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

Coming up on the program this morning...

Heavy casualties reported after a 7.5-magnitude earthquake hits north-eastern Afghanistan and affects surrounding countries as well...

Dutch King Willam Alexander continues his official state visit here in China...

And Chinese Premier Li Keqiang set to visit South Korea for a high-level regional summit...

In Business....China's central bank considering direct trading of the RMB and the South Korean Won...

In Sports..... China's Ding Junhui faltering through the first round of the International Snooker Championship...

And in Entertainment.... The curtain rises on the Beijing fashion week....

Top NewsHeavy casualties reported after strong Afghanistan-Pakistan earthquake, toll rising above 280More than 280 people have died after a 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit north-eastern Afghanistan, affecting Pakistan, India and Tajikistan.

The bulk of the casualties were reported from Pakistan.

Officials are warning the death toll would rise as rescue workers rush to the remote areas where communications have been cut off.

In the most severely affected areas of Pakistan, officials said at least 154 deaths have been confirmed alone in Khyber Pakh-tun-khwa province.

Provincial minister Inayatullah Khan said they are still collecting data from the field.

"The death toll so far reported by the provincial disaster management authority is more than 140 dead and 1,002 injured, and the houses fully damaged are in thousands, partially damage are also in thousands. These figures are pre-mature because we are still collecting the data from the field and we are still reconciling the data and the situation will be clear by tomorrow or day after tomorrow."In Afghanistan, 12 school girls were killed in a crush while they were trying to escape from the building.

Three other provinces also reported at least 52 deaths in total.

The earthquake was similar to a 7.6-magnitude quake in Kashmir which killed more than 70-thousand people ten years ago.

However, unlike the previous one, the Monday earthquake took place at a depth of some 200 kilometers below the earth's surface, causing less damage.

Experts are warning that shallow aftershock tremors might occur in the following days.

China, Netherlands seek stronger partnership as Dutch King visitsChina and the Netherlands are vowing to boost cooperation in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

The remarks come as Chinese President Xi Jinping met with visiting Dutch King Willem-Alexander in Beijing.

The Netherlands is one of the 57 prospective founding members of the AIIB.

President Xi called for both sides to maintain the sound momentum of cooperation in marine transportation and seek cooperation in more areas such as finance, air transportation, agriculture and new energy.

The two leaders also agreed to boost exchanges in the fields of coping with climate change, culture, education, sports and panda protection.

The Dutch King also vowed to promote trade and personnel exchanges between the EU and China since the Netherlands will take the EU's rotating presidency in the first half of next year.

Both state leaders witnessed the signing of 15 cooperation agreements after their talks, ranging from finance, trade to aviation, technology and panda protection.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima are currently on their first state visit to China since the King ascended the throne two years ago.

It is a reciprocal visit following President Xi's state visit to the Netherlands in March last year.

Four Chinese dairy enterprises join Sino-Dutch Dairy Development CenterFour Chinese dairy product producers have officially joined the Sino-Dutch Dairy Development Centre.

It is the first time for China's dairy enterprises to join in an international cooperation project.

The four enterprises are from Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Henan and Liaoning provinces.

Chief scientist at the China National Dairy Industry and Technology System, Li Shengli said Chinese dairy enterprises will benefit a lot from the new platform.

"We can learn about the ideas from some European countries on cattle raising, milk processing, and quality control. It's important to promote the Chinese dairy industry from scientific and product quality parts. It will be a trend that Chinese dairy industry will go through internationalization."For his part, Chairman of the Dutch Dairy Association, Roelof Joosten said the platform could help Chinese dairy producers improve the quality of milk products.

"And the Sino-Dutch Dairy Development Center can help together with the Chinese dairy industry to build on that, to get safety and quality back into the Chinese dairy industry. And that itself will result in more confidence for consumer level, resulting in more demand."The Sino-Dutch Dairy Development Centre was jointly established in 2013 by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, China Agricultural University, and the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture.

Premier Li to visit South Korea, attend China-Japan-South Korea summitAnchorChinese Premier Li Keqiang is set to pay an official visit to South Korea and attend the sixth Trilateral Summit Meeting between China, Japan and South Korea.

CRI's Victor Ning reports.

ReporterIt will be Li's first visit to South Korea as premier and the first visit to South Korea by a Chinese premier in five years.

The premier will attend the sixth Trilateral Summit Meeting on the sidelines of his visit from Saturday to Monday.

Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin says good relations between China, Japan and South Korea will help improve the economic situation, both locally and globally.

"Facing the complicated international situation and the weak recovery of the world economy, strengthening trilateral cooperation will help maintain regional peace and stability, and power the economic development of Asia and the world."For his part, assistant Minister of Commerce Tong Daochi says close economic ties are of great importance as each of the three countries plays an important role in the world economy and international trade cooperation.

"China, Japan and South Korea combined account for 20 percent of the world economy, 20 percent of the world population and 20 percent of the world's total foreign investment. Strengthening economic and trade cooperation between these countries will be beneficial to promoting regional integrity and global economic cooperation."The first trilateral meeting was held in 2008.

But the meetings have been halted since 2012 as tensions among the three countries soured over territorial disputes.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying says all parties should seize the opportunity for cooperation.

"It's been three years since the trilateral leaders' summit was held last time. China hopes the sides can take the opportunity to pave the way for future cooperation, strengthening cooperation in traditional areas as well as new areas. The three sides should tackle historical issues properly and provide a stable environment for future development. "The spokesperson also adds that the three countries should continue partnerships in areas including trade, culture and sustainable development, and expand into new areas such as the economy, information technology and poverty reduction.

For CRI, I'm Victor Ning.

Opportunities and Challenges Both Exist for Private Investors in PPP Projects: ExpertsAnchorWith more and more private capital invited to public-private partnership in China, also known as PPP projects, many experts believe that private investors will be facing both a series of opportunities and several challenges.

CRI's Xie Cheng has more.

Reporter7 Chinese provinces announced last week that 287 PPP projects collectively worth around 940 billion yuan, or 148 billion U.S. dollars, will be open to private investors.

Those projects include municipal works, highways, rail, airports, water conservation and energy projects.

The announcement was made during a PPP promotion teleconference organized by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in cooperation with the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.

Zhang Yong, deputy head of the NDRC, says the partnerships could help improve structural reform of investment and financing, energize private investment, while improving public products and services.

"We'll make great efforts to promote the PPP mode. For the past three quarters of this year, private investment in the fields of infrastructure and public utilities, where private companies seldom invested in before, has increased by around 27% compared to the same period of last year. The acceleration of such investment is 16.6% higher than the whole investment."However, in some of the PPP projects, private enterprises still lack enough participation compared to their state-owned counterparts.

Wang Qinmin, head of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, says private investors still face a series of problems and challenges.

"Some private enterprises still lack confidence and willingness to invest due to the decrease of their own space for gaining profits, while others don't know which areas they could invest in. The environment for PPP projects investment still needs improvement."He adds that some of the private investors lack enough understanding towards relevant policies, which might bring negative effects to their investments.

The NDRC will next hold more project promotion meetings in many different types so as to attract more private enterprises to participate in investing in PPP projects.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.

China to Further Develop Rural E-CommerceAnchorE-commerce development in China's rural areas has topped the agenda of this year's Western E-business Development Summit in Sichuan Province, as the country is seeking to expand the domestic market to boost a slowing economy.

CRI's Huang Shan has more.

ReporterE-commerce in China's rural areas has been developing quickly in recent years.

Data shows the country now has 77 million rural residents shopping online, a 40-percent growth rate year on year.

Shoppers in rural areas contributed some 180 billion yuan to China's economy last year.

The figure is expected to hit 460 billion yuan by the end of next year.

Noting the importance of online-to-offline model, Hou Enlong, chief operating officer of e-commerce giant Suning, said the company has expanded its online shopping to offline service centers to better accommodate rural customers' needs.

"We need to do three things. The first is to deliver industrial products to the countryside, and have the rural shoppers buy things at the same price as those in the cities. The second is to transfer agricultural products to the whole country by Suning's self-run courier services. The third is to connect farmers to an online payment system so that they can learn to use the Internet to purchase, sell and promote products."However, building offline service centers in rural areas and attracting farmers to shop online is no easy task.

Logistics and infrastructure still remain the biggest barriers to the e-commerce development in rural areas.

E-commerce company Tyfo has come up with a plan - setting up rural cooperatives as service centers.

Founded by China Telecom, Tyfo.com is the largest e-commerce platform in Sichuan province.

Tyfo CEO Zheng Chengyu said they are working on turning the telecom operator's branches into rural cooperatives.

