And I'm Bob Jones. Welcome to the Beijing Hour, live from the Chinese capital... Coming up on the program this evening...

Chinese President Xi Jinping preparing to head to Turkey this weekend to attend this year's G20 Summit.

New analysis suggests a sharp decline in China's animal population over the last 40-years.

Myanmar's opposition has secured enough seats to form the country's next government.

In business.... new guidelines are released to better protect Chinese investors.

In sports... a Norwegian takes over as the leader of the BMW Championships in Shanghai.

In entertainment..... a Chinese singer facing yet another bout behind bars for drug offenses.

All of that is coming up in the next hour, but first, a reminder that there are several ways you can reach us here at the Beijing Hour.

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

On WeChat: search "beijinghour"Email us directly at [email protected].

Visit crienglish.com for the latest news and information from China Radio International.

Top NewsChinese President Xi Jinping preparing to travel to Turkey for G20 SummitAnchor:

Final preparations are underway in the Turkish sea-side city of Antalya for this year's G20 leaders summit, which will get underway on Sunday.

It's widely expected the global economy, as well as the mass migration into Europe this year, will dominate discussions at the event.

CRI's Li Jianhua has more.

Reporter:

Global economic growth is set to top the agenda this year, with the state of China's economic health likely to be one of the main talking-points.

John Peace, President of UK-based Standard Chartered Bank, says he believes President Xi Jinping's growing political clout should help him in convincing the other world leaders at the event that China's economy remains in a sound position, despite the current economic slowdown.

"I think the contribution the president will make at the G20 is a very important one, as the global economy slows, as the world goes through a transition. More importantly, China itself is going through a transition. I think the important role China has to play is being recognized by more and more people. So I think it is important that Chinese economy continues to be successful. It's going through this transformation, which I think for the longer term is the right thing for the country to do.

Professor Euly Tarfrovski with the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia says other countries NOT represented at the G20 Summit will also be watching closely to see what the Chinese side talks about.

"G20 was formed after the world leaders found the G8 was not strong enough to deal with the challenges and problems worldwide. To be frank, G20 can't manage to do what G8 couldn't either. But the G20 does put what concerns new emerging economies into the agenda of world development. Chief among them, China plays a pivotal role in the development of these countries."Previous G20 sessions have included discussions about possible reforms to the US-led World Bank and the European-dominated International Monetary Fund.

And with the impending establishment of the Chinese-proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the role these organizations will play in the future is once-again likely to be a central theme at this year's G20.

Professor Gu Xuewu with the University of Bern in Germany says despite the Chinese push to command a bigger role on global economic affairs, he believes this G20 session isn't likely to herald any sweeping changes to the world's current economic dynamic.

"Currently, the international economic order is still dominated by the United States. The establishment of AIIB, as well as internationalization of RMB should only be viewed as complementary to the current US-dominated global economic order. The Chinese moves, in particular with the RMB, will dilute the influence of American Dollar globally. But all this still won't change the leading role the United States continues to play in the international economic order."Hosted this year by Turkey for the first time, the leaders of the G20 are also expected to focus their attention on the massive influx of migrants making their way into Europe this year from Syria and other parts of the Middle East and Africa.

G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank governors met in Peru just over a month ago ahead of this weekend's leaders meeting.

In it, they discussed what else needs to be done to move forward on growth strategies established during previous G20 sessions.

An accountability assessment is going to be presented to the Leaders in Antalya.

It's expected Chinese President Xi Jinping is going to address China's role in meeting the G20 growth goals as part of a speech he's due to deliver following the meetings in Antalya.

For CRI, this is Li Jianhua.

IMF Calls on International Community to Support China's Economic TransitionThe International Monetary Fund has called on the international community to support China in its economic transition, saying it will benefit global growth and reduce tail risks.

The call, made in a newly released report 'Note on Global Prospects and Policy Challenges' comes ahead of the upcoming G20 leaders summit in Antalya in Turkey.

