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

Coming up on the program this evening...

President Xi Jinping says China will continue to be open to foreign media...

The Chinese ambassador to the US talks about the president's upcoming state visit and what it will mean for Sino-American ties...

And China is among the nations reacting to the passage of legislation to expand the role of Japan's military...

In the 2nd half of the hour, we'll bring you some of the business stories that have made headlines over the past week.

In Sports...an upset in the quarter finals of the Shanghai Masters...

And in Entertainment...the Golden Rooster awards will be handed out tonight in northeastern China...

Top NewsXi meets with Murdoch, says China open to foreign mediaPresident Xi Jinping says China will continue to be open to foreign media. He made the comment 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.

The president 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.

Chinese Ambassador on Xi's US VisitAnchor:

The Chinese Ambassador to the United States says preparations are in full swing for President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to the United States.

CRI's Victor Ning has more.

Reporter:

Ambassador Cui Tiankai says Xi Jinping's visit will highlight his exchanges with the American people at different levels and in multiple areas.

"We want to take this opportunity to arrange meetings between President Xi and people of all circles in the U.S., including the commercial and industrial circles, many friendly organizations and think tanks, as well as political leaders, so as to expound to them China's developing strategy, and what kind of path China will embark and what kind of foreign policies China is going to take. This is one of the main goals of this visit, which will become a highlight of it."The ambassador notes that China and the United States share more common interests than differences, citing the outcomes of recent China-U.S. collaborations in areas such as fighting crime and safeguarding cyber security"I always think that the real significance of the China-U.S. relationship is that the two countries are able to settle problems between them properly, rather than seeking a relationship free of problems. Both countries have kept communications and exchanges at different levels. Even if there are problems which can't be solved for the moment, still the two sides should manage those problems positively, and don't let them to reverse the main agenda of bilateral relations and become the dominant aspect of the China-U.S. relations."As the two largest economies in the world, the signing of a bilateral investment treaty is also highly expected by the two sides.

The ambassador calls for more effort to push the negotiations forward.

"I of course hope the negotiations can reach results quickly. However, it depends on the efforts of both sides. To me, the bilateral investment agreement must adapt to the fact that mutual investment between China and the U.S. is growing constantly. Investment from China will benefit the economy and regional development of the U.S., improving the U.S. people's livelihood and offering more jobs. It is a win-win situation, I hope the U.S. could remove those outdated and unnecessary political obstacles as soon as possible."President Xi's state visit to the United States, the first since he took office in 2013, will take place from Sept. 22nd to the 25th.

For CRI, this is Victor Ning.

The Governor of Washington State is Excited about President Xi's Upcoming Visit: Jay InsleeWashington State is the first stop of Xi Jinping's US visit.

In an exclusive interview with CRI, State Governor Jay Inslee talks about the upcoming trip.

"Well, first time here, I watched him afar. Of course, I'm very excited about this, because it's such an exciting moment of continuing to expand all our relationships."Inslee says as early as April this year, he sent out his invitation to President Xi in hopes of his visit to Seattle.

He says one of the most important factors to Xi Jinping's Seattle visit is the multi-dimensional cooperation between Washington State and China.

"The cooperation between China and Washington State has not just one, two or three platforms of growing relationships but many. We know that China is the largest export market from state of Washington; we know the Washington State is the largest exporting state in the United States to China. We have such burgeoning relationships in high technology, in clean-energy technology to help with our area issues."With regard to the China-U.S. relationship, Inslee says the two countries should focus on the common interests instead of the differences.

"Because of the growth of the Chinese economy, which has been spectacular; because of the interest in high technology of both countries; because of our mutual interest in economic growth and shared admiration for technology, we have huge mutual interest here that we should build upon, we should see as great asset both in America and China."President Xi is scheduled to visit Seattle and Washington D.C. starting from next Tuesday.

In Seattle, he will attend a welcoming banquet jointly held by local government and friendly organizations, and deliver a speech on China-US relations.

Business leaders in Seattle talk about Xi's visitMeanwhile dozens of business leaders of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce have sat down for a discussion on further cooperation with China.

The Chamber is one of the most active commercial organizations on the U.S. west coast with more than 2,300 enterprise members including Boeing, Microsoft and Starbucks.

Maud Daudon, CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, talks about the ties between the city's business community and Asian countries such as China.

