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

Coming up on the program this evening...

China's Foreign Minister suggesting President Xi Jinping's forthcoming trip to the UK will be a watershed moment.

The ruling Kuomintang in Taiwan has formally replaced its candidate for next year's leadership election.

The US and Russia come to an agreement on flight safety guidelines in their respective bombing campaigns in Syria.

In the 2nd half of the hour, we'll be bringing you a recap of this week's big news out of the business world.

In sports... the finals being set tonight at three different tennis tournaments here in China.

In entertainment... a premier date has been announced for a new American TV series based on the Chinese classic "Journey to the West."All of that coming up in the next hour, but first, just a reminder there are several ways to reach out to us here on the Beijing Hour.

You can follow us on our weibo account at weibo.com/beijinghour.

We're also on WeChat. Type in "Beijing Hour" to find us.

Email us directly at [email protected].

You can also visit crienglish.com for the latest news and information from China Radio International.

Top NewsChinese president's UK visit to have positive impact on international relations: FMChina's Foreign Minister is suggesting Chinese President Xi Jinping's impending trip to the UK next week is a watershed moment in China's acceptance by Europe.

Wang Yi has made the suggestion as part of his current 3-nation tour of Eastern Europe.

"What's most important is that, compared with 5 or 10 years ago, European countries are now treating China's development and rise more positively, and have started to agree with China's self-selected path of development."At the same time, Wang Yi says the UK government is right to continue to actively engage with China.

"As a major power of the world, the UK has taken the lead in keenly grasping the inevitable trend that China is rising. In that respect, the UK has been good at taking the opportunities brought through China's development. The UK has also conformed to the trends of the times, in which international relations are changing."Wang Yi is currently in Bulgaria as part of a 3-nation Eastern European trip, which has included stops in Poland and the Czech Republic.

A series of diplomatic activities promoting China's relationship with Europe are planned over the next few days while Xi Jinping visits the UK.

Chinese investors likely to win UK's high-speed rail project: UK expertAnchor:

It is being reported Chinese rail giant CRRC is going to join the bidding for Britain's second high-speed railway project.

The plan is to link London with the northern British city of Birmingham.

The UK parliament has already approved the first stage of the line's construction, which is set to start in 2017.

It's a project said to be worth 10's of billions of dollars.

For more on the possibility of China's involvement in the project, and the economic ties between China and the UK, CRI's Wang Mengzhen spoke earlier with John Ross, senior fellow with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University.

KMT replaces candidate for Taiwan leadership electionTaiwan's ruling Kuomintang party has pulled the trigger on its anticipated move to replace its candidate for next year's leadership elections.

KMT Chair Eric Chu has been officially voted into the position, replacing outgoing candidate Hung Hsiu-chu.

The deputy legislative speaker has been dumped from the candidacy after the polling showed she was poised to suffer a significant defeat in January's election at the hands of DPP candidate Tsai Ing-wen.

Hung was originally nominated by the KMT back in July.

Despite the change in candidates, most polling is still suggesting the Kuomintang is going to lose its hold on Taiwan's leadership on January 16th.

Current Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou isn't allowed to run again under the island's election rules.

China upholds peaceful negotiation in disputes handling: military officialThe Chinese military is taking steps to try to reassure the world about potential conflicts in the South and East China Seas.

Fan Changlong, vice chair of China's Central Military Commission, has issued a statement while addressing a high-level Defense forum currently being held in Beijing.

"We will never recklessly resort to the use of force, even on issues bearing upon sovereignty, and have done our utmost to avoid unexpected conflicts. We will continue to resolve disputes and differences with directly related parties through friendly consultation and we are committed to working with relevant countries to maintain regional security and stability."At the same time, Fan Changlong has told delegates to the Xiangshan Forum that Chinese construction on the Nansha Islands is meant to serve mostly civilian purposes.

"In fact, those construction projects are mainly carried out for civil purposes. As we have promised, the projects will not affect freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Instead, they will enable us to provide better public services to aid navigation and production in the South China Sea."500 defense officials and scholars have gathered here in Beijing to discuss Asia-Pacific security.

The attendees include defense ministers from 16 different countries, including Malaysia, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

For the first time, the United States and Japan have also sent representatives to the event.

Chinese delegation attends 2015 Arctic Circle Conference in IcelandThis year's Arctic Circle Conference, an international forum for Arctic cooperation, has begun in Reykjavik, Iceland.

A Chinese delegation led by Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Ming is attending the event.

Zhang Ming says the Chinese side is going to do even more to become involved in Arctic affairs.

"Environmental protection is surely the key area why China wants to be engaged in Arctic affairs. We have already done a lot on this front, and will continue to make more strides in this area. We already have a national plan connected to climate change. We plan to do more on this front in the future".

The Arctic Circle Conferences gather delegates from numerous countries around the world.

