China. But our overall target is to have 200-thousand athletes participating in a decade."Wanda's acquisition of World Triathlon Corporation comes on the heels of the company's purchase of Infront Sports and Media, which is one of the world's largest sports advertising firms.

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

SportsLiu Hong Wins China's First Gold in 20km Race WalkAnchor:

Starting things off with athletics news from the IAAF World Championships in Beijing:

Liu Hong has claimed the first gold medal for China on Friday after winning the women's 20-kilometer race walk.

CRI's Qian Shanming has more:

Reporter:

Liu held a lead during the whole course and finished the race with 1 hour 27 minutes and 45 seconds. She was followed by another Chinese Lv Xiuzhi who won the silver medal.

The Chinese duo has taken an early lead and passed the 5km point in 22:24.

Liu feels happy about the result.

"First of all, I am very happy and I have achieved one of my dreams. I competed the 2008 Olympics here and ranked in fourth place. Coming back here today to compete and walking in the Birds' Nest to finish first, I am very thrilled, this is a big honour and I am really happy."However, her compatriot Lv Xiuzhi suggests they could have done a better job.

"Our timing today was not very good, as our best times are both an hour and 25 minutes. Although we are not satisfied with our timing, we are happy that the gold and silver both went to China. We didn't think too much about the requirement of timing or speed."As a veteran race walker, Liu has won two bronze and one silver medal at the previous four championships.

She holds the world record at one hour, 24 minutes and 38 seconds, setting that mark in June.

She says winning the gold has been a thought staying long in her mind.

"Before the competition, I had thought a lot about winning the gold, walking into the stadium in first place and stepping up to the podium. However, when it comes true, the feeling is quite different."Lyudmyla Olyanovska of Ukraine has taken home the bronze medal, 28 seconds behind Liu.

Another Chinese walker, Nie Jingjing, has clocked 1:32:40 for 17th.

For CRI, I'm Qian Shanming.

IAAF Other ResultsIn other World Championship action from yesterday:

Russia's Sergey Shubenkov shocked the athletics world by nabbing gold in the men's 110-meters hurdles with a time of 12.98 seconds.

Shubenkov on his world championship win:

"Great great, this is my best performance ever, this is the best day of my life. Becoming world champion and running sub-13 is not happening something that happens to you everyday. I'm super happy about it. Of course I'm a little bit surprised of that. And actually I'm still a little bit afraid that this is not really happening that I still need to wake up because I dreamed about it a lot."Running away with a phenomenal win of her own was Netherlands' Dafne Schippers, who won the 200-meters event at 21.63 seconds.

In the women's 100-meters hurdles, Jamaica's Danielle Williams led the pack at 12.57 seconds to top the podium.

Tianna Bartoletta of the U.S. jumped for 7.14 meters to win the women's long jump.

Football: Guangzhou's Zhang Lipeng Gets Chelsea Offer, Evergrande HesitantIn off-pitch football news:

Guangzhou Evergrande full-back Zhang Linpeng has reportedly been given an offer from Premiere League defending champs Chelsea.

But Evergrande could be the biggest obstacle in Zhang's transfer overseas.

Xinhua reported on Friday that Guangzhou are putting stipulations on Zhang getting play-time if he gets the nod for the transfer.

Stricter visa policies in England require that any EPL squad signing a non-European player this season has to first loan the player to a European team before the player can hit the pitch in the Premiere League.

An anonymous source with Evergrande told Xinhua that "Chelsea haven't told us which club will be Zhang's first stop, and they could not guarantee Zhang could play for Chelsea in the future. So we believe it is a great risk to let him leave now, both for the player and the club."Zhang, however is eager for the move, asking Guangzhou via Weibo to "please respect the promise," adding that he will take the risk of not hitting the pitch on his own.

Football: La Liga, Bundesliga RecapIn football action:

From La Liga:

A brace from Cedric Bakambu just down to the wire helps Villareal break their tie with Espanyol and win the match 3-1.

Espanyol opened up scoring just five minutes into the round thanks to Felipe Caicedo.

But in the second half, it was all Villa, as Roberto Soldado scored the equalizer in the 67th minute.

Bakambu notched the last minute pair of goals to put Villareal through.

Over in the Bundesliga:

Wolfsburg beat down Schalke 3-0. Bas Dost notched the first goal in the 17th minute and it was the all-Wolfsburg show after that, with Ricardo Rodriguez and Timm Klose scoring to triple the lead for the Schalke shut out.

Tennis RecapIn tennis:

In women's action at the WTA Connecticut Open:

Fourth-seeded Lucie Safarova won her semi-finals battle against Ukrain's Lesya Tsurenko 6-2, 7-6, winning the tie-break 7-4.

She will face the winner of the upcoming match betweenNo. 2 Czech Petra Kvitova and no. 3 Caroline Wozniacki.

Over in men's action from the Winston-Salem Open in North Carolina:

Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France downed 13th-seeded American Steve Johnson 3-6, 7-6, 6-2.

He takes on the winner ofNo. 2 Kevin Anderson of South Africa and unseeded Tunisian Malek Jaziri.

EntertainmentSinger Li Jian Appears at 'The Vocie of China'

Chinese singer and songwriter Li Jian has made an appearance at the lasted episode of popular reality talent show 'The Vocie of China'.