"We are very Asia-facing, I would say. We do understand that our future is connected to the future of the Pacific Rim. This has been our history for a very long time here."She also said that they are actively preparing for President Xi's visit.

"For one thing we've been very engaged in preparations for his visit. So we have been a part of a team trying to sort out how to make sure that the companies who can best interface with China at present and be able to make connections and build relationships. So that's the key part of what we do. That's not easy because there are so many companies who would love to have the chance to be involved."The Chinese president is scheduled to visit some companies in Seattle, including the headquarters and a manufacturing plant of aviation giant Boeing.

Randy Tinseth is the vice president of marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle.

"We are very excited that President Xi will be coming to visit Boeing. He is the third Chinese leader to come to visit Boeing and I think it speaks to the strong relationship we have with the Chinese aviation industry. Next week, there will be leaders from business around the state of Washington. They will meet President Xi, and our president and CEO Raymond Conner from the commercial side of our business will be there. He is very excited, I'm sure."President Xi Jinping will attend a roundtable organized by The Paulson Institute and hosted by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson in Seattle.

Fifteen chief executives of prominent U.S. companies -- and the same number from China -- will participate.

Big names such as Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Boeing and Amazon are on the list.

They will be joined with leaders of Chinese Internet giants such as Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent.

China Urges Resumption of Six-Party TalksThe Chinese government is urging a joint effort to resume the Six-Party Talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear programme.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the pledge when addressing a symposium to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the September 19 Joint Statement on Six-Party talks.

"It is urgent for all the parties involved to reactivate the joint statement and make efforts to create the conditions, reach a consensus and pave the way for the resumption of the Six-Party Talks. We urge all the parties involved to take a responsible attitude and not to take any new actions that could cause tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia."The fourth round of Six-Party Talks in 2005 reached an agreement to facilitate the denuclearization process of North Korea and all parties made commitments in a joint statement.

The talks involve the US, North Korea, China, Russia, South Korea and Japan.

In April 2009, North Korea carried out a rocket launch, which was condemned by a UN Security Council presidential statement.

Pyongyang then pulled out of the talks, and the process has been at a stand-still ever since.

North Korea conducted a long-range missile launch in late 2012 and another nuclear test in early 2013.

North Korea has also recently announced the restart of atomic fuel plants, prompting speculation that the country is preparing for its fourth nuclear test.

For more on this, our reporter Wang Wei earlier spoke with Hong Yuan, an expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

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 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 the 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, 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.

Chinese expert on Japan's intention of war bills legislationAnchor:

China and South Korea have each issued statements directed at Japan regarding the passage of controversial legislation expanding the role of the Japanese military.

Beijing is urging Japan to act prudently and to listen to its citizens who have protested the security bills for weeks.

The new law allows the Japanese government to deploy its Self Defense Force overseas for the first time since the end of World War II. The troops will be able to conduct logistical support missions for foreign militaries conducting international peacekeeping operations.

South Korea's statement urges Japan to live up to the spirit of its pacifist constitution.

For more on the impact of Japan's changes to its military policy, CRI's Niu Honglin has more.

Reporter:

Yang Bojiang, deputy director of the Institute for Japan Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says the new legislation marks the start of an overhaul in Japan's defense policy.

"Japan has long stuck to the strategy of 'purely defensive defense', which means that it won't fight until an enemy attacks on Japanese soil. But now it allows the troops to fight overseas, not only to fight against the invasion on their own territory, but to fight against attacks on the land of Japan's allies and the countries in close relations with Japan in case of emergencies."Under the Potsdam Declaration at the end of World War II, the Japanese military was disarmed, leaving only a self-defense force.

Yang says he is concerned over this newly passed legislation.

"Japan's security policy tends to be more aggressive and offensive under the new legislation. But the "active pacifism" Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has followed has already showed the posture of attack."Yang says it's reasonable for the international community to doubt the real intention of Japan, as Shinzo Abe on one hand cleansing the country's wartime history and denying its aggression, while on the other hand reinforcing amendments and change to Japan's security policy.

Yang says the new law has a further impact on Japan and international society.

"Domestically, the new law will bring a further split socially and politically. Internationally, the law will threaten the regional balance and possibly trigger an arms race. And the situation in sensitive areas such as the South China Sea, the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait will probably be more tense. These are what we are concerned about,"Security experts believe the laws will force a re-evaluation of Japan's place on the world stage.