"There are China Telecom office branches in almost every village and city across the country, which helps a lot in solving the problem of setting up offline service centers. Asking rural residents to use the Internet to open online stores would be a very unrealistic dream, so we've got to take the form of rural cooperatives and select a few leaders to help the farmers achieve this."Another barrier for rural e-commerce development is the shortage of young talents in rural areas.

Feng Quanlin, Alibaba's regional managing director of rural business in west China, explains the urgent need for human resources in the countryside.

"The core problem of developing rural e-commerce lies in the difficulty of buying and selling products, and the fundamental method of solving the problem is to attract young talents to work in the countryside. One difference between Alibaba and other enterprises is that all our rural e-commerce staffers are full-time workers. We have university graduates, demobilized servicemen as well as returning migrant workers. "Despite these barriers, rural e-commerce is nevertheless booming in China.

Alibaba is planning to invest 10 billion yuan within the next three years to build a rural logistics network that covers 100,000 villages.

In the meantime, Suning is also going to have 10,000 service centers set up throughout the country in five years.

As China has vowed to eradicate poverty in the next five years, rural e-commerce is expected to become a major means for achieving that goal.

For CRI, I'm Huang Shan.

China mulls routine navigation through Arctic waters to EuropeShipping experts are considering routine navigation through Arctic waters to link China and Europe, a shortcut to bypass the route that passes through the Malacca Strait and Suez Canal.

Earlier this month, Chinese vessel Yong Sheng finished a record-setting round trip from Europe to north China by sailing through the Arctic waters of the Northeast Passage and docking at Tianjin Port.

The cargo ship is the first Chinese merchant ship to sail from Europe to China via the Northeast Passage, an icy path north of Russia and Scandinavia.

Yong Sheng sailed nearly 20 thousand nautical miles, or over 37 thousand kilometers during the 55-day voyage.

Many experts expect the Arctic passage to become the next "golden waterway" for trade between China and Europe.

The 19,000-tonne vessel first started its journey from Dalian to Rotterdam on August 8, 2013, sailing through the Northeast Passage and shortening the traditional shipping time by nine days.

France Offers Explanation for Fatal Coach CrashFrance has offered an explanation for a bus crash that killed 43 people on Friday.

Christophe Auger, a public prosecutor, on Monday said a fire broke out between a truck and a bus after the two crashed.

"Following the shock between the two vehicles, a metallic object punctured the truck's bodyworks and perforated the extra fuel tank located just behind the truck's cabin. The projection of gasoline would have then caught fire by coming into contact with a hot surface, the nature of which the experts will determine."The prosecutor said the windshield on the bus then broke, letting in inflamed gas and setting the cabin on fire.

The bus was carrying a number of senior citizens on a trip in southwestern France. This was the deadliest road accident in France in more than 30 years. Investigators are currently identifying the victims.

Top nuke envoys for six-party talks to gather in Seoul this weekTop nuclear envoys for the Six Party Talks on dismantling North Korea's nuclear program will meet in South Korea this week.

The meeting in Seoul has been confirmed by the Foreign Ministry in the South.

Delegates from China, the US, Russia, and Japan will gather for the multilateral forum on the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative meetings scheduled to be held in Seoul on Wednesday.

The South Korean foreign ministry says its counterpart in North Korea has yet to confirm participation in the dialogue.

The Six Party Talks have been stalled since 2009, following a dispute over the failed launch of a satellite by North Korea.

Israel Marks 20 Anniversary of Rabin's AssassinationAnchorIsrael commemorated the 20th anniversary of former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin's assassination on Monday amid recent tensions with Palestinians. CRI's Qian Shanming has more.

ReporterDuring an official memorial ceremony for former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compares the current wave of violence with the security situation that Rabin faced before his assassination.

"Rabin knew that the terrorists aspire to shed our blood, to uproot us from our homeland - the same Palestinian terror and recalcitrance that continues until today. Terrorism won't bring us down. Its perpetrators did not defeat us in the past and will not defeat us in the future. We will continue reaching out a hand for peace to whoever recognizes our right to live."Tensions have been mounting for weeks in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Since the beginning of October, fierce clashes have brought the Israeli death toll to 10, while Israeli forces have shot dead at least 60 Palestinians.

It is reported on Monday that Netanyahu is considering revoking residency permits from Arabs living in east Jerusalem as a measure to deal with the spate of attacks.

The current situation reminds more Israelis of Rabin, who finalized in 1990s the Oslo Accords which were heralded then as steps toward enduring peace. However, he was assassinated by a Jewish extremist on November 4, 1995, during a peace rally in Tel Aviv.