French President Francios Hollande is attending this year's event in Iceland ahead of the major UN Climate Change meeting set for Paris in December.

China launches Apstar-9 communications satelliteA new Chinese commercial communication satellite has been put into orbit.

The "APSTAR-9" is owned by a leading satellite operator out of Hong Kong.

Yang Baohua, general manager of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, says the launch of this satellite is somewhat special.

"The APT Satellite Company is a non-state-run, market-oriented operator. It chooses its cooperative partner based on the performance of the satellite. The launch of the Apstar-9 is a milestone, as it has broken the monopoly of the United States and European operators running communications satellites."The APSTAR-9 is designed to stay in service for at least 15 years.

Its launch will allow ATP to cover an area home to three-quarters of the global population in Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia.

It will provide TV transmissions, communications, and other services.

Concerns Rise over School Tartan TracksAnchor:

Provincial authorities in Jiangsu are promising to get to the bottom of why a number of children throughout the province have been getting ill at schools which have newly-installed synthetic race tracks on their campus.

CRI's Luo Wen reports.

Reporter:

Concerns began to spread among the parents after students at the Yuanhe Primary School in Suzhou began coming down ill just a few days after returning to classes for the fall semester.

"My son showed symptoms, including eye pain and a sore throat. Many other parents have reported their children began suffering from bleeding noses just a few days after returning to the school. Most of the students who got sick are from the class that is closest to the playground. This is when we began to suspect the new track could be to blame."Many parents of the students at the school say the new track is putting out an offensive odor.

However, a quality inspection conducted on the track found no problems with it.

Still, the school did eventually decide to have the track torn-up after kids at the school continued having various problems.

Wang Bonan, a reporter with the Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation, says similar scenarios have been cropping up at other schools in the province, all of which have the newly-installed tartan tracks at them.

"The schools renovated their tracks during the summer vacation. Similar symptoms began to appear among the students about two weeks into the new semester. Some serious cases have even been hospitalized."Tartan track is an all-weather synthetic track surface made out of polyurethane.

Its ideal for outdoor track and field competitions, as it is not slippery, and can survive harsh conditions.

However, Luo Zhenyang, a chemical materials expert with Nanjing Forestry University, says the addition of low-cost materials might be one reason why these tartan tracks are kicking-off such bad odors.

"Normal materials of tartan track are harmless and don't have any smell. I suspect the unpleasant smell is probably coming from either plasticizers or waste materials added during the paving process."Plasticizer is an addictive that can increase the plasticity of tartan tracks.

However, plasticizers are also known to cause problems to in people's sensory perception, as well as respiratory issues and skin allergies.

Du Wei with the Jiangsu provincial education department says probes are now being launched.

"The schools involved have been asked to bring in professional institutions for an inspection and release results to the public as soon as possible."However, some industry insiders say the results of the inspection may not be convincing as expected, due to the lack of a national standards for tartan tracks.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

Didi's Boat Service BannedTransport authorities in Shanghai have shut down Didi's newly launched boat-hailing service on the Huangpu River.

Didi has been running a high-profile promotional campaign, teaming up with the local yacht club to give commuters free boat rides.

However, Hu Min with Shanghais' municipal transport commission says Didi hasn't met the right requirements to offer the service.

"Under the rules, water transportation companies need to have security assessments done on their piers, routes and ships. The operator also needs to have a formal license."Shanghai's Transport Commission is set to launch is own water bus service along the Huangpu River before the end of this year.

U.S., S. Korea to strengthen coordination with China to bring North Korea back to six-party talksThe Presidents of the United States and South Korea have issued a joint statement, pledging to strengthen coordination with China to bring North Korea back to the bargaining table connected to its nuclear program.

This follows a sit-down meeting between South Korea's Park Geun-hye and Barack Obama in Washington.

"And, I suspect, President Park agrees with me here that at the point where Pyongyang says 'we're interested in seeing relief from sanctions and improved relations and we are prepared to have a serious conversation about denuclearization,' its fair to say we'll be right there at the table."This is the first time South Korea and the US have signed-off on a joint statement connected to North Korea.

The statement also warns of "further significant measures by the UN Security Council" if North Korea "carries out a launch using ballistic missile technology or a nuclear test."The Six Party Talks involving China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, the United States, and North Korea were first launched in 2003.

The talks have been suspended since 2008.

Pyongyang has expressed a willingness to come to the table.

However, the US side has been unwilling to talk until North Korea halts all its nuclear activities.

US, Russia Reach Agreement Over Syrian AirspaceThe US and Russian militaries have reached agreement on coordinating airspace in Syria.

A statement issued by the Russian military says both Washington and Moscow plan to sign-off on the documents "soon."The agreement comes just a few days after U.S. and Russian jets came within miles of each other while on separate combat missions in Syria.

In making the announcement, US President Barack Obama says Washington and Moscow still differ greatly on how to bring the fighting in Syria to an end.