Meanwhile, the IMF has also suggested China's rebalancing could generate large global knock-on effects, and so China should move towards a slower, more sustainable growth path.

On the subject of including the Renminbi into the IMF Special Drawing Rights basket - a big concern for the international community - IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice said preparations were underway:

"Here I think the process is underway. IMF staff are preparing a report, which will include a recommendation to our executive board on that issue, and I would underline that the decision rests on our executive board, which, of course, represents 188 countries. So to categorize I would say the process is on track, on schedule,"The IMF also predicts in the report that the global economy is expected to grow by 3.6 percent in 2016, the fastest rate since 2011.

Yet it warns that international economies should be cautious in navigating change and has urged further structural reform to spur future growth, with effective demand-side measures.

The tenth G20 summit, which takes place between 15 and 16 November in Antalya, comes at a time when the world economy is facing various problems such as a slowdown in growth, transition and change.

Turkish finance minister calls for IMF quota reformIn advance of the upcoming G20 Summit in Antalya, the Turkish minister of finance Mehmet Simsek has called for IMF quota reform.

Simsek says that such reform will be of great significance for emerging markets.

"Emerging markets now account for 50 percent of the global economy, and their voice should equally be reflected in all global financial architecture and governance. Emerging markets account for much of the growth in the past decade, particularly China, India, because of their size."He also said, in order to achieve the target of an extra two percent economic growth by G20 members set last year, a strong commitment to restructuring reforms was required.

Meanwhile, he gave enormous credit to China's proposal to establish an index to effectively evaluate the progress of structural reforms made by G20 members.

The current refugee crisis and rampant terrorism will also be discussed at the summit, as the issues are perceived to pose a threat to economic growth.

Antalya is well prepared for G20 SummitAs the host city of the 10th G20 Summit, Antalya says it's now well prepared for the summit which is due to be held on Sunday and Monday.

The mayor of the city, Menderes Turel, says the tourist industry of Antalya is expected to enter a new era because of holding the G20 Summit.

Meanwhile, he said China's relationship with Turkey will also be strengthened, becoming reliable partners to each other.

"Certainly, we have a healthy economic and trade relationship with China. We've always had a great relationship. Turkey has a goal to become the world's 10th, Europe's third economic entity by the year 2023, the year our country has been established for 100 years. We want to achieve this goal step by step. We also hope to walk this 'road' with China to achieve our goal."The city has assigned almost the same number of security guards as there are attendees to the summit, to secure the safety of the event.

China Still Attractive for InvestorsAnchor:

Latest surveys show despite a slowing economy, China is still a global magnet for inward investment.

CRI's Tu Yun has details.

Reporter:

Amid the shift to the so-called "New Normal," China's GDP growth slowed to 7.3 percent for last year, the lowest in over two decades.

And this figure is predicted to decline further this year, to even below 7 percent.

But Yoshihisa Tabata with the Japan External Trade Organization says the downturn is not enough to deter Japanese investors from making inroads into China.

"It's true that China's economic growth has been slowing, but few Japanese companies believe that the slowdown has had a significantly detrimental impact on the market. Many instead consider it as a part of the 'new normal' and are inclined to seize the opportunity to expand their businesses in the nation."While China is pursuing a slower but more stable growth, European enterprises are also showing strong interest in expanding their footprints in the world's second-largest economy.

Winfried Bostelmann with the German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses says there are still big opportunities in the country, especially for SMEs.

"German companies are very well aware that China is growing more and more, so the Chinese market for our companies, especially small German companies, small medium-sized enterprises. So they are highly specialized and they see a big opportunity in China. Nowadays, it's much more than possibly 10 years ago."Winfried says China's manufacturing, environmental protection, medical equipment, finance and education sectors are most promising.

"Areas actually our Germany companies are very much interested (in) is five industries and these five industries plan, years ahead, to invest more money. So there is more outgoing investment from Germany - that means FDIs for China."At the same time, Richard Bruton, Irish Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, says substantial outcomes are expected from growing Ireland-China business ties.