Many people attending Monday's ceremony say the government should follow Rabin's steps to continue with the peace process.

"People loved Rabin. He gave us great hope. He gave us choice to live with the Palestinians. He did it only for the existing of the Jewish nation.""We need to start to speak. You don't make peace with somebody that you love. You make peace with somebody you don't like, with enemy. If you don't have peace you don't have anything here. I don't want my children to live in war. I want them to live in peace."Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian legislator who witnessed the signing of the Oslo Accords, gives a relatively positive comment on Rabin's efforts for peace.

"He made a serious and substantive transformation and presupposition vis-a-vis the Palestinians. I think he came to recognition that there is no military solution and therefore there is a need for a political solution, so in that sense he did change the course of Israeli history, for a short while, unfortunately."But she says things have been going downhill since, and that the only way to end the decades of conflict is to end the occupation.

(Soundbite 5, Ashrawi2, female in English)"If there is any political will to see an end to this horrific situation, then we need to see an end to the occupation, and from then on we can move ahead. Or I think the situation will continue to degenerate and it will generate greater violence and extremists. There is no way in which you can build a state under occupation."For CRI, I'm Qian Shanming.

Abbas and Mogherini comment on Mideast tensionPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is seeking the help of the European Union to de-escalate the crisis with Israel.

He blamed the current unrest on policies and actions of the Israeli government.

"Probably one of the main reasons behind the events in Palestine is the feeling of disappointment in the younger generation who basically do not see any hope looming ahead with regard to the solution to their plight."EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini introduced what she would focus on with Abbas.

"We will concentrate also on this: how together with calming down the security situation on the ground and exercising leadership, how we can together work to have a political process leading somewhere, and somewhere we know that very well is the two-state solution. "Mogherini added they have to have the political horizon preserved, the situation on the ground, security-wise improved and concrete steps that can improve the lives of the people.

Palestinian medical sources said three Palestinians were shot dead on Monday by the Israeli army in separate incidents in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, a center of violence for the past few days.

The current unrest was sparked by tension at east Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque compound in mid-September, where Palestinians rejected new Israeli measures at al-Aqsa.

38 pct of Fukushima evacuation workers exposed to radiation above limit: authoritiesThe Japanese Government has said that 38 percent of evacuation workers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility were exposed to radiation above the annual limit.

A survey conducted by Japan's Cabinet Office suggests that those workers have been exposed to radiation levels of 1 millisievert or more.

19 percent of the sample was exposed to between 1 to 2 millisieverts, while 5 percent of them between 5 and 10.

Those workers were either evacuation-related first responders or those involved in decontamination and clean-up operations in the days following the multiple meltdowns at the nuclear facility, whose barriers were breached by a tsunami triggered by a massive earthquake 4 years ago.

Meantime, the government report also showed that radiation levels dropped one week after the terrible earthquake, but had spiked in the middle of the month following a hydrogen explosion at the plant's third reactor building.

The radiation exposure figures come as Japan green lit plans earlier Monday to bring a third nuclear reactor back online, as Japan's Fukushima-induced two-year nuclear power hiatus comes to an end.

For civilians involved in such rescue operations, an exposure level of 1 millisievert has been floated as the limit.

WHO agency: Processed meats can lead to cancerThe World Health Organisation's cancer agency says processed meats can lead to colon and other cancers, and red meat is also a likely cause of the disease.

Researchers from the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer, or IARC, in Lyon, have released an evaluation of more than 800 studies from several continents about meat and cancer.

Dr Kurt Straif with IARC introduces the study results.

"From the combined analysis of several studies there was about a 17 percent increase of cancers of the colorectum per portion of about 50 grams per day of processed meat. Now that increased risk is about similar for red meat - it's 1.17 per 100 grams - but again the evidence if it's really causally related is not as strong yet."Based on the evaluation, processed meat is classified as "carcinogenic to humans" - in the same category as tobacco, asbestos and diesel fumes- and red meat as "probably carcinogenic to humans."Dr. Dana Loomis of the IARC explains that it doesn't mean processed meat is as risky as smoking.

"But it's important to recognize that those classifications relate to the strength of scientific evidence for carcinogenicity and not to the level of risk. So even though they are all on the same category, the level of risks for tobacco smoking is much larger than the risk associated with eating meat, ten times larger than the risk for processed meat, for example."The Global Burden of Disease Project says if the cancer link with red meat were confirmed, diets rich in red meat could be responsible for 50,000 deaths a year worldwide.