"The only understanding that we have arrived at is, how do we de-conflict in the event that our planes and their planes might be occupying similar space over Syrian skies? So in that sense, we have arrived at an understanding and some channels for communications. Where we will continue to differ is in the basic set of principles and strategies we are pursuing inside of Syria."A US-led coalition has been hitting Islamic State targets in Syria for over a year.

Russia's air offensive in the country began just last month.

The US has accused the Russian side of bombing non-Islamic State targets in an attempt to pro-up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Russian side says it has been targeting "terrorists."Russia and ex-Soviet partners plan joint border defenseAnchor:

Russia and its former Soviet satellite states in Central Asia have agreed to create a joint task force to defend the external borders of the regional block and stop the violence in Afghanistan from spreading north into Central Asia.

The agreement has come from a meeting among the heads of states from Russia and several Central Asian countries taking place in Kazakhstan.

CRI's Poornima Weerasekara has more.

Reporter:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that violence in Afghanistan could spill over into the former Soviet states.

Putin says the situation is "genuinely close to critical.""It is particularly important to monitor the situation at the external borders of the CIS. I express concerns about the situation developing in Afghanistan. The situation there is really close to critical. Terrorists of various kinds gain more and more influence and do not hide plans of the further expansion. One of their objectives is to break through into the Central Asian region."Afghanistan shares a border with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

Afghan Opium has been pouring into Russia via central Asia for years.

The country's ongoing troubles with the Taliban and other extremist elements have made it one of Moscow's major security worries.

Putin's statement came a day after US President Barack Obama said American troops would remain in Afghanistan after 2016, reversing an earlier campaign pledge.

The US president admitted earlier, that Afghan forces were not ready to stand alone against the resurgent Taliban.

The Taliban have made a serious comeback in recent weeks with the capture of Kunduz.

Moscow still has military bases in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

The new agreement could lay the ground for Russian and other regional troops to be deployed along Tajikistan's border with Afghanistan.

Putin also told the regional forum that thousands from central Asia have already joined the ranks of ISIS.

He warned that the Jihadists could pose a serious risk if they returned home.

"According to different estimations, five to seven thousand people from Russia and other CIS countries have already been fighting on the side of ISIS. And of course we cannot allow for them to use the experience they get, the experience they get in Syria today, to use it later at our home."Russia began its air strikes in Syria late last month.

Putin dismissed criticism of Russia's air campaign saying it's made more progress on the ground than the US-led coalition.

"An operation of Russian Aerospace Forces with the involvement of navy warships in the Caspian Sea is being held within complete accordance of international law. It's absolutely legitimate as it's being carried out based on the official request of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Russia says it is negotiating with regional powers, including Saudi Arabia, and attempting to build co-operation with the US and Turkey to create a wider international coalition to crush ISIS.

For CRI I'm Poornima WeerasekaraGermany Approves Measures to Manage Refugees in the CountryAnchor:

Germany's parliament has approved a series of measures to try to cope with the large influx of migrants entering the country.

It comes as German chancellor Angela Merkel falls under increasing pressure at home over her government's current policy toward immigration.

Our correspondent Ira Spitzer reports from Berlin.

Reporter:

Germany's new laws are designed to speed up asylum and deportation procedures. They also specify three Balkan nations as 'safe', meaning people fleeing those countries have little chance of asylum in Germany.

The country is expected to take in close to a million refugees this year - by far the most in Europe - and German chancellor Angela Merkel has declared repeatedly that the country can manage. She recently called on other European countries to follow Germany's lead.

SOT-Angela Merkel, Chancellor, Germany"We also have a duty to stand by those people who come here in dire need to see them as people and not just as an anonymous mass of people"But while Merkel has been praised by many outside the country for her welcoming attitude, it's been a different story at home. In a recent poll fifty six percent of Germans said there were already too many refugees in the country, a ten percent increase from a month earlier.

Merkel too has faced criticism from within her own Christian Democratic party. Horst Seehofer, the leader of the state of Bavaria, has pushed for Berlin to curb the flow of migrants.

Horst Seehofer - Minister President, Bavaria"We need a a limit on immigration, in order to maintain the solidarity of the public which, fortunately, is still very high. We need the limit for successful integration based on common values. And we need the limit of immigration in order to maintain our internal security."Bavaria is on the front lines of the crisis since most refugees enter Germany through its southern border with Austria. The state's interior minister Joachim Herrman even recently threatened legal action if they didn't get more help.

While the new laws are a compromise that should appease some in Bavaria, conservatives from Merkel's party are pushing other controversial reforms, including setting up transit zones at the border. The idea would be for authorities to send refugees back immediately if it's deemed they have no chance of asylum. But critics say that is both inhumane and unmanageable. The big question now is whether Merkel will continue to champion refugees or will she fall back into line with her party?

For CRI, I'm Ira Spitzer in Berlin.

