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

Coming up on the program this morning...

Chinese President Xi Jinping says China is open to foreign media ahead of his US-visit...

US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker saying that the growth of the Chinese economy is good for the entire world...

And the upper house of Japan's parliament passing controversial new security legislation amid widespread public condemnation....

In our weekly business review... China unveiling new plans for reforms in the state-owned enterprise sector...

In Sports...A Chinese boxer defending his title...

In Entertainment... the Sundance Film Festival opens up in Hong Kong...

Top NewsXi meets with Murdoch, says China open to foreign mediaChinese President Xi Jinping says China will continue to be open to foreign media during a meeting with Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of News Corp.

Xi Jinping says he looks forward to more cooperation and understanding between China and the United States and welcomes foreign media and correspondents to cover China-related stories.

Xi Jinping has told Murdoch that the purpose of his upcoming visit to the United States is to boost practical cooperation and cement friendship between the two countries.

The Chinese President says it is in the common interest of the Chinese and American people to build a new model of major country relationship, featuring non-conflict and non-confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation.

Murdoch says for his part media in the United States and the world at large are paying great attention to Xi Jinping's upcoming visit.

He says the branches of News Corp. will fully cover the U.S. visit and his corporation will work to foster mutual understanding and boost cooperation between the two nations.

At the invitation of U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to the United States from Sept. 22 to 25.

We hope to see China's economy grow, says U.S. secretary of commerceAnchor:

United States Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker has said that the growth of the Chinese economy is good for the entire world.

She also added that there is no specific time frame for the conclusion of current bilateral investment treaty negotiations.

CRI's Xie Cheng reports.

Reporter:

Speaking with China Central Television, Pritzker has described economic relations between China and the United States as "interwined".

She made the remarks ahead of Chinese president Xi Jinping's visit to the U.S..

"And we, as China's partner, want to work with China to see you [China] grow your domestic economy and grow your domestic consumption because that will not only be good for China, but that'll be good for the world's economy."Last week, the two nations exchanged a negative list, detailing industries which are off limits to foreign investors.

The US secretary acknowledged that work is still required in order to reach an agreement in this regard.

"We're continuing to make progress on the bilateral investment treaty. But this is something that requires an enormous amount of effort to get to a place where we are meeting the kind of standards necessary for our two countries to enjoy such a treaty."Ptritzker said she is aware of no specific time frame for the conclusion of these negotiations, but that China and the U.S. are in discussion about taking the necessary measures to reach a treaty.

Meanwhile, the 7th U.S.-China CEO and Former Senior Officials' Dialogue has concluded in Beijing.

A statement from the meeting has called on leaders of both countries to take concrete steps to continue to improve mutually beneficial economic and trade ties and to promote more inclusive regional economic cooperation.

Zhang Xiaoqiang is Vice Chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

"We all agree that China and United States, as the two largest economies in the world, should work together to face the challenges of the global economy and thus make contributions. And further enhancing bilateral economic and trade cooperation is a key drive in building a new type of major-power relationship between our two countries."Boosting the negotiations in the bilateral investment treaty is high on the agenda of the dialogue.

Myron Brilliant, executive vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, says the bilateral investment treaty is of strategic significance for both countries.

"From my perspective, we like to see it not only be high standard, but we like to ensure that these negotiations are moving with some speed, and with some sense of urgency. We understand though the bid in negotiations is very much tied into, where China is in its restructuring of its state-own sector, as well as more broadly its restructuring of its own financial and market economy. So this is an important issue in bilateral relationship."The investment treaty talks began in 2008 as China and the United States sought to increase mutual investment, which only accounted for a tiny share of each country's respective overseas investment.

But it was not until the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) in 2013 that the talks entered a substantive phase, when the two countries agreed to conduct negotiations on the basis of a negative list approach, which means all sectors are open to foreign investment except those specifically listed.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.

Xi's U.S. visit clear sign of China's commitment to cooperation--expertAnchor:

Top Sino-U.S relations expert Li Cheng says President Xi's visit to the U.S. shows China's determination to pursue a cooperative path in Sino-U.S. ties.

CRI's Min Rui reports.

Reporter:

Li Cheng is the director of the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution think tank.

During an interview with CRI, he listed several issues the two sides will talk about.