For CRI, this is Niu Honglin.

Chinese Economic Suspect Repatriated from SpainA Chinese economic suspect has been repatriated from Spain.

The suspect, surnamed Ding, arrived on Saturday and is the first economic fugitive to be returned to China from Spain.

Ding was charged of embezzlement, money laundering and contract and loan fraud, amounting to over 200 million RMB, or over 31 million US dollars.

He fled from China with his family members in 2008.

China's Ministry of Public Security issued a warrant for Ding in 2011.

With the information provided by Chinese police, the Spanish side put Ding under arrest at the end of last year.

Jose Rodriguez is the Internal Affairs Counselor of the Spanish Embassy in China.

"The Chinese police proved to be open when cooperating with international police, sharing case information. The arrest of Ding is the result of cooperation between the police forces from China and Spain."Ding was on the list of the most wanted suspects in operation Fox Hunt 2015, a campaign to catch economic fugitives who have fled overseas.

China Securities Regulator to Maintain Hard-line Stance on Share DumpersChina's securities regulator has stressed that it would stand by its recent market-stabilizing rules and maintain its hard-line stance on share dumpers.

Deng Ge is the spokesperson for the China Securities Regulatory Commission or CSRC.

"I think major shareholders and real controllers of listed companies shoulder the responsibility for protecting the legal rights of the medium-and-small shareholders and for maintaining the stability of the market. From the frequent illegal selling of shares and short-swing trading, we can see some of the major shareholders and company controllers lack legal awareness and honesty."Since early July, the government has banned major shareholders, corporate executives and directors who hold more than five percent of a company's shares from selling stakes in listed companies for six months.

According to Deng, the commission completed the review of 41 alleged instances of illegal dumping of shares.

He adds that five cases of market manipulation will be dealt with.

China's stock markets have continued wild swings in recent months despite government intervention.

China Opens New High-speed Rail to Northern Border City in JilinThe first high-speed rail line to a border city in northeast China is set to open in Jilin Province on Sunday.

The new line is to link Jilin City with Hunchun, which is at the borders of North Korea and Russia.

Local residents have come to the railway station ahead of the opening of the new line.

"I've been living in Hunchun for more than 70 years. I've never been to any big cities like Shanghai, Tianjin and Beijing. Now that we have high-speed rail here, I want to go to those places and have a look."The new line spans 360 kilometers and will cover nine stations.

It's designed to allow for speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hour, though the initial operational speed will be 200 kilometers per hour.

Croatia to Let Migrants Through, More Enter AustriaCroatia's Foreign Minister has said her country will allow access for some migrants to pass through.

Vesna Pusic made the remarks on Friday after Croatia received 17,000 migrants in three days.

"We agreed that under these circumstances some migrants should be let through because we simply cannot cope with the pressure. Virtually none of them want to request asylum in Croatia or Hungary or Slovenia, they indeed mostly want to go to Germany or Sweden."On Tuesday, Hungary closed its border with Serbia to stop the influx of migrants from entering the country. The move sent thousands of migrants to neighboring Croatia, which had already said it was no longer able to let in more people.

Meanwhile, around 500 migrants attempted to enter Slovenia from Croatia but were met by Slovenian riot police with pepper spray. Some returned and received medical treatment in Croatia while others were able to evade the police and enter.

On Saturday morning, Hungary bused 1,600 migrants to its border with Austria, which greeted the new arrivals with food and medical treatment.

A local Austrian police commander says his country will use a more humane approach to treat the migrants.

"We see the pictures, how the situation is at other borders where people are treated badly. We, the Austrian police, assisted by the Austrian army, have a slightly different approach. We try to calm the people down, we try to build an atmosphere of confidence and we have succeeded so far.

Also on Saturday morning, another 1,500 migrants walked from Hungary into the Austrian border area, where they will be transported to Vienna.

Chilean Embraces Low-key National Holiday after EarthquakeChilean President Michelle Bachelet attended a special mass on Friday in which the victims of the earthquake on Thursday were honoured.

The traditional activity is held annually to mark Independence Day and is attended by the country's top political and military leaders.

Twelve people are believed to have died in the earthquake, which caused a small tsunami in the coastal city of Coquimbo.