Clashes Break Out on Palestinian "Day of Rage"Anchor:

A number of people have been killed and injured amid the continuing violence this weekend in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

This comes following another call by Hamas for a Palestinian "day of rage" on Friday.

CRI's Niu Honglin has more.

Reporter:

Four Palestinians were killed on Friday in clashes with Israelis soldiers, and one died from wounds sustained during an earlier demonstration.

Since the beginning of the month, fierce clashes have killed eight Israelis, while Israeli forces have killed at least 35 Palestinians.

Mustafa Barghouti, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization Central Council, says the only way to stop the clashes is for Israel to stop its oppression and end its occupation of Palestinian lands.

"People are revolting against injustice. People are revolting against oppression. People are revolting against discrimination. They are revolting against occupation and apartheid. These are young people deprived from opportunity, they suffered from poverty, they suffered from unemployment, and the Israeli army and soldiers continue to humiliate them every day, so these are young people responding to humiliation, and all they are demanding truly is their freedom."Hamas has called for "Friday confrontations" with Israeli soldiers as part of a Palestinian "day of rage."Early Friday morning, Palestinian youths set fire to Joseph's Tomb in the West Bank city of Nablus.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the arson against the holy site and pledged to open an investigation into the incident.

In another West Bank city, Hebron, a Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the afternoon after he stabbed an Israeli soldier.

Shortly after the attack, clashes broke out in Hebron. Clashes also erupted along the Gaza border and in Nablus, with 3 Palestinians killed.

In Jerusalem, more Israeli policemen and soldiers were deployed.

Sitting with friends near the Damascus Gate of the Old City, Muath Khatid, a Palestinian resident of Jerusalem, says the Israeli forces disturb their life a lot.

"Every one or two hours they come to check the IDs of the (Arab) guys sitting at Damascus Gate without a reason, if they don't like the guy, they took them to body check. It affects very much the area. Usually Damascus Gate is an active area for social life and economic life. It is the main entrance of Jerusalem (Old City), and now it's nearly empty."Israel has recently tightened security measures to prevent attacks, including the closure of some Palestinian neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, as well as the revocation of permanent resident status of east Jerusalem Palestinians involved in attacks.

However, Khatid says such measures cannot solve the problem.

"Never. Never had and never will be. These closures, these problems the police do, increase the thought of people of doing attacks or stabbing on policemen or settlers."Also, Jewish residents are doubtful on the effects of the measures.

"I don't think they are useful, but just slow them down a little bit. Sure I'm worried about the safety of my family. We have to look behind our back all the time. And that's what happened. What can we do?"For CRI, I'm Niu Honglin.

S. Africa given new deadline to explain over al-Bashir arrestThe International Criminal Court has given the South African government a new deadline to formally explain why it allowed Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to leave while he was in the country for an African Union summit in mid-June.

The ICC has given South Africa until the end of the year to explain why the government intervened after local authorities in Johannesburg originally blocked al-Bashir's plane from flying back to Sudan.

South Africa, as a signatory to the International Criminal Court, is obligated to arrest al-Bashir, who is wanted on war crimes charges connected to Darfur.

The South African government at the time argued it was obligated to let Omar al-Bashir leave, as the African Union has rules which say no sitting African head-of-state can be arrested while in an African Union country.

South Africa's ruling ANC has already announced its intension to leave the ICC, arguing the authorities in the Hague have been selectively applying its laws to only target "Africans."However, leaving the ICC isn't going to be easy for the South African government, as withdrawing from an international treaty requires a long and complicated legal process.

UK High Court rules Uber app legalBritain's High Court has ruled ride-hailing company Uber's mobile app is operating legally.

The court's decision comes after London's transport authority sought clarification as to whether the company's app worked in the same way as the meters used by the strictly regulated taxis in the UK capital.

The Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association argued the app - which records a car's location and travel time and feeds it back to servers in California - works like a meter.

Taxi meters are illegal for private hire vehicles in the UK.

The ruling, as expected, is not being well-received by taxi drivers in London.

"Well it's a bit of a blow to the black cab driver to be honest. I thought the judge might have seen sense but obviously in this case not. I don't understand how Uber drivers using something which calculates the cost of your journey based on distance traveled and time taken isn't a meter, but apparently in this case it isn't."The Taxi Driver's Association says it will appeal.

Meanwhile, Uber continues to roll out its services in new UK cities, with Glasgow, Scotland just being added to the list.

WeatherBeijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 13 degrees. Tomorrow will see sunshine with a high of 18.

Shanghai will be cloudy overnight with a low of 18. It will be cloudy tomorrow with a high of 24.

Chongqing will have showers tonight with a low of 19. Tomorrow, showers, high of 24.

Lhasa will be cloudy tonight with a low of 1, cloudy tomorrow with a high of 13.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad will see light rain tomorrow with a high of 32.

Kabul, light rain, 20.

In the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney will be cloudy with a high of 20.