"Each country has a different basket of issues. Some overlap and some may have different sequence or priority. For United States, they were covering four issues, cyber security, South China Sea, East China Sea maritime issues, intellectual property rights, BIT, and issues of human rights, NGO and civil society. For the Chinese side, it emphasize economic cooperation"The expert also points out that the talks will help to clarify some misunderstandings between the two countries, and undermine some of the worries or unfounded fears about a more confrontational relationship.

China bashing is a commonly noticed phenomenon in some U.S. political circles. With the campaign season underway, Li Cheng says Americans should put it into perspective and be aware of the impact this kind of negative dialogue can have on the future bilateral relations.

The US-China relationship is a complicated one because of its complicity. I think politician needs to be cautious. If China bashing goes too far, there will be a back lash. And to be honest, in the international community people, are very, very cynical about this kind of bashing because, it not… as you said, it's really not good for both countries. It undermines US interests. Really quite misleading, but therefore, I think we should put it into perspective. I think sophisticated Chinese understand that this is campaign language."In the last three years, President Xi and President Obama have had two summits, and they have also had a couple discussions on the sidelines of multilateral meetings.

When asked about prospective achievements during the upcoming visit, Li said it is not easy to predict the "headline news" during the visit, but he expected that Xi and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama will reach broad consensus on cyber security.

"There will be discussions about market access including IT companies and they will seriously discuss cyber security. China is not going to avoid this issue. China's interest is to establish an international norm in that area. So there will be a new agreement, a new kind of change."Li also says other issues like corrupt Chinese officials hiding in the US will also be included in the talks, and this is a second area to emphasize cooperation.

The expert says that the United States and China, the two largest economies in the world, will continue to make strides in their cooperation on the economic front, as global economic re-balancing requires China's participation.

For CRI, I'm Min RuiU.S. Town House Witnessing Sino-American Friendship Opens to VisitorsAnchor:

A white bungalow in Muscatine, a small town in the U.S. state of Iowa, where Chinese President Xi Jinping stayed during his first visit back in 1985, has become a "Sino-U.S. friendship house" and opened to visitors on Thursday.

CRI's Guo Yan has more.

Reporter:

The structure is located at 2911 Bonnie Drive of Muscatine, with a population of 20,000.

Muscatine Mayor DeWayne Hopkins cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony outside the white bungalow where locals and guests gathered around.

Counsul General of China's Chicago Consulate-General Zhang Weiping says the house is "a symbol of China-U.S. friendship".

"This house was a unique witness to President Xi Jinping's friendship with the people of Muscatine and it will certainly go down in history as a symbol of China-U.S. friendship. The bungalow is small but has huge significance."The establishment of this friendship house has also caused a stir among locals who attended the ceremony and many have expressed their excitement to learn more about China.

"I would bring my parents and my brothers and family to just show them how close our ties are to China, even though we are so far away from each other.""I've just always been very interested in the Chinese culture. There is so much in history. There are so many things that they have done with the U.S., so many things that they have been part of. It's just really cool to understand and I feel like I'm getting a better understanding of the world by studying the Chinese as well,"President Xi Jinping visited Muscatine twice before he took office in March 2013. During his first visit with a Chinese delegation to conduct an agricultural investigation, he lived in the house and received a warm welcome. He later went back to Muscatine as vice president in 2012 and met again with his old friends.

Joni Axel is a local resident who received Xi Jinping 30 years ago. As an old friend, she shares her memory of President Xi.

"Well the community of Muscatine and me as an old friend, and now a new friend too, are deeply grateful for the outreach that President Xi has given us. We are tiny little town and we are really very very proud of our connection and our relationship with Xi Jinping and his family. And he hosted us in China, which was glorious. So I would just again say thank you. There is deep gratitude and appreciation for all that he does and all that we can do,"President Xi will pay a state visit to the United States from Sept 22 to 25, but this time the small town is not on his route list.

Despite this, the people in Muscatine still feel enthusiastic about Xi's upcoming visit to the US.

The town is also planning to establish a Chinese Culture Center in the near future.

For CRI, I'm Guo Yan.

Chinese premier meets with French finance ministerChinese Premier Li Keqiang has met with French Finance Minister Michel Sapin in Beijing.

Premier Li says China is ready to work with France to enhance macroeconomic policy coordination and deepen cooperation in civilian nuclear energy, finance and third-party markets.

The two sides also reached 40 agreements during the third China-France High-Level Economic and Financial Dialogue on Friday.