The city mayor has announced that the annual music and fireworks show for the two day-long celebrations would be cancelled due to the circumstances following the natural disaster.

However, children still played amid the tents and salvaged belongings while adults prepared food for the national holiday.

"We had already planned to attend the event today. Coincidentally, the earthquake struck and all but I think people still maintain the energy of being able to come. They're always going to keep it in mind because it's a tradition, no matter what happens, even more because they said it was a safe zone so they came and we came and we're here today."　"I came because, with the earthquake, I have a wall that's being held up by posts and it could fall at any moment. One way or another, I'm going to work to buy the material to fix it."　The swift evacuation of coastal zones and strict building regulations are believed to keep casualty numbers low.

According to Fitch rating agency, the economic cost of the earthquake, which followed floods in northern Chile and volcanic eruptions in the south earlier this year, could be anywhere between $100 million and $1 billion.

Tsipras Confident Ahead of Greek Elections on SundayFormer Greek prime minister and Syriza party leader Alexis Tsipras says he is confident of re-election. Tsipras made the comments at a campaign rally, before Greek voters head to the polls on Sunday.

"I may have had my doubts but seeing you all here today, feeling the vibe, your presence, this huge crowd with so much passion, there are no more doubts. The die has been cast. Victory is certain. The only question is by how large of a margin."Thousands came out to support Tsipras, who resigned in August after seven months in office. The resignation was seen as an attempt by Tsipras to force snap elections and to strengthen his hold on power through re-election.

The campaign has seen Tsipras' party competing neck to neck in the polls with its Conservative rival, New Democracy. But the latest and final poll on Friday suggested that Tsipras' party was trending further ahead.

Speaking to supporters on Friday, Tsipras said Sunday's elections could be a turning point for Greece.

"The question of these elections is whether the old regime that governed this country for the last 40 years, and burdened the people with debt, is to return or whether we will move forward, continuing the great effort to free our people from the shackles of the past."Tsipras helped to negotiate another EU bailout package for Greece earlier this summer, the third in five years for the country.

WeatherBeijing is clear tonight with a low of 15 degrees Celsius; sunny tomorrow with a high of 27.

Shanghai, cloudy tonight with a low of 21; still cloudy tomorrow with a high of 27.

Chongqing is overcast tonight with a low of 19; cloudy tomorrow with a high of 24.

Lhasa will see showers with a low of 10; overcast to wet tomorrow with a high of 23.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad, cloudy tomorrow with a high of 36.

Kabul, also cloudy, 21.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney will see slight rain with a high of 19.

Brisbane, also slight rain with a high of 23.

Perth, cloudy, 20.

And finally Auckland, New Zealand will be wet with a high of 15 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsChinese Ambassador on Xi's US VisitThe Chinese Ambassador to the United States says preparations are in full swing for President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to the United States.

Cui Tiankai says Xi Jinping's visit will highlight his exchanges with the American people at different levels and in multiple areas.

President Xi's state visit to the United States, the first since he took office in 2013, will take place from Sept. 22nd to the 25th.

He will first make a stop at Seattle, attending a welcoming banquet jointly held by local government and friendly organizations, and deliver a speech on China-US relations.

He will also meet a number of business delegates from both China and US prominent companies.

Big names such as Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Boeing and Amazon are on the list.

They will be joined with leaders of Chinese Internet giants such as Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent.

President Xi will later meet his US counterpart Barack Obama in Washington D.C. and then to New York.

Egypt's Sisi swears in new gov'tThe president of Egypt has sworn-in a new government, just a week after the previous cabinet resigned in the wake of a corruption scandal.

Former oil minister Sherif Ismail has been named the new prime minister.

He is one of 15 new ministers who have been sworn in. Foreign affairs, defense, interior, justice, and finance are among the portfolios with new leadership.

On September 12th, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi accepted the resignation of the cabinet headed by former Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb, after agriculture Salah Helal was arrested for corruption.

This is the first major reshuffle of El-Sisi's administration following his election victory last year.

Saudi-led airstrikes killed 30 in Yemen's capital: agencyAirstrikes by the Saudi-led Arab coalition killed about 30 people and injured scores of others in Yemen's capital Sanaa early on Saturday.

Several air raids continued overnight and hit the Old City of Sanna, a world heritage site.