WeatherBeijing will be sunny with a high of 17 degrees Celsius.

Overnight temperatures should drop down to 4.

Shanghai will be cloudy with a high of 21 and a low of 14.

In Chongqing, it will have slight rain with a high of 19 and lows of 15.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad will be rainy with a high of 20.

Kabul will be cloudy with a high of 12.

Over to North America,New York will be cloudy with a high of 13 degrees.

Washington, cloudy with a high of 15 degrees.

Honolulu, cloudy, 28.

Toronto will see slight rain with a high of 10 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires, overcast with a high of 24.

And Rio de Janeiro, slight rain with a high of 28 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsHeavy casualties reported after strong Afghanistan-Pakistan earthquakeMore than 280 people have died after a 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit north-eastern Afghanistan, affecting Pakistan, India and Tajikistan.

Officials are warning the death toll would rise as rescue workers rush to the remote areas where communications have been cut off.

In the most severely affected areas of Pakistan, officials said at least 154 deaths have been confirmed alone in Khyber Pakh-tun-khwa province.

In Afghanistan, 12 school girls were killed in a crush while they were trying to escape from the building.

Three other provinces also reported at least 52 deaths in total.

China, Netherlands seek stronger partnership as Dutch King visitsChina and the Netherlands are vowing to boost cooperation in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

The remarks come as Chinese President Xi Jinping met with visiting Dutch King Willem-Alexander in Beijing.

The Netherlands is one of the 57 prospective founding members of the AIIB.

President Xi called for both sides to maintain the sound momentum of cooperation in marine transportation and seek cooperation in more areas such as finance, air transportation, agriculture and new energy.

The two leaders also agreed to boost exchanges in the fields of coping with climate change, culture, education, sports and panda protection.

The Dutch King also vowed to promote trade and personnel exchanges between the EU and China since the Netherlands will take the EU's rotating presidency in the first half of next year.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima are currently on their first state visit to China since the King ascended the throne two years ago.

Oxford Promotes Visiting Scholars Program in ChinaThe University of Oxford is seeking to recruit experienced talents as visiting scholars from China, and the rest of the Asia Pacific region.

The school's Vice Chancellor Ralph Waller promoted a special program in Beijing on Monday, which aims to attract senior personnel in education and business, as well as entrepreneurs.

China provides the second largest number of foreign students at Oxford, following the US.

China Opens Visa Service Center in IstanbulChina opened a visa application service center in Istanbul on Monday, aiming to better serve Turkish people traveling to China.

The Chinese consul general Gu Jingqi in Istanbul said the growing exchanges between the two countries necessitated the establishment of the center.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the center, the consul general expressed China's readiness to integrate its "Belt and Road Initiative" with Turkey's development strategy. As a link between Asia and Europe, Turkey plays an important role in the China-proposed initiative.

Biz ReportsAnchorTurning onto business news. First, a quick look at the closing numbers across North America and Europe as well as a recap on the Chinese market.

U.S. stocks closed mixed on Monday, as Wall Street digested quarterly earnings and economic data ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting.

U.S. sales of new single-family houses in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 468-thousand, well below market consensus.

However, analysts say the fall is likely just a bump in the road, and not a sign of overall weakness in the housing market.

Meanwhile, investors are also keeping a close eye on the Fed's two-day policy meeting scheduled to start on Tuesday.

Analysts expect the Fed to start its first interest rate hike in almost nine years in December if the economy does not slow significantly.

In other markets, oil prices fell on Monday as traders worried that global supplies exceeded demand, while the U.S. dollar decreased against most major currencies.

At the closing bell,Dow Jones dropped 0.1 percent.

S&P 500 lost 0.2 percent.

The Nasdaq gained nearly 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile in Europe, the equities also closed mixed on Monday.

At the closing bell,UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.4 percent.

Germany's DAX increased around 0.1 percent.

France's CAC 40 dipped 0.5 percent.

Finally here in China, the shares closed higher on Monday.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.5 percent, while the Shenzhen index rose 0.7 percent.

PBOC considers direct trade between Yuan and WonAnchorChina's central bank is considering introducing direct trading between the South Korean Won and the Chinese Yuan and promoting greater use of the Korean currency here in China.

Experts say the launch date has not yet been decided, but the practice could begin as early as November.

As Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is soon to pay an official visit to South Korea, economic cooperation between Korea and China is high on the agenda.