According to the consensus, a mutual investment fund will be established by November this year for partnership in third-party markets.

Li promises that China's policy of making use of foreign investment will not change.

Sapin says France attaches great importance to the third-party market proposal, and is ready to work with China to implement the initiative.

China to Enhance Cooperation with ASEAN: Vice PremierAnchor:

Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli has pledged to enhance cooperation with Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN in political, economic and cultural areas.

He was speaking at the opening ceremony of 12th China-ASEAN Expo in south China's Nanning city.

CRI's Wang Wei reports.

Reporter:

Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli says building a community of common destiny is necessary for regional growth.

"At present, profound changes are taking place in global political and economic patterns. China and ASEAN have to strengthen cooperation, build a community of common interest, common destiny and common responsibility with political mutual trust, integrated economies and inclusive culture. Only by this can China and ASEAN effectively cope with the difficulties and challenges to achieve further development respectively."According to Zhang, promoting political mutual trust is one of the top priorities so as to strengthen strategic links between the two sides.

As for economic and trade cooperation, the vice premier has urged new efforts to upgrade the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and to promote the development of regional economic integration.

Zhang also called on China and ASEAN to deepen cooperation in other areas.

"We should push cooperation in international production capacity, for mutual benefit and win-win results. China is willing to launch cooperation with ASEAN in fields like electric power, engineering, construction materials, communication information, among others, in order to enhance global competitiveness of the industries of China and ASEAN."Meanwhile, cooperation in establishing an effective and convenient infrastructure network and China-ASEAN information harbor are expected to be strengthened in the near future.

The vice premier has noted closer cultural exchanges will be an impetus for bilateral relations.

"China and ASEAN should work closely in cultural exchanges, and continuously consolidate the foundation of good-neighborly relations. It will be full of difficulties and setbacks during the current world economic recovery process; China is willing to work with ASEAN to make use of each others' advantages for mutual benefit and win-win results."The expo, held from Friday to Monday, embraces over 2,200 companies from China and southeastern countries.

Initiated in 2004, the expo serves as an important platform to promote bilateral trade and relationships between China and ASEAN.

Bilateral trade between China and ASEAN increased over 8 percent year on year to 480 billion U.S. dollars in 2014.

For CRI, this is Wang Wei.

China Holds Ceremonies to Mark September 18 IncidentAnchor:

On Friday morning, three Provinces in northeastern China held ceremonies to commemorate the 84th anniversary of the September 18 Incident.

The incident marked the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Japanese troops into China.

CRI's Victor Ning has more.

Reporter:

Warning sirens sounded across the city of Shenyang, where the incident started in 1931.

Nearly one thousand officials, students, veterans and soldiers attended the ceremony which was held outside of the "September 18" Historical Museum in the city.

Wang Jianxue, a historian from the museum, gives more details on what happened on that day.

"I wonder why Japanese troops launched their attack on Sept. 18. Everyone was in high spirits because the next day would be payday. The 29th company was the major force that attacked Shenyang and Beida Ying. The captain of the 29th company of the Japanese army visited Beida Ying on purpose--he was testing the waters. After that, the Japanese troops were confident enough to carry out their ambitious plan to intrude into northeastern China."On September 18, 1931, Japanese troops blew up a section of the railway under their control near Shenyang, and then accused Chinese troops of sabotage as a pretext for bombarding the barracks near Shenyang the same evening.

The incident was followed by Japan's full-scale aggression into China and the rest of Asia, triggering the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

Ding Yu, a resident in the nearby city of Anshan, says commemorative actives, such as the sounding of sirens, have been held every year.

However, Ding says he feels it's different this year, as 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of Chinese people's victory against Japanese aggression.

"When I heard the siren, I felt it sounds so harsh; it reminds me of those documentaries and historic files that I have seen recently about that brutal history. I think Chinese people sacrificed a lot to live a peaceful life now. We should cherish it, and at the same time, be strong enough not to be involved in a war again."For CRI, this is Victor Ning.

Japan Parliament's Upper House Passes Security BillsThe upper house of Japan's Parliament has passed controversial legislation to loosen constraints on the role of the country's military.

The enactment of the legislation, pushed by the government under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, marks an overhaul in Japan's purely defensive defense posture mandated immediately after World War II.

The change means the country can dispatch its troops overseas to engage in armed conflicts for the first time in 70 years.

However, the bills have sparked opposition and widespread protests around the country.