The Saudi-led coalition has been conducting air strikes against the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi group across Yemen on a daily basis since March 26, when Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi fled to the Saudi capital to take refuge.

Saturday's strikes are said to be the heaviest ones yet.

Volkswagen Cheats in US Emission Testing, Faces Massive FinesGerman automaker Volkswagen has been found cheating during emission testing in the US.

The US Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday that Volkswagen used illegal software during testing, which enabled its diesel cars to emit fewer pollutants compared to actual driving conditions.

The fraudulent measure allowed nearly half a million cars to pass emission assessments in the past seven years.

Volkswagen now faces a massive fine, estimated to reach 18 billion dollars.

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 issued a guideline to deepen reforms at 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.

SportsWilson ousts Ding to reach semisBeginning with snooker action here in China,Ding Junhui was stunned by Kyre Wilson in the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters.

Ding started off from 2-0 behind but saved the match points to come up to 4-4 to force Wilson into the deciding frame.

The two were tangled up at the brown-four when Ding was leading 48-38. Wilson bagged the ball first and cleared the table to win it 54-61.

Wilson will face Mark Allen in the semi-finals.

Other names that join them in the semi-finals,Judd Trump swept past Mark Williams 5-1.

Stuart Bingham edged Martin Gould 5-4.

Women's football: Spain beat China 3-1In football,China's women's team had a 3-1 loss against Spain in a friendly in the northeastern Chinese city of Weinan.

It was their first match under new coach Bruno Bini.

Bini was officially presented prior to the match but has not yet started working on the field.

He watched the game from the stands. Assistant coach Ma Yongkang directed the game from the bench.

Bini's first major challenge will be the qualifying tournament for the Rio Olympic Games to be held in Japan in February.

Chinese boxer defends WBC miniflyweight titleIn boxing,Chinese boxer Xiong Zhaozhong beat Crison Omayao from the Philippines and defended his WBC international mini flyweight title.

Xiong won by unanimous decision after 10 rounds.

The 33-year-old boxer from southwest China's Yunnan province is the first male Chinese boxer to win a world professional championship.

Female boxer Cai Zongju also defended her mini flyweight title against Japan's Mari Ando.

Lithuania beat Serbia to reach Eurobasket finalIn basketball,Lithuania downed Serbia 67-64 to set up a clash with Spain in the final of the Eurobasket.

Lithuania started off its campaign as underdogs but forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas says they proved their worth by reaching the final.

"We are also showing that Lithuanian basketball with few great players is really great because even ... and ... (absent players, editor's note) are good players and don't play we show that we are still able to reach something. So I think we are just showing the strength of Lithuanian basketball."The final is scheduled for Sunday.

Serbian coach Aleksandar Djordjevic says they were a bit short for the title but is nonetheless proud.

"I'm really proud of all the players because it was a huge run for us and this was the first time that we played as favorites and we came so far so, this is another thing that is good for us. But obviously you need a little bit more to win this kind of games and we weren't able to."Serbia and France will fight for the bronze medal. Both teams have made it into the Olympic qualifying tournament.

1-1 draw for all four teams in Davis Cup semisIn tennis,Andy Murray earlier beat Thanasi Kokkinakis to put Great Britain up 1-0 against Australia in the Davis Cup semi-finals.

Bernard Tomic defeated Dan Evans in four sets to draw level for Australia.

Some men's doubles action for the teams later today,Jamie Murray/ Dominic Inglot take on Lleyton Hewitt/Sam Groth.

On the other side, it is also a 1-1 draw between Belgium and Argentina.

Daniil Kvyat fastest in second session in SingaporeIn formula one,Red Bull's Russian youngster Daniil Kvyat was fastest in the second practice session at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Kvyat clocked one minute, 46.142 seconds to top the timesheet for the first time for Red Bull.

His teammate Daniel Ricciardo was third behind Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

Nico Rosberg led a Mercedes one-two in the first session earlier but could only manage a seventh place. Lewis Hamilton was slightly better at fourth.

American rookie Alexander Rossi debuted for Marussia in his first weekend as a race driver. His car skidded and slammed into the barriers before he came back and drove for 20 minutes in the second session.

England beat Fiji 35-1 in rugby world cup openerIn rugby,Hosts England claimed a 35-11 win over Fiji in the world cup opener.