For more on this, we're joined by Gao Shang, analyst with Guantong Futures.

Questions:

1, How will this plan boost bilateral trade between the two countries?

2, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected to decide soon whether the renminbi meets requirements for inclusion among reserve currencies in its Special Drawing Rights(SDR) basket. With the decision close at hand, will the direct trade of Yuan and Won support Renminbi candidacy?

3, Some analysts forecast that the Yuan will face increased pressure to weaken after the central bank lowered interest rates. Do you think that will happen and how do you see the future prospects for the internationalization of the RMB?

Back anchor:

Gao Shang, analyst with Guantong Futures.

Forest farm reform expected to become part of China's 13th Five-year PlanThe issue of "forest farm reform" is expected to be written into China's 13th Five-year Plan.

The move can clarify the direction of development for state forest farms and areas.

China has set a goal of expanding total output value of the forestry industry to 6 trillion yuan or 950 billion U.S. dollars.

A deepening reform in the forestry sector aims to further stimulate development and boost share prices of the forestry related companies.

Beijing aborts license plate lottery for NEVBeijing has decided to abort license-plate lottery for new energy vehicles in the latest allocation of car license plates.

This means a total of 17-thousand individual applicants and 15-hundred unit applicants have been licensed to buy NEVs this time.

The move is a response to the requirement of the State Council, which asked local authorities to lift purchase restrictions and remove traffic controls for NEVs last month.

Beijing began to launch allocations of NEV license plates last year.

The number of NEV license plates to be allocated has exceeded the number of applicants since January.

Only 40 percent applicants obtained NEV license plates via the license-plate lottery in the last allocation of car license plates.

Beijing has planned to allocate 600-thousand license plates for small cars from 2014 to 2017.

Chinese companies stick to investment plans in Germany: surveyChinese companies operating in Germany are expressing confidence to stick their investment plans.

A survey by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Germany shows that more than half of Chinese companies there expected German economic prospects to be bright.

Two thirds of those businesses says they had no plan to adjust their investment in Germany.

The remaining one third say they have planned to increase investment there.

Data shows that 2-thousand Chinese companies in Germany have created nearly 30-thousand jobs so far this year.

Chinese travel rivals Ctrip, Qunar form partnershipChina's two largest online travel websites, Ctrip.com and Baidu-backed Qunar.com, have formed a partnership after a share swap deal between them.

Under the agreement, Baidu will own shares representing 25 percent of Ctrip's voting interests, while Ctrip will own nearly 45 percent of Qunar.

Meanwhile, four representatives from Ctrip will be appointed to Qunar's board of directors.

Baidu chairman Robin Li and vice president Tony Yip are expected to join Ctrip's board.

The share prices of the two Nasdaq-listed companies rallied after the announcement.

Ctrip has a market valuation of around 13 billion U.S. dollars, while Qunar was valued at some 6 billion U.S. dollars during Monday's trading.

Tesla CEO negotiates with China on local productionTesla Motors is negotiating with the Chinese government on potentially producing its cars domestically.

CEO Elon Musk said local production might slash the sales prices of its models by a third.

Tesla had sold more than 3,000 Model S cars in China from January to September.

Currently, the automaker is working with Chinese Internet company Baidu on GPS navigation and automated driving.

At the same time, Tesla's 5-billion-U.S. dollar battery plant in Nevada, known as the "gigafactory", will produce its first batch of batteries next year.

It's been estimated that the plant will reach full capacity in two to three years.

Direct flights link Beijing, PakistanAir China has launched direct flights between Beijing and the Pakistani cities of Islamabad and Karachi.

This is the first direct service operated by domestic airlines between the Chinese capital and Pakistan.

There are three round-trip flights a week.

In recent years, flight demand between China and Pakistan has been growing.

Figures show the number of Chinese workers in Pakistan reached at least 8-thousand by the end of 2014.

In addition, Air China is set to launch direct flights from Beijing to Colombo, capital of Sri Lanka, on Tuesday.

SportsSnooker International Championship resultsFirst taking a look at some snooker action in the northeastern Chinese city of Daqing,China's Ding Junhui faltered through the first round of the International Championship.

The world number three missed the chance of achieving a maximum 1-4-7 break in the 7th frame but eventually came through 6-2 against Craig Steadman from England.

Ding will meet Ryan Day in the last 32.

More mixed results for Chinese players, Tian Pengfei beat compatriot Cao Yupeng 6-2 to set up another Chinese derby with Liang Wenbo in the next round.