Opposition lawmaker Hiroyuki Konishi says the country's pacifist stance should remain unchanged.

"This is against the spirit of pacifism stated in the preface of the Japanese constitution. This set of security bills is against constitution and should not be taken as valid. Let's take back our constitution and let's make this as our first step to denounce the security bills."In the meantime, thousands of people have gathered outside the parliament to protest against the security bills.

75-year-old retiree Takako Kameoka says the legislation may bring the Japanese people into a war.

"If this bill is passed, the Japanese citizens will end up going to war. While calling it a war for justice, we will be an accomplice to killing people in other countries. I will continue to protest."Over 90 percent of Japan's constitutional experts believe that the legislation violates the Japanese supreme law.

The security bills were earlier passed by the parliament's lower house in July.

China Urges Japan to Watch Military and Security ActionsChina has urged Japan to watch its steps in military and security areas and do more to contribute to regional peace and stability.

China's Foreign Ministry has made the call in a new statement released on its official website after Japan parliament's upper house enacted controversial security bills amid strong public opposition.

Earlier, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei has made similar calls at a press conference after a special committee under the upper house of the Japanese Diet passed the bills amid chaos in the chamber.

"In the recent past, we have noticed a growing opposition to the new security laws in Japan. We demand that Japan genuinely listens to the just appeals from both at home and abroad, learning from historical lessons and adhering to the path of peaceful development."Hong Lei says that due to historical reasons, Japan's moves in the military and security field are being closely watched by its Asian neighbors as well as the international community.

During the World War II, Japanese army invaded many Asian countries and committed numerous war crimes.

The City of London Mayor visits China for better financial collaborationAnchor:

The Mayor of the City of London is leading a business delegation to China to explore closer business collaboration.

He is now in Hong Kong for a three day visit, before heading to the mainland.

CRI's Hong Kong correspondent Li Jing reports.

Reporter:

The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Alan Yarrow, says despite the recent depreciation of the RMB, the currency is still on the course of internationalization.

"You use these tools to make sure to manage your economy. The RMB devaluation I think is just purely a stage on the journey, it is a perfectly natural position if the government feels it would enhance economic growth. Not so surprise. So I don't think in any way the government, particularly in the UK, will take a different view towards Renminbi because of its devaluation. "RMB is now the world's fifth largest payment currency and Hong Kong handles about 70 percent of international RMB transactions. Yarrow says London will remain the hub of offshore RMB business, despite increasing competition from other cities worldwide.

"We believe in high levels of services to customers, the British rule of law, the time clock, the Lingua Franca, English language, we have a huge advantage. I think it is fair to say that every one wants to be involved in the internationalization of RMB, and the more the merrier as far as I'm concerned, but at the end of the day, we will be the largest Western hub in the internationalization of RMB. "Next month, Chinese President Xi Jinping is going to visit the UK, the first visit from a Chinese President in a decade. The Lord Mayor will be hosting a banquet in the City to cement even stronger ties between the two countries.

"It is important to make sure that the President, the Prime Minister, and the Queen, inevitably, have those senior levels diplomatic links open. We are very supportive of lot of the changes that are taking place, we want to be involved, particularly in the City of London, in helping China, supporting China to its next development, particularly to do in the financial services. "The United Kingdom is among the first European economies to embrace China's new initiatives including the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank and the "One Belt, One Road" initiative. Yarrow also says the UK has a lot to offer in the process.

The Lord Mayor will later visit Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing to promote bilateral cooperation in financial and professional services.

For CRI, this is Li Jing in Hong Kong.

Headline NewsXi meets with Murdoch, says China open to foreign mediaChinese President Xi Jinping says China will continue to be open to foreign media during a meeting with Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of News Corp.

Xi Jinping says he looks forward to more cooperation and understanding between China and the United States and welcomes foreign media and correspondents to cover China-related stories.

Xi Jinping has told Murdoch that the purpose of his upcoming visit to the United States is to boost practical cooperation and cement friendship between the two countries.

Murdoch says for his part media in the United States and the world at large are paying great attention to Xi Jinping's upcoming visit.

He says the branches of News Corp. will fully cover the U.S. visit and his corporation will work to foster mutual understanding and boost cooperation between the two nations.

7 killed, 17 injured in SW China landslidesSeven people have been killed and 17 others injured in rain-triggered landslides in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Changning County was hit by torrential rain for nearly 12 hours on Wednesday, causing landslides in two of its townships.