"We're seeing more businesspeople come here. Last year, 20 percent increase in the number of Irish companies doing business here. We're seeing more Chinese companies visiting Ireland. We have a joint Irish-Chinese technology fund, which is investing in high-growth, emerging companies. So I think we are seeing bonds built that will be, for the long-term, beneficial for the people in both China and Ireland. That's something that we are very determined to encourage and develop."Official statistics show that close to 19-thousand foreign-invested companies were established in China in the first 9 months of this year, up over 10 percent year on year.

Meanwhile, the amount of foreign capital actually used in the country grew 9 percent from a year earlier to surpass 580 billion yuan.

As the country became a net capital exporter for the first time last year, economists also suggest Chinese firms step up overseas investment, but in more diverse sectors - besides energy and mining.

For CRI, I'm Tu Yun.

China urges Japan to speak and act prudently over the Nansha IslandsChina has urged Japan to conform to the Potsdam Declaration and stop making irresponsible remarks about China's sovereignty over the Nansha Islands.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei made the call on Friday.

"China's construction activities on the Nansha Islands and reefs are within the limits of its sovereignty, without targeting and affecting any other countries. They are completely reasonable and lawful".

Hong stressed that Japan has no right to make what he called 'carping comments' on the sovereignty over the Nansha Island.

He noted that Japan once invaded and occupied islands and reefs in the South China Sea. But the Chinese government took them back after the Second World War.

"Japan committed itself to abiding by the related provisions of the Potsdam Declaration on the occasion of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations."The Potsdam Proclamation, issued by China, the United States and Britain in 1945, has been hailed as the cornerstone of post-war international order.

Expert: Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Also Significant for ASEANA senior Chinese expert says the newly launched Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Framework will also help form an economic community within the ASEAN bloc.

Han Feng is from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"A big concern faced by the ASEAN is the economic gap between its underdeveloped and developed member states. So it's important and urgent to help these underdeveloped countries to develp, and China can lend a big hand in this regard. And this will finally help with the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community."The framework was launched on Thursday after a meeting between foreign ministers from China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

It was the first-of-a-kind involving the six parties, connected by the Mekong River, known as the Lancang here in China.

It's mainly aimed at boosting cooperation in areas such as security, economy and sustainable development in the region.

China's Animal Populations Nearly Halved over Past 40 YearsA newly published report from the World Wildlife Fund shows the population of China's terrestrial vertebrates - which includes birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles - has declined by nearly half in the past 40 years.

It found amphibians and reptiles in the country declined at a staggering percentage, close to 98 percent in the period.

Habitat loss, pollution and climate change have been named as the biggest causes of the decline.

This is the WWF's fourth report since the first in 2008, focusing on the demands China is placing on nature.

It warns the Earth is experiencing one of the greatest biodiversity losses.

Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF International, says it's time to take decisive action.

"We are on an unsustainable development path that has a major impact on natural systems. And the wide decline (of animal population) is a main indicator of that impact that is particularly encouraging the Chinese government, but not just the Chinese government, the governments around the world, to take decisive actions against climate change."The report also warns that China's per capita ecological footprint, which is used to measure human demand for natural resources, was double the country's available capacity in 2010.

According to the report, it means the country was "unable to provide sufficient renewable resources and services for its population.

Myanmar's opposition wins right to independently form new governmentAung San Suu Kyi's opposition party has won the right to form a new government on its own, after securing enough seats in the two-House Union Parliament.

Myanmar's Union Election Commission announced the news on Friday, saying that the National League for Democracy had secured 348 seats in the two houses.

Nyan Win, the spokesman of the NLD, says that the outcome was expected.

"We already expected that to happen. In our lists, we knew already that we won. But as UEC lists are official, we had to wait for it. Now that the UEC has announced what we expected and I'm so glad. We will be able to work freely and I'm so happy about that."The NLD now has the right to nominate a president of the next government. But it is yet to disclose the name of the person it will select for the role.