John Higgins ousted Zhao Xintong who posted a personal best break of 1-4-2.

Wild card Wang Yuchen lost to Joe Perry 6-1.

And Peter Ebdon completed a clean 6-0 sweep of Ken Doherty in a clash of former world champions.

Thomel wins stage 7 of Tour of HainanTurning over to cycling,Santic Cycling Team's German rider rider Tino Thomel emerged the winner of a bunch sprint at stage 7 of the Tour of Hainan.

Thomel was involved in an early breakaway that was later swallowed by the peloton. He attacked 200 meters from the finish line and won the stage from Sanya to Dongfang in a photo finish.

Lampre's Sacha Modolo retained his overall lead and the yellow jersey.

Hengxiang Cycling Team's Chinese rider Ma Guangtong wears the blue jersey as the best Asian rider.

Today's stage eight goes from Dongfang to Wuzhishan, covering over 200 kilometers.

Qingdao 9th in leg 2 of Clipper RaceIn sailing,Chinese boat Qingdao have completed the second leg of the Clipper Round the World Race in 9th place.

They reached Cape Town after a trans-Atlantic journey from Rio de Janeiro.

Qingdao embarked on the leg on elapsed time after its start was delayed to complete repairs of the damage sustained while assisting another team LMAX.

The Chinese-international crew, skippered by Igor Gotlibovych, picked up three bonus points for being the first team to reach the South Atlantic Scoring Gate.

The 12-strong fleet sets sail for Albany, Australia in less than a week's time.

The 14-leg Clipper Race is expected to reach the eastern Chinese port of Qingdao in March of next year.

Fabio Cannavaro signs for Saudi Arabia clubIn football,Former Guangzhou Evergrande coach Fabio Cannavaro has signed for Saudi Arabian club Al Nasr Riyadh.

Cannavaro joined the defending champions of Saudi Arabia's top flight football league on an eight-month deal until the end of this season.

Cannavaro was sacked by Guangzhou Evergrande in June to make way for Luis Felipe Scolari.

He led the Chinese champions to 11 wins, 6 draws and 6 losses in 23 games over a seven-month period.

Chung Mong-jung withdraws from FIFA presidency bidFormer FIFA vice president and head of South Korea's football governing body Chung Mong-Joon has withdrawn from the bid for the FIFA presidency.

Chung claimed he received an unjust ban from FIFA's ethics committee which also suspended Sepp Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini.

The six-year ban means Chung will miss the deadline for filing for his candidacy.

Chung had petitioned a Swiss court for an injunction against the decision but was rejected.

A new candidate is taking Chung's place in the presidential race.

Former South African minister of human settlemets and anti-apartheid stalwart Tokyo Sexwale has announced his bid.

Sexwale says he has the backing from South Africa's Football Association and is now canvassing for support from the other 53 African FIFA members.

WTA Finals resultsIn tennis,Garbine Muguruza's fine form that she showed in China continued in the WTA Finals in Singapore.

The China Open winner beat Lucie Safarova in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 in their White Group opener.

In the other game in this group, Angelique Kerber downed Petra Kvitova 6-2, 7-6.

In doubles action,Taiwan sisters Chan Yung-jan/Chan Hao-ching beat their French/Slovenian opponents 6-4, 7-6.

New Zealand aims to write history in RWC finalIn rugby,Now that New Zealand have found out their opponents in the world cup final would be Australia, the All Blacks are aiming to become the first team to successfully defend the title.

It will be their third title and the first on foreign soil if they win.

The teams have had two encounters so far this year, with both sides claiming a win each.

New Zealand assistant coach Ian Foster says this time it is different.

"It's a Rugby World Cup final. It's.... we've talked about this particular game for a long, long time. We've wanted to be here. We've had to work hard to be here and, now for all the team, whether they are thinking of moving or not, this is, it's all about the here and the now. This is the moment, and there will be plenty of time afterwards to talk about people, but, we don't want to waste this opportunity, so we're putting everything we can into, into doing what, the only thing we can do, which is prepare well day by day."We will find out if New Zealand can write that piece of unprecedented history come Saturday at Twikenham.

F1: Rosberg takes iconic 1958 Benz for a drive in TexasMercedes driver Nico Rosberg took the iconic 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster for a drive, while in Texas for the latest round of the Grand Prix season.

The car was first introduced in 1954 as a two-set coupe before being remodeled as a roadster and was the fastest production car of its day.