Initial reports put the number of missing at five, while the most recent confirmed death toll stands at seven.

Residents have been evacuated and disaster relief work continues.

41 hospitalized after chemical plant leak in central ChinaForty-one people have been hospitalized after a synthetic ammonia leak at a chemical plant on Friday morning in central China's Henan Province.

About 300 kg of synthesized ammonia leaked from a cracked pipe around 6:30 a.m. at Henan Zhonghong Coal Chemical Company.

A total of 154 residents living nearby have been hospitalized. Forty-one remain under observation, including five in serious condition.

The government says ammonia detected in the air near the site is within the national safety standard.

Plant operations have been suspended.

Attackers who killed 29 in Pakistan came from AfghanistanPakistan's military has announced that the gunmen who killed 29 people in the northwestern city of Peshawar came from Afghanistan.

The attack on a Pakistani military base triggered an hours-long firefight.

Pakistani forces say they killed 13 of the attackers, but it is unclear how many were involved in the assault.

On the Pakistani side, 16 worshippers inside a mosque and 13 air force and army employees at the base have been killed.

Migrants put on trains in Croatia arrive in HungaryAt least 1,000 migrants crossed by train and bus northward into Hungary from Croatia on Friday.

They were under the watch of Hungarian security forces sworn to keep them out.

Even as Hungary's army rushed to erect a fence along parts of its frontier with Croatia, a fellow member of the European Union, Hungarian soldiers and police did not prevent the migrants from crossing the border.

Their transfer came just hours after Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said that his government could no longer register or accommodate the new arrivals.

Weekly Biz Roundup(Saturday)Anchor:

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

China has issued a guideline to deepen the reform of state-owned enterprises.

Chinese authorities are intensifying their probe into irregular market trading.

And the US Federal Reserve has kept its key interest rate unchanged.

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

Reporter:

China's central authorities issued a guideline to deepen reforms of state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Zhang Xiwu, vice chairman of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, said 6 major tasks will be focused on regarding the deepening of SOE reforms.

"We should promote classified reform, modernize SOEs, enhance state assets management, promote mixed ownership, prevent the state assets from erosion, and strengthen and improve the Communist Party's leadership of SOEs. The reform should also be conducted in an open and transparent way. The policy, schemes, measures and the process of the SOE reform must be made public and be monitored by the people."The basis and starting point of the reforms is to turn the SOEs into fully independent market entities, as well as to incite and release of the enterprises' vitality.

The government plans to achieve major reforms in key areas by 2020.

==The Chinese government has warned of increasing fiscal pressures through the rest of this year.

This comes on the heels of new stats showing fiscal revenue growth through August has slowed, while spending has picked up.

New figures show government revenues increased by just over 6-percent year on year in August, hitting nearly 970 billion yuan.

This is down sharply from the 12.5-percent rise in July.

At the same time, government spending has jumped 26-percent to nearly 1.3 trillion yuan due to more proactive fiscal policies.

Cao Can, CRI's financial commentator, explains.

"The main factor is the fact that the Chinese economy has slowed down quite a bit this year. So on the revenue side, the government is collecting less money in terms of taxes. On the side of spending the need for fiscal measures arise when economy slows down, that explains why the government is spending more money in order to so called stimulate the economy"Chinese authorities have announced a budget deficit of 2.3-percent of GDP for this year.

This is up from 2.1 percent in 2014.

==China has recalculated its outbound direct investment (ODI) to 123 billion U.S. dollars in 2014, up more than 14 percent year on year.

It was the third consecutive year for China to register the most ODI globally.

Zhang Xiangchen, the International Trade Deputy Representative from the Ministry of Commerce, says the numbers also indicate a continuous increase of Chinese investment into the United States.

"As of the end of 2014, China has set up three thousand enterprises in the United States, with investment of $65 billion US dollars. The outbound direct investment stock was 38 billion, accounting for 58% of the total investment stock. The United States has become China's third-largest destination for foreign investment."The latest data was slightly higher from the release earlier this year.

==New stats show a continued deficit in foreign exchange settlements here in China through August.

Chinese banks sold 250-billion U.S. dollars' worth of foreign currencies in August, while only purchasing 207-billion.

The forex settlement deficit sits at around 190 billion dollars so far this year.

Forex settlement is one of the main sources of cash for the forex reserves, which declined by 94 billion dollars last month.