According to Myanmar's constitution, NLD Chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi is forbidden from becoming president because some members of her family hold foreign citizenship.

Leaders of the current government, military and the ruling party have all voiced acceptance of the voters' decision.

Agreement Aims to Ease Africa-Europe MigrationAnchor:

Over fifty European and African leaders have signed an agreement at a two-day summit in Malta, increasing aid to Africa in exchange for help in managing the migrant crisis.

While the measures are meant to create more opportunities in Africa, plans to deport migrants are controversial.

CRI's Ira Spitzer reports from the summit in the Maltese capital, Valletta.

Reporter:

European leaders signed an agreement at the Valletta summit promising 1.8 billion euros of aid to African countries.

But for that money, they also expecting something in return - help and slowing the flow of African migrants.

As tensions rise in Europe, the migrant crisis may be the threatening one of the pillars of the EU - the borderless Schengen zone between member states.

Donald Tusk is the president of European Council.

"The recent developments in Germany, in Sweden, in Slovenia, and in other countries, all show with utmost clarity the huge pressure member states are facing. Saving Schengen is a race against time. And we are determined to win that race."But while some of the African leaders said they welcomed the help from Europe, there was also skepticism that the money would make much of a difference.

Barnaba Marial Benjamin is the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister of Republic of South Sudan.

"The fund is of course not enough - what is it? one billion dollars? euros? it's not enough. I think more commitment from Europe is important. Immigration can really be controlled."Countries like Eritrea where many migrants come from are already dealing with the extreme poverty and lack of a functional government.

In fact African countries have to deal with much larger number of migrants on their own continent than the 120,000 or so who have made the dangerous crossing to Europe this year.

The agreement also lays out controversial plans to return migrants in Europe back to their countries of origins, with the idea that it would start by the end of next year.

The fund though is supposed to increase education and employment opportunities and European and African leaders also discussed opening more paths to legal migration.

For CRI, this is Ira Spitzer in MaltaIndia PM Modi Makes a Big Push for British InvestmentDuring his official visit to the UK, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been promoting his "Make in India" initiative, saying that his government is taking steps to encourage greater overseas investment in his country.

Modi made the remarks during a speech to an audience of business people at the Guildhall, an historic building in the heart of London's financial district.

On the subject of intellectual property rights, a long standing concern for investors, Modi said his government was working hard to improve the situation:

"I am personally convinced and want to assure you that India is committed to protect intellectual property rights of all innovators and entrepreneurs. We have taken several initiatives for transparency and online processing in IPR administration. A comprehensive National IPR policy is being finalized,"India has a poor record on protecting Intellectual property rights. Many international companies, including those from the United States, have long complained about India's lack of concrete measures to protect them.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister David Cameron has expressed his willingness to support Modi in his efforts to transform India with help to improve infrastructure and education.

In response, India has developed a system of Tax Free Infrastructure Bonds for projects involving railways, roads and in other sectors.

The two sides are poised to sign over $13 billion of trade deals.

They also say they'll work together to promote clean energy, with a package worth 3.2 billion pounds of commercial agreements, joint research programs and initiatives to share technical, scientific and financial and policy expertise.

ALMA and world observatories join hands to create virtual earth-sized telescopeAnchor:

Chile's ALMA observatory says it is joining forces with other space observatories around the world to create a virtual earth-sized telescope capable of visualising objects on the moon.

CRI's Luo Bin reports.

Reporter:

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, or ALMA, is considered to be one of the largest astronomical observatories in the world.

It is joining up with institutes across Europe and North America to develop technology known as very long baseline interferometry, or VLBI.

The technology works by combining data gathered by two or more telescopes, creating a virtual telescope with a collection dish equal in size to the geographical distance between them.