Brisbane, cloudy, high of 24.

Perth, light rain, 23.

And finally Auckland will be rainy with a high of 19 degrees Celsius.

Headline NewsKMT replaces candidate for Taiwan leadership electionTaiwan's ruling Kuomintang party has pulled the trigger on its anticipated move to replace its candidate for next year's leadership elections.

KMT Chair Eric Chu has been officially voted into the position, replacing outgoing candidate Hung Hsiu-chu.

The deputy legislative speaker has been dumped from the candidacy after the polling showed she was poised to suffer a significant defeat in January's election at the hands of DPP candidate Tsai Ing-wen.

Hung was originally nominated by the KMT back in July.

Despite the change in candidates, most polling is still suggesting the Kuomintang is going to lose its hold on Taiwan's leadership on January 16th.

Current Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou isn't allowed to run again under the island's election rules.

Cambodian police arrest 72 Chinese nationals for telephone scamCambodian police have arrested 72 Chinese nationals in connection with a telephone scam being run out of the country.

A number of telephones and laptops, which were allegedly used by the group to threaten and extort money from people in China, have also been seized.

Cambodian authorities allege the group would use overseas servers to make calls to people in China, claiming to be court or police officers.

Police say they would then claim the victim's bank accounts have been breached, suggesting to the victims they should transfer their money into a separate, "safe" account.

Major typhoon to hit northern PhilippinesA strong tropical typhoon is set to bare down on the northern Philippines for the next few days.

"Koppu" is currently packing winds of 175-kilometers per hour at the center.

Forecasters are predicting its going to increase to Super Typhoon status before it makes landfall on the northern island of Luzon sometime early Sunday morning, with winds of some 185-kilometers per hour.

Forecasters are predicting the storm will then turn directly north, churning it way through the most populated island in the Philippines before finally moving back out to sea over the Luzon Strait toward Taiwan sometime on Tuesday.

Meteorlogical authorities here in China are warning the storm is also expected to bring strong gales to the coastal areas of Fujian and southern Taiwan over the next few days.

Chinese investors back takeover bid for F1, reportIt's being reported a Chinese consortium is making a takeover bid for Formula One racing.

A group of Chinese firms, led by China Media Capital, is reportedly backing a 8.5-billion U.S. dollars takeover bid for the sport.

This comes as Formula One faces financial difficulties, as well as continued concerns about the quality of sport itself.

Chinese investors have been expanding more into the global sports and entertainment business.

Chinese real estate giant Wanda already owns a stake in Spanish football club Atletico Madrid and has also acquired sports marketing company Infront Sports & Media.

Weekly Biz ReviewWeekly Business ReviewAnchor:

It's time for our weekly business review.

In this edition, we'll take you through a string of economic stats released by the Chinese government this week, and tell you about the massive takeover proposal Alibaba has thrown out.

Here's CRI's Wenjie.

Reporter:

A slew of economic data was released this week.

Figures released on Tuesday show China's foreign trade dropped 8.8 percent year on year to 2.2 trillion yuan or 350 billion U.S. dollars in September, with imports slumping nearly 18 percent.

The September figure was less severe than the 9.7-percent contraction in August.

In the first three quarters, foreign trade dropped nearly 8 percent year on year to 18 trillion yuan, nearly 3 trillion U.S. dollars.

General Administration of Customs spokesperson Huang Songping attributed the drops to high costs and slumping commodity prices.

"Rising labor cost is the main cause that limits companies' capacity to expand manufacturing and exports."Looking ahead, the spokesperson says he is confident the number will improve in the fourth quarter.

"At present, the effects of policies are gradually being felt. According to our preliminary expectations, barring any significant political and economic emergencies worldwide, we expect overall imports and exports to be better in the fourth quarter than in the third quarter."Wednesday's data shows the Consumer Price Index for September has come in at 1.6-percent on an annualized basis, down from the 2-percent level in August.

Xu Gao, chief economist with Everbright Securities, says the reading is slightly below the market forecast of 1.8 percent.

"Consumer inflation narrowed in September. This is mainly due to the significant drop of pork and vegetable prices. However, the fluctuation of CPI in August and September has not affected our prediction of the index for the coming months. If you don't count the prices of pork and vegetables, the price level of other commodities is still quite low, which shows the real economy is sluggish and deflation pressure still remains."Meawhile, September's PPI, a measure of costs for goods at the factory gate, fell 5.9 percent year on year.

The reading marks the 43th straight month of decline.

China's State Council set a timetable on Thursday for reforming the price forming mechanism.

The timetable shows that China will lift price controls over most goods and services in competitive sectors by 2017, leaving the government-set prices to only key utility services, public-good programs and network industries featuring natural monopolies, such as electricity and water supply.

By 2020, China will have a sound price forming mechanism, in which the market will a decisive role.

China will lift control over oil price in due course of time, and speed up the removal of control over natural gas prices.