==China issued a guideline on Thursday to open the economy wider to the outside world.

According to a document released by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, the government will continue to improve foreign capital management, encourage outbound investment, stabilize foreign trade and explore global cooperation.

A negative list, which identifies sectors and businesses that are off-limits for investment, will be issued.

The guideline also says certain controls will be loosened; and supervision enhanced.

The service sector -- including finance, education, culture and health care -- will be more accessible to foreign investors, while restrictions on child- and old-age care, architectural design, accounting, auditing, logistics and e-commerce will be lifted.

China will also further open the manufacturing industry.

==In stock related news, Zhang Yujun, the assistant to the chairman of China's securities regulatory commission, is being investigated for rules violations.

This comes amid the central authorities intensifying the probe into irregular trading on the markets.

On Tuesday, several senior executives from CITIC Securities were confirmed as being probed by police.

The three senior staffers, including the brokerage's general manager, are being investigated for insider trading and leaking information.

CITIC Securities is China's largest brokerage.

==The U.S. Federal Reserve has kept interest rates unchanged in a nod to concerns about a weak world economy.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen made the announcement at a press conference after the Fed's meeting on Thursday.

"The Federal Open Market Committee reaffirmed the current zero to quarter percent target range for the federal funds rate."In what amounted to a tactical retreat, Yellen said that an array of global risks and other factors had convinced it to delay what would have been the first rate hike in nearly a decade.

"In light of the heightened uncertainties abroad and a slightly softer expected path for inflation, the committee judged it appropriate to wait for more evidence, including some further improvement in the labor market, to bolster its confidence that inflation will rise to two percent in the medium term,"The central bank maintained its bias towards a rate hike sometime this year, while lowering its long-term outlook for the economy.

The Fed has policy meetings in October and December.

==In corporate news,The first high-speed railway project in the United States with Chinese investment is expected to kick off as early as next September.

The 370-kilometer-long railway will connect Las Vegas, Nevada and Los Angeles, California.

US company Xpress West and China Railway International USA will jointly build and operate the rail.

China Railway International is registered by a Chinese consortium led by national railway operator China Railway.

==Chinese ride-sharing company Didi Kuaidi has announced a strategic partnership with Lyft, a U.S.-based ride-hailing firm.

The Chinese company has made an investment of 100 million U.S. dollars in Lyft.

Under the partnership, the two companies will collaborate on technology and product development.

They will work together to enable people to use the Lyft app when they travel to China.

The same will be true for Didi's users who travel to the U.S.

==U.S. chip giant Intel has decided to invest around 67 million U.S. dollars in eight Chinese tech companies.

The eight firms are mainly involved in cutting-edge smart devices, robots, the Internet of things, cloud services, big data and data analysis.

Since it started to invest in the Chinese market in 1998, Intel has pumped nearly 2 billion U.S. dollars into around 140 firms, 35 of which have either gone public or been acquired.

==A new deal for the creation of a Chinese-backed nuclear power plant in southeast England is set to be signed next month.

British Prime Minister David Cameron is due to sign the agreement as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip to the UK.

The nuclear reactor is expected to help power a million British households.

==And that's this week's major business news, I'm Wenjie, thank you for listening.

SportsXiong zhao zhong and Cai Zong Ju recieves titles in Ningbo boxing tournamentFor some news in boxing:

China's Xiong Zhao Zhong defended his title against Crison Omayao of the Philippines in the city of Ningbo, China on Friday.

Xiong Zhao Zhong holds the MiniFlyweight International Title.

The Chinese male boxer is the first male boxer from China to win a world professional championship in 2012Also, China's Cai Zong Ju beat Mari Ando of Japan, to win her Female MiniFlyweight TitleJapan to face South Africa in Rugby World Cup OpenerIn rugby news:

Japan is preparing to take on the mighty South Africa team for the first time in their Rugby World Cup 2015 opener on Saturday.

As Japan trained on Friday ahead of their opener game against South Africa, head coach Eddie Jones remained upbeat about the task facing his players.

Japan may be seen as the underdogs in the Pool B lineup that also contains Scotland, Samoa and the United States, but Jones sees Saturday's match as an opportunity to put Japan on the map for Rugby.

Whatever the outcome, Jones is promising good entertainment value and he insisted that Japan have a scrum that can trouble the Springboks.