He is selected to be a team advisor on the show along with A-mei, G.E.M, and JJ Lin.

Previously, the 41-year-old folk singer has also announced that he will kick off a national tour named 'See', featuring his hit songs over the years.

The upcoming concerts will cover new songs from Li Jian's latest studio album, 'Waiting for the Dawn' as well.

Li Jian has released this album on August 17th, which aims to share his insights into life, religion and destiny through the form of music.

He first gained the fame through the famous duo 'Shui Mu Nian Hua', and then made the departure to start his solo career on 2002.

The low-profile musician was back to the spotlight as he came in the second position of a popular Chinese singing competition titled 'I Am A Singer'.

'See' national tours are scheduled to hit the stage in Beijing on September 12th, and in Shenzhen on November 28th.

'The Little Prince' Unveils Voice Cast for Its Chinese VersionFantasy animated film 'The Little Prince' has announced an all-star cast that will dub its Chinese version.

Famous Chinese artists, including the Golden Horse award-winning actor Huang Bo and actress Zhou Xun are on the star list for the upcoming film.

The film, directed by Kung Fu Panda's co-director Mark Osbourne, is based on the renowned French novel with the same name.

However, it is not a direct adaptation.

It has taken in elements from the novel, and interwoven them with an original narrative featuring a young girl who is dealing with her pushy mother that imposes an over-loaded study plan on her.

Over sixty editions of the 1943 novel have been published in China since 1981.

'The Little Prince' made its world premiere on May 22nd at the Cannes Film Festival, and it is planned to drop in the Chinese market this fall.

Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Schumer Plan to Make a ComedyA representative of Jennifer Lawrence has confirmed the Oscar winner is planning to make a movie with her newfound friend Amy Schumer.

The 'Hunger Games' star told The New York Times that the two will star in the comedy as sisters, and the screenplay is under preparation.

The two became friends as Jennifer Lawrence praised Amy Schumer's recent film 'Trainwreck'. And photos of the two ridding jet skis went viral online earlier this summer.

Jennifer Lawrence has been marked as this year's highest-paid actress in Hollywood, according to Forbes earlier this month.

The 25-year-old actress earned an estimated 52 million US dollars during the past twelve months.

Her money mainly came from her movie roles and a lucrative deal as the face of fashion house Dior.

Dolly Parton Promotes Upcoming 'Coat of Many Colors'

US country music legend Dolly Parton has successfully sold her upcoming telefilm 'Coat of Many Colors' to critics in Beverly Hills.

Being one of the film's executive producers, the 69-year-old singer introduces the inspiration from which this film takes.

"Well, of course you know it's a true story from my childhood. It's been a song that's been pretty popular all through the years. People kind of identify me with the song. It just talks about a wonderful mother, about a family. And the picture shows just the love and the kindness, and that you don't have to have money to be rich. You can be rich in spirit and generosity, and all the things that money don't buy you anyway."Actor Ricky Schroder will star in this film as Parton's father, alongside Jennifer Nettles as Parton's mother.

Meanwhile, Alyvia Alyn Lind is set to portray Parton's 9-year-old self.

'Coat of Many Colors" shares a name with one of Parton's songs recorded in 1971, which is also her first song to be turned into a film.

The singer indicates that her hit 'Jolene' is also designed to leap from the record to the small screen next year.

Though 'Coat of Many Colors' has not started shooting yet, it's scheduled to air December 10th on NBC.

Shirley Temple's Film Costumes and Memorabilia Up for AuctionAn auction for Shirley Temple's belongings has taken place.

The items include a collection of 57 film costumes, movie scripts, a dress she wore to the Oscars and other personal belongs.

The collection features well-preserved costumes from the child star's most cherished roles, such as "Now and Forever," "Curly Top," and "Dimples".

Her costume collection starts at 500,000 dollars.

Bids for the dress and screenplays both begin at 60,000 dollars.

Inquiries for the auction have come from all over the world, including Germany, England, Australia, Japan, Korea and Switzerland.

Organizers say the auction is expected to fetch more than one million dollars.

Shirley Temple started her film career at the age of three and gained worldwide fame.

She was the number one box office star in the 1930's for four years in a row.

Shirley Temple died last year at 85.

WeatherBeijing will have thundershowers today with a high of 29 degrees Celsius, more showers tonight with a low of 20.

Shanghai will be cloudy with a high of 30 and a low of 23.

In Chongqing, it will be cloudy with a high of 31 and lows of 24.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Kathmandu, slight rain, 26.

Islamabad will see slight rain with a high of 35.

Kabul will be cloudy with a high of 27.

Over to North America,New York will be overcast with a high of 29 degrees.

Washington, cloudy with a high of 30 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 29.

Toronto will be overcast with a high of 26 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will be overcast with a high of 27.

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

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

A recap of your headlines:

Chinese President Xi Jinping meeting with US National Security Adviser Susan Rice ahead of his upcoming visit to the United States....

China set to showcase its aerial prowess with an aircraft refueling demonstration during the upcoming military parade in Beijing...

And a grisly discovery in Austria as a truck packed with the bodies of 71 dead migrants is found parked on a major highway...

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