The country will also realize more independent pricing by operators in rail, highways, airline and harbors.

On Friday, the final deal was inked for the construction of a new rail line in Indonesia with Chinese help.

A subsidiary of the China Railway Corporation, the former Ministry of Railways, is teaming up with a group of 4 Indonesian state-run groups to build a 150-kilometer-long line running from the capital, Jakarta, to Bandung.

Yang Zhongmin, chair of China Railway International, says the project will benefit Indonesia's economy and its people.

"I believe our cooperation is a strong combination because China can build high quality, fast-rail. This project will provide convenience to the people of Indonesia and help develop the country economically. This has been the overall goal even before we signed the deal to create the project. It remains our common goal."The 5.5-billion US dollar project will be bankrolled mostly by the China Development Bank through a 40-year loan.

As part of the deal, the Chinese side has agreed to allow technology transfers to the new consortium if it wants to take part in additional projects outside Indonesia.

In the lead up to China's 2nd National Poverty Relief Day on Saturday, the State Council on Wednesday unveiled plans to upgrade its Internet infrastructure and the development of its logistics industry in rural areas.

The plans are meant to try to bolster e-commerce activity in China's vast rural areas.

It involves government's spending worth some 140-billion yuan by 2020 to provide at least 50-thousand villages in China with Internet access.

Once complete, authorities say this should give internet access to around 98-percent of the country.

Professor Paul Gillis from Guanghua School of Management at Peking University, sees great potential in China's rural e-commerce market.

The new round at the Canton Fair opened on Thursday in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province.

Fair organizers have invited more overseas countries, especially those along the Belt and Road initiative routes, to attend the session.

However, due to tough trade prospects, a spokesperson for the fair says they might see fewer international buyers this time.

He says rail ticket bookings from foreign countries had declined compared with previous sessions.

The previous session, held in April and May, was attended by over 180-thousand buyers.

The transaction volume was almost 30 billion U.S. dollars.

On the corporate front,Alibaba on Friday announced plans for a massive new investment.

Jack Ma's company has put in a non-binding bid to purchase the controlling stake of Youku Tudou.

The deal is estimated to be worth some 3.6-billion US dollars.

Alibaba already owns just over 18-percent of Youku's shares.

In making the announcement, Alibaba says its takeover bid has the support of Youku founder and CEO Victor Koo.

If completed, Alibaba is likely to combine its existing platforms, such as Taobao and others, with Youku's digital framework.

The takeover bid is still be subject to Youku's shareholder approval.

On Thursday, the Australian government announced that it stands behind a move this week to allow a Chinese-owned company to take over the long-term lease at the Port of Darwin in northern Australia.

The Australian government says it has already signed an agreement in anticipation of the deal which permits it to access the site for the first 15 years of the lease.

On Tuesday, Chinese-owned Landbridge Group signed a deal with the government of Australia's Northern Territory for a 99-year lease of Darwin's port operations.

Under the 370-million US dollar agreement, the Chinese company will maintain full control of the port operations, as well as 80-percent of the land at the port site.

The port in Darwin is a major jumping-off point for Australian exports headed to China.

On Wednesday, China's three main telecom operators agreed to consolidate towers and related assets into a jointly owned firm, a move that would reduce duplication of telecom infrastructure.

Shares of China United Network Communications and China Mobile gained at least 2.7 percent on the day after the government injected 36 billion U.S. dollars of network assets such as base stations into a new company called China Tower Corporation.

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

SportsTennis finals being set at 3 different Chinese tournamentsIn tennis,Nadal/Tsonga now awaits the winner of tonight's other semi-final match set to get underway at 8 between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

Novak Djokovic made it into the semi-finals after getting past young Australian Bernard Tomic 7-6, 6-1 last night.

Andy Murray is there after making short work of world number five Tomas Berdych in straight sets 6-1, 6-3.

----The finals of the WTA Tianjin Open have been set.

It was 2nd seeded Agnieszka Radwanska blowing past 3rd seed Karolina Pliskova this afternoon, 6-3, 6-1 to reach tomorrow's final.

She'll be up against little-known Danka Kovinic.

The Serb, currently ranked 75th in the world, is into the finals in Tianjin after getting past Bojana Jovanovski in yesterday's first semi-final.

--In Hong Kong,2nd seeded Angelique Kerber is into the finals after blowing past Aussie Sam Stosur in straight-sets, 6-2, 6-2.

She'll be up against Jelena Jankovic.

The 4th seed got past Venus Williams, the winner two-weeks ago in Wuhan, 6-4, 7-5.

CSL previewIn football,The 3rd-to-last round of this year's Chinese Super League season is underway.

An earlier match saw Shanghai Shenhua blank Changchun 3-nil.

That match has no effect on the standings, as both clubs are mid-pack, and in no threat of relegation, but also with no chance of making it to the AFC Champions league.