Jones has been previously involved with the South African team and says this match has a special meaning for him.

"Whenever you have the honour of being involved with the national team you keep some of that pride with you. I've been lucky enough to be involved with Australia and a short time with South Africa, so Japan playing against South Africa is a pretty special moment personally. But at the end of the day it's another test match, it's another World Cup game. So whilst it's a good feeling, it's just another test match."Japan will be playing South Africa off three successive wins, those being Uruguay twice at home and Georgia in England.

Japan is due to host the next competition in 2019The Japanese haven't won at the Rugby World Cup since 1991 and as Jones admitted, "South Africa is a tall mountain to climb".

Tomic beats Evans at Davis Cup semi-finalNow for some news in Tennis:

Bernard Tomic battled hard agaisnt Dan Evans to draw Australia level with Great Britain in their Davis Cup semi-final tie on Friday.

Great Briton's captain Leon Smith sprang a major surprise on Thursday when he named world number 300 Dan Evans as the second singles player behind Murray.

Evans had won 29 of his last 33 matches at Futures and Challenger level, but world number 23 Tomic proved too great a challenge for the 25-year-old.

The British player was broken in his opening service game and Tomic promptly took control of the first set, claiming it 6-3 in just 27 minutes.

But Evans then settled into the match and after trading breaks and found himself just two points away from the set on Tomic's serve at 5-6, 15-30.

The Australian number one regrouped to hold on to his serve and was too strong in the ensuing tie-break, claiming it by seven points to two.

Later the match Evans's movement was hampered after a minor injury, which gave Tomic an upper hand.

After almost three hours of intense play, Tomic finally sealed the victory for Australia and levelled the best-of-five series at one-all.

Defeat for Evans means that Murray might now line up alongside his brother Jamie for the doubles on Saturday against Samuel Groth and Lleyton Hewitt.

Hull puts Europe in lead over USA in Solheim CupNow let's look into the world of golf:

England's Charley Hull was the star on the first day as Europe claimed a 4-2 lead over the United States, after weather-affected the opening day of the Solheim Cup in Sankt Leon-Rot, Germany, on Friday.

The morning session finished at 2-2 after Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel put the USA ahead initially beating an out-of-sorts Suzann Pettersen and Anna Nordqvist 3 and 2.

Some consistent putting from Charley Hull and Mel Reid clawed a point back for Europe against Michelle Wie and Brittany Lincicome winning 2 and 1 in match two.

Threat of a thunderstorm delayed play for just over an hour but it couldn't stop a European charge in the afternoon.

Charley Hull, who is still only 19, scored her second point of the day with a 3 and 2 win with Gwladys Nocera against Alison Lee and Angela Stanford of the USA.

Hull stated that her performance with Nocera was a show of great teamwork"It was a great day out there today. I really enjoyed this morning and I really enjoyed this afternoon. To get two points on the board was fantastic and to win it with Gwladys was a lot of fun. She played so steady out there and it let me attack the pins and I thought it was perfect team work."The scores were at 4-2 when the fading light put an early end to the day's games.

North Korea debut’s its surf sceneNow for some news from the world of Surfing:

It seems that North Korea has become a new location for surfers to hit the waves.

Pyongyang's desire to earn money from tourism, and the creativity of some of the foreign tour companies that serve it, has resulted a small group of foreign surfers testing the waters off the North Korean coastline.

The New Jersey, USA-based tour company Uri Tours joined up with Italian pro-surfer, and coach of the Chinese surf team, Nik Zanella, to try this surf expedition on North Korea's east coast.

Nik Zanella says that he has been eyeing the North Korean surf scene for sometime.

"One year ago I got in touch with Uri Tours and then we made a little study. We followed the weather in the DPRK for a long time and we tried to imagine what area was mostly suited for this activity and immediately thought Majon Hotel has a good beach, that beach is looking east which is dominant well direction, and for what I can see it is nice and safe. So we decided to come and give a check and it was good, it was very good."The main location is Majon, a strip of beach at one of North Korea's newest and priciest coastal resorts.

A small group of four foreigners, plus tour organizer Andrea Lee, are spending a week trying out the experience.

Uri Tours and its North Korean travel agency partner hope to attract more foreigners to North Korea.

EntertainmentSundance Film Festival Opens in Hong KongThe Sundance Film Festival has returned to Hong Kong for the second year running.

The festival highlights independent movies and documentaries.