Rosberg is obviously no stranger to speed.

The German driver is currently third in the overall Formula one standings, and although team-mate Lewis Hamilton wrapped up the drivers' championship in Texas on Sunday, Rosberg is in a battle with compatriot Sebastian Vettel to take second place.

He trails Vettel by just four points with three races remaining.

EntertainmentChina Fashion Week Kicks off in BeijingChinese local fashion brand NE TIGER opened this year's China Fashion Week in Beijing, with the theme of "Qipao".

Models stepped catwalks in the Qing-Dynasty imperial costumes, the color of which are golden, symbolizing the lofty power of the Chinese emperor and queen during their reigns.

More than 70 established designers and some 135 promising designers from over 90 brands and organizations will present their latest fashion trends in roughly 66 shows.

A Chinese designer Yang Ziming elaborates on the inspiration behind his design.

"I blended new elements into my designs, like combining net-like cloth and colorful cloth, causing the clothing to change colors as people move. It's very interesting. I combined sports and business style to make my designs elegant and relaxing."Besides local indie brands, vice president of China Fashion Week, Zhang Qinghui, indicates foreign brands have enjoyed an increasing presence in this year's event.

"The number of international designers and brands takes up about 30 percent of this year's fashion week. This is rarely seen in previous shows."Established in 1997, the 2015 China Fashion Week runs until November 3rd.

British Royals Attend New James Bond's Film World PremierPrince William, his wife Catherine, and Prince Harry added a touch of royal class to the new James Bond film 'Spectre' at its world premiere in London on Monday.

The royals were welcomed outside London's Royal Albert Hall by the film's co-producers.

Being the twenty-fourth James Bond film, 'Spectre' features Daniel Craig in his fourth performance as James Bond.

This new installment depicts James Bond's first encounter with the global criminal agency known as Spectre, and peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind the agency.

The latest 007 film has been praised by British critics.

'Spectre' is scheduled to be released in China on November 13th.

Nicholas Hoult Unveils Details on His Character in 'Kill Your Friends'

British actor Nicholas Hoult has unveiled more details of his character in the upcoming film 'Kill Your Friends'.

The 25-year-old actor says playing this drug-abusing, ruthless A and R man was his biggest challenge ever.

"Doing films like this, it's hard work. You get in there and its 6 day weeks and also, with this, it's a very fast shoot so you have to be on-point. We didn't have any rehearsal time really, so you just have to hit the ground running and then be on top of things, otherwise you will just get swallowed up by it so... And such a great cast and crew we had on it that, yeah, I was enjoying it."Based on the novel with the same name, 'Kill Your Friends' set the plot in 1997, when Britpop ruled the airwaves.

This dark comedy-thriller gives a satirical look at the hedonistic side of the British music industry, and the impractical ambitions of the young record executive played by Hoult.

Directed by Owen Harris, Craig Roberts and Georgia King also star in this film.

'Kill Your Friends' is set to hit theaters on November 6th in the UK.

Justin Bieber Wins Five Prizes at the MTV EMACanadian pop singer Justin Bieber made a triumphant return to the European stage at the just concluded MTV Europe Music Awards in Milan, scooping up no less than five prizes at the major music event.

Bieber was the biggest winner of the night, taking Best Male, Best Look, Worldwide Act: North America, Biggest Fans and Best collaboration for "Where Are U Now?" with Skrillex and Diplo.

The singer, who found fame at the age of 13 and went on to become a global pop phenomenon, will release his first album in three years next month. He says he's thrilled about the awards.

"It's been a long couple of years. I just feel like this is pretty awesome to be recognized for my music. Erm, first of all I just want to say thank you to all my fans, you guys are really incredible. I want to thank my mum and my dad and God. Everyone that helped me get to this place."Other big winners at the annual event were Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes and Duran Duran.

The British singer, who also co-hosted the show, bagged two awards for Best Live Act and Best World Stage. Mendes won the Best Push and Best New Act, while Duran Duran was honored with the first ever MTV Video Visionary Award.

The awards ceremony is held in a different European city every year, and the winners are selected by fans across the continent.

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

Recapping our top stories this morning...

Heavy causalities reported after a 7.5-magnitude earthquake hits north-eastern Afghanistan and affects surrounding countries as well...

Dutch King Willam Alexander continues his official state visit here in China...

And Chinese Premier Li Keqiang set to visit South Korea for a high-level regional summit...

On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, 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.