There are 5 other matches just getting underway tonight, and some with much more importance.

League leaders Guangzhou Evergrande are in Tianjin tonight to take on Teda.

A win by Guangzhou will keep them ahead of 2nd place Shanghai Shenhua, who are currently 2-points back of Evergrande at 58.

Shenhua is taking on Shijiazhuang tonight.

Tianjin is also desperate for a win, as a loss tonight and a Guizhou road victory over 4th place Shandong tonight would put Tianjin into relegation with just 2-matches left.

In other action,3rd place Beijing Guo'an is hoping to keep a hold of its AFC Champions league ticket tonight as they entertain Guangzhou R&F at Workers Stadium.

And its Jiangsu taking on Henan.

Dortmund move 2-0 past Mainz in German BundesligaIn European football,German Bundusliga action from earlier this morning saw Dortmund down Mainz 2-nil.

The win snaps Dortmund's 4-game winless-streak.

It also puts the club 4-points clear of Schalke for 2nd in the league, and now just 4-points back of league-leader Bayern Munich.

Bayern will be in action tonight against visiting Bremen, while Schalke will entertain Hertha Berlin.

---Friday night's action in the French top division, it was Monaco drawing with Lyon 1-1.

The single point puts Lyon into a tie for 4th in the league with 16-points, while Monaco remains mid-pack with 14.

There are 9 other matches being played out this weekend in the French top division, including league-leader Paris St. Germain on the road against Bastia.

German Football Association investigate FIFA paymentsThe German Football Association has started an internal investigation after reports of bribery connected to the country's successful bid for the 2006 World Cup.

The probe comes after investigative German news magazine Der Spiegel ran a report suggesting Germany managed to secure the World Cup through some 6.7-million euros in bribes held in a secret slush fund.

The German Football Association says it's so-far found no evidence to back up the report, but says it's still investigating.

Germany secured the 2006 World Cup by a one-vote margin over South Africa.

Results of 2015 NBA preseason gamesIn basketball,5 NBA preseason games are in the books,It was the Washington Wizards downing Philadelphia 127-118.

Boston went down to the New York Nicks 101-95.

It was Memphis over Oklahoma City 94-78.

Atlanta beat Dallas 91-84.

And it was the Phoenix Suns going down to Denver 106-81.

Meanwhile,It's expected the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to be without LeBron James for their 2nd-to-last pre-season game on Sunday in Toronto.

James, who has been sitting out the entire pre-season with various minor injuries, has revealed he's taken an injection this week for back pain.

LeBron missed a couple of weeks last season after undergoing a similar treatment for both his back and his knees.

However, the Cavs, who are struggling with a slew of injuries among various starters, do expect to have LeBron in the line-up for their season opener.

This year's NBA regular season gets underway on October 27th.

In other off-court news,Former LA Laker Lamar Odom has emerged from his medically-induced coma, managing to speak briefly to his family.

However, the 35-year old still remains in critical condition after suffering a heart attack and organ failure after passing out at a brothel in Nevada earlier this week.

Odom, who became a reality-TV star after retiring from basketball and marrying into the Kardashian family, is believed to have overdosed on a mixture of cocaine and an unregulated sexual stimulant.

Feng Shanshan still near top of the leaderboard in South KoreaIn golf,Round 3 of the LPGA Hana Bank Championships in South Korea is in the books, with first-round leader Park Sung-hyun moving her way back into a tie for the lead at 13-under with New Zealand's Lydia Ko.

They sit one stroke ahead of Myriam Lee and Lexi Thompson.

Taiwan's Tseng Yani sits alone in 7th, three strokes back of the leaders at minus-10.

Mainland golfer Feng Shanshan is one-stroke back at minus-9.

---On the men's side,Local golfer Brendan Steele remains atop the leaderboard at this season's first PGA event, the Frys.com in northern California.

Steele fired a 2-under-70 today to take him to minus-11.

He holds a 2-stroke lead over a group of others trailing him at minus-9 heading into the weekend.

The winner of this tournament gets and automatic slot in the Masters next year.

Marquez takes pole for Grand Prix of AustraliaIn motorcycle racing,Reigning MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez will start from pole position in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix after dominating qualifying today.

Marquez finished his second qualifying session 0.3 seconds ahead of Italian Andrea Iannone.

"Yeah it looks like this weekend everything has gone really good. We are working really, really good with the team and always we do the correct steps and decide that this is maybe the most difficult during our weekend. And this weekend is going well but tomorrow will be a difficult race because we have many laps. It's crucial, I think it is really important to manage the tyres well, but we will try to improve, even in the warm-up, but it looks like the rhythm is good with these tyres."For Marquez, its his 8th pole of the season, and the 30th of his career, despite nursing a fractured hand which suffered before last week's Japan Grand Prix.