The festival opened with a screening of "The Wolfpack" by American filmmaker, Crystal Moselle.

"The Wolfpack" tells the story of the Angulo brothers who were confined to their apartment by their overprotective father. As a way to cope with their confinement, they re-enacted scenes from their favourite movies.

The film won the grand jury prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

Other films set to be screened at the Hong Kong festival include "Dope" and "The Stanford Prison"The 2015 Sundance Film Festival Hong Kong runs from September 17th to 27th.

Legendary Band The Who Cancels Upcoming TourUK legendary band The Who has announced that they will postpone all 50 dates of their upcoming tour this fall, as one of the members is infected viral meningitis.

The cancel of "The Who Hits 50!" tour means fans have to wait for celebrating the band's 50th anniversary.

The lead singer, Roger Daltrey, says he is taking a rest under doctor's orders.

He also shares a message with fans.

"Well, it just has to be really, we can't go on touring forever, but we don't know how long we will go on touring, it's an open ended kind of thing. But it will have a finality to it, we'll stop touring I'm sure before we stop playing as a band. "Previously, The Who has postponed the first four stops of the tour.

The guitarist for the band indicates The Who may back on the tour next spring.

The influential British rock band was formed in 1964, selling more than 100 million records worldwide.

Emily Haines Announces Collaboration with Amy SchumerEmily Haines has announced a possible collaboration with American stand-up comedian Amy Schumer.

Lead singer of the indie rock band Metric elaborates her connection to the actress.

" I was so happy she replied because I'm a huge fan and it's the classic, I had these ideas of doing this collaboration and there's some people in the middle that could have sort of possibly made that happen, facilitated that and then she totally blew up and I was like, 'awww.'"The Canadian band recently came off a 40 date tour with Imagine Dragons.

Despite being together since 1998, the lead singer admitted that the band had never played to such mainstream crowds as when on this tour:

With "Pagans in Vegas" out now, the band is now ready to getting out on the road and playing their material to fans.

Metric's tour is scheduled to kick off Bristol on October 7th.

London Fashion Week Opens with a New HomeLondon Fashion Week has raised its curtain, while moving its home to one of the busiest parts of the city.

The CEO of British Fashion Council Caroline Rush elaborates on the decision to move the main fashion week catwalk to a new location.

" It's where our offices are but fashion is all about change and we wanted to be able to move the location to think about creativity and business and to be closely connected to retail and we felt this does the job. This was a very different venue, I think there was a lot of expectation in terms of what it might look like but the feedback has been great so far."Korean-born designer Jackie Lee kicked off the five-day fashion gala, with the Spring/Summer 2016 collection from her brand Jackie JS Lee.

The collection is inspired by hanging street art and the "open birdcage," breaking free from her signature minimalist and structured tailoring, in favor of looser looks.

Colors in her design are mostly earthy, such as cream and gray, but also including pops of brightness, such as pink, which is the hue of the season.

She says the new home of the fashion week gives easier access for buyers and fashion journalist to the show.

London Fashion Week features some of the biggest fashion brands in Britain, and runs until September 22nd.

Drew Barrymore Attends 'Miss You Already' Premiere in LondonDrew Barrymore, Toni Collette, and Dominic Cooper all appeared at the pink carpets, for the European premiere of the comedy-drama 'Miss You Already'.

As female characters are the leading roles in the film, Barrymore, who starred in and produced the female led "Charlie's Angels" movies, says there can be more interesting roles out there for women.

"I know that there can always be more. I obviously support women; I love films for and about women. I feel like I might have exclusively made films for and about women - maybe 'Donnie Darko' had a male lead. So, yeah, I'm about all things girl, all the time."This British-American film follows the friendship between two life-long girlfriends, as they are facing a test when one starts a family, and the other falls ill.

Catherine Hardwicke, who directed the film, indicates female directors are also struggling in Hollywood.

"Ninety-six per cent of movies are directed by men and written by men. We need more female gaze. We need to change things. Just what you're doing right now is going to help it - asking that question - so, cool."'Miss You Already' is set to hit big screens in UK on September 25th, and in US on November 6th.

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

A recap of your headlines:

Chinese President Xi Jinping says China is open to foreign media ahead of his US-visit...

US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker saying that the growth of the Chinese economy is good for the entire world...

And the upper house of Japan's parliament passing controversial new security legislation amid widespread public condemnation....

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.