Mike Brown scored two tries and Billy Vunipola's last minute try gave England a bonus point in Pool A.

Fiji put constant pressure on England and closed the deficit to seven points at one point in the game.

England captain Chris Robshaw also gives Fiji credit for its play.

"We always knew it was going to be tough. You look at the world ranking, which Fiji are, I think, eighth or ninth. You look at the way they played recently, the results they've had as well, we always knew it was going to be a tough test with the emotion we had had this week. We've had the opening ceremony, the first game kicking off the World Cup, there was a huge sideshow kind of going along with today and I think the guys handled it well."England now have five points in the standings and the bonus point could prove key in deciding progress into the quarter-finals against strong teams such as Australia and Wales.

Day stretches lead at BMW Championship; two-way lead at Italian OpenIn golf,Jason Day is still in the lead by five shots after round two at the BMW Championship.

The field had to finish the first round after thunderstorms delayed the action. Day closed it with a career-best card of 61 and was the lone leader at 10-under.

Day then shot a round of eight-under 63 to go 18-under overall and stretched his lead to five shots.

He had seven birdies and one eagle in this round.

Day's playing partner Jordan Spieth is fourth at 11-under, seven shots off the pace.

Top-ranked Rory McIlroy is tied for ninth place, a further two shots down.

Over in the European Tour,Lucas Bjerregaard from Finland and Jens Fahrbring from Sweden are sharing a two-shot lead after the second round of the Italian Open.

58-year-old Costantino Rocca paid an emotional goodbye to the European Tour as he played his final competitive round at his home tournament.

EntertainmentU.S. Postal Service Unveils Stamp Honoring Paul NewmanThe US Postal Service has honored legendary film star Paul Newman with a commemorative stamp in his likeness. The stamp was unveiled on Friday at a ceremony in Newman's hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.

The stamp features a photograph of Newman taken in 1980 by photographer Steve Schapiro.

Clea Newman Soderlund, Newman's daughter accepted the honor on her father's behalf at the dedication ceremony.

"I'm sure that he feels honored to be on the stamp because it says actor and philanthropist and if that inspires one person to go out and be involved in their community and that was his job, that's what he wanted to do, is he wanted to inspire others to do special things."Newman appeared in around 60 movies, including "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," "The Hustler," and "The Sting." He earned nine Oscar nominations for acting and won the best actor honor for "The Color of Money" in 1986.

The actor died in 2008 at the age of 83 after a long battle with cancer.

The commemorative forever stamp can be purchased online or at U.S. post offices.

Rock in Rio Music Festival Celebrates 30th AnniversaryUnder record-high temperatures, Rio de Janeiro's famed music festival Rock in Rio has kicked off its 15th edition on Friday. This year marks the event's 30th anniversary.

Musical legends such as Queen and Rod Stewart are on the roster.

Queen took the stage on opening night in arms with guest frontman Adam Lambert, in place of Freddie Mercury, who died of AIDS in 1991.

The current collaboration, which calls itself Queen+Adam Lambert, has clearly not lost the band's wide following, as tickets for the performance sold out in just two hours. Tickets for the event as a whole have all been snapped up.

Around 85,000 people are expected to attend the festival daily. In case fans can't get enough this week's session, which ends on Sunday, a second session will return between September 25 and 27.

Attendee Alejandro Botelho expresses his excitement.

"This is my second year here, I came in 2013, and being here for the second time, on the 30-year anniversary, it's indescribable. When we were in the queue and I saw fireworks over there, I got goosebumps all over."Rock in Rio began in 1985 and held its second and third in 1990 and 2001, respectively. Later on, organizer Roberto Medina decided to expand his business to other cities. In 2004, he held the first overseas edition in Lisbon, Portugal.

Despite its name, Rock in Rio goes beyond rock and roll, featuring many pop singers as well as local artists.

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

A quick look at the headlines before we go...

President Xi Jinping says China will continue to be open to foreign media...

The Chinese ambassador to the US talks about the president's upcoming state visit and what it will mean for Sino-American ties...

And China is among the nations reacting to the passage of legislation to expand the role of Japan's military...

In the 2nd half of the hour, we'll bring you some of the business stories that have made headlines over the past week.

On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Shane Bigham in Beijing hoping you'll join us for the next edition of the Beijing Hour, and open a window to the world together.