EntertainmentDaniel Wu's "Into the Badlands" to Air on AMC on November 15New American television drama "Into the Badlands" which is based on the Chinese classic "Journey to the West" is expected to premiere on AMC on November 15.

Into the Badlands tells the story of a warrior and a young boy who travel together through dangerous territories in search of enlightenment.

The drama is co-directed and co-produced by Stephen Fung and renowned American producer David Dobkin.

With a predominantly American cast, Into the Badlands stars Daniel Wu.

He also had a hand in producing the drama.

The theme song is written by Mike Shinoda, member of American rock band Linkin Park.

With its premiere date approaching soon, this internationally produced drama has been kicking up its promotion gears.

Top global designers go fur it at Saga's Beijing showAs the cold sets in, fur is once again in vogue.

Finnish fur auction house Saga Furs recently invited designers from around the world to let their imaginations run wild with fur.

The designers produced a 60-piece collection after visiting Saga Furs' design center in Finland.

The collection was displayed as Saga showed its fall/winter collection on Sept 29, in collaboration with the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology.

Saga Furs' designer Kisu Aho opened the show with brightly colored fur coats.

The coats had panels of contrasting colors, which created patterns that changed as the wearer walked. Men's parkas were trimmed with furs, giving a luxurious touch to the look.

Aho was followed by emerging Chinese designer Alicia Lee.

A newcomer to fur design, Lee showed her skill, taking inspiration from stained-glass windows. The collection highlighted dusty hues, which subtly contrasted and echoed each other.

Different materials were freely mixed and adorned with geometric forms and whimsical details.

The collection was accessorized with fur clutches and furry heels, creating a refreshing, graceful look.

The Hellfire Sunflowers' Anime Film to Release in China 23 Oct.

The latest installment in the Detective Conan film series is going to hit the big screens here in China.

Detective Conan: The Hellfire Sunflowers, is set to premiere in China on the coming Friday.

The story revolves around one of Vincent Van Gogh's "Sunflower" paintings that had been auctioned off to a buyer in Japan.

Kaito Kid, one of Conan's arch rivals, crashes the auction and steals the painting. Conan, as usual, takes on the mission to find Kid and the painting, which leads him on a dangerous adventure where other people's lives are in jeopardy.

Conan enjoys a large number of loyal fans in China.

Conan appeared in comic books in 1994, and since then has been featured in 750 or more TV episodes and 19 films.

The Weeknd, Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars Lead Soul Train Awards NominationsThe Weeknd and the duo behind "Uptown Funk," Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, are tied for five nominations each at the Soul Train Awards this year on Nov. 6.

All three share nominations for video of the year, song of the year and The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award.

The Weeknd also is nominated for best R&B/soul male artist and album of the year.

And Ronson and Mars are nominated for best dance performance and best collaboration.

R. Kelly, Babyface & Common Set for Soul Train Awards Weekend Concert.

Beyonce, Chris Brown, Jidenna and Tyrese have four nominations each for the awards show held at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

The awards will be the highlight of the Soul Train Weekend in 2015, which takes place in Las Vegas from November 5-7.

Cate Blanchett to receive BFI FellowshipCate Blanchett is set to receive the British Film Institute's highest honor, the BFI Fellowship, at this year's London Film Festival.

Blanchett's Carol, which premiered at Cannes, is already set to get a gala screening at the London Film Festival.

Her other awards hopeful, Truth, co-starring Robert Redford, will also get a London Film Festival screening, following the presentation of her Fellowship honor.

Based on a true story, Truth centers on Dan Rather's (Redford) controversial CBS News report about how George W. Bush avoided fighting in the Vietnam War.

The London Film Festival wraps up tomorrow.

Chocolate fashion show takes place with dresses inspired by, and made of, chocolateIn celebration of the U.K.'s national chocolate week, models took to the runway in London on Friday for a special chocolate fashion show.

Chocolate outfits designed by chocolatiers Aneesh Popat, Anita Thakker, Lucie Bennett and Laurent Pratt were among those featured at the event.

Bennett and Pratt created an outfit inspired by the fairy tale character Maleficent, while Thakker opted for an edible haute couture style dress.

The national chocolate week ends on Sunday, 18 October.

WeatherBeijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 13 degrees. Tomorrow will see sunshine with a high of 18.

Shanghai will be cloudy overnight with a low of 18. It will be cloudy tomorrow with a high of 24.

Chongqing will have showers tonight with a low of 19. Tomorrow, showers, high of 24.

Lhasa will be cloudy tonight with a low of 1, cloudy tomorrow with a high of 13.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad will see light rain tomorrow with a high of 32.

Kabul, light rain, 20.

In the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney will be cloudy with a high of 20.

Brisbane, cloudy, high of 24.

Perth, light rain, 23.

And finally Auckland will be rainy with a high of 19 degrees Celsius.

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

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

China's Foreign Minister suggesting President Xi Jinping's forthcoming trip to the UK will be a watershed moment.

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