Three VLBI tests have been conducted in conjunction with other international telescopes, a key step towards the observatory's integration in the Event Horizon Telescope project.

Head of ALMA operations at ALMA observatory, Lars-Ake Nyman, explains how their multi-national operation can provide a network of telescopes big enough to create a virtual earth-sized telescope.

"In various countries in the world there exist millimetre telescopes that can take millimetre radiation coming from objects in the universe. So there are telescopes in Europe like in Finland and in Sweden and Germany in France and in Spain, also in the United States, Hawaii, and Antarctica. And, there is the possibility to join all these telescopes, in what's called the VLBI (very long baseline interferometry) network to do these types of observations."The project, which involves a global network of telescopes, serves scientists studying the supermassive black hole believed to be located in the centre of the Milky Way galaxy.

For ALMA to take part in the VLBI project, it had to upgrade its equipment in order for each of its telescopes to function in unison as a single radio dish 85 meters in diameter.

In this way, it could be integrated into the global network, working in turn as a single telescope.

Nyman says this is exciting news for astronomers.

"So I mean it's fantastic that all these countries are working together and they can form the status quo because with this telescope your form a telescope the size of the earth more-or-less when it comes to resolution and images. You can study very distant objects in much detail, and also closer objects, like the centre of our Milky Way, the Black Hole, can almost be resolved with these types of observations."The first test was carried out in January this year, when one of the ALMA telescopes was linked to the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment telescope two kilometres away.

During a further test in August, ALMA linked up with six antennas of the U.S. National Radio Astronomy Observatory, to create a telescope capable of detecting a quasar located at a distance of 7.8 billion light years, or more than half the distance to the observable "edge" of the universe.

For CRI, I'm Luo Bin.

Astrophysicist Amped for Collision between Space Junk and EarthSpace scientists from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center say a piece space junk known as WT1190-F was due to hit the Earth today.

The event was expected to visible this Friday.

McDowell, is a member of Harvard-Smithsonian research group. He spoke earlier:

"We don't have any control over the object. It's just some dead piece of metal that we put up there years ago. Most space junk that re-enters is coming in skimming the earth's atmosphere very flat, and we don't know where it will land. This one's coming in almost vertically, so we know exactly when it's going to hit, at around 06:20 Greenwich Mean Time on the 13th, a little after 14 hours Beijing time,"Astrophysics says this unusual collision is being seen as "a dress rehearsal for the day when an asteroid rolls in".

WT1190-F was first spotted in early 2013, but scientists suspect it may have been in orbit around the Earth since 2009. So far, scientists have discovered little information about the object.

WeatherBeijing will be overcast and also hazy tonight with a low of 6, the hazy and cloudy weather will continue tomorrow with a high of 9.

Shanghai will be overcast tonight with a low of 14, cloudy tomorrow, high of 18.

Chongqing will be cloudy with a low of 14, tomorrow will have slight rain, high of 20.

Lhasa will be cloudy with a low of minus 1, tomorrow will be cloudy with a high of 14.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 25.

Kabul, cloudy, 10.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, slight rain, high of 20,Brisbane,also rainy,29,Perth, cloudy, 36,And finally Auckland, New Zealand will be cloudy with a high of 18 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsAbe says to seek closer economic ties with China, S. Korea through reaching FTAJapanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed his willingness to strengthen economic ties with China and South Korea through the realization of a free trade agreement.

He made the remarks at a reception for Japanese and Chinese business leaders on Thursday.

Abe said he hoped that Japan and China in unison can spearhead the proposed three-way economic enterprise between the Asian powerhouses.

Noting that Japan, China and South Korea together account for 20 percent of global GDP, Abe said talks to bring the three-way free trade agreement to fruition should be expedited.

S.Korea's Park urges Abe to Decide on Wartime Sex Slavery IssueSouth Korean President Park Geun-hye has urged Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to make a decision on the issue of comfort women.

Park said in a joint written interview with eight news agencies that the issue was not just a bilateral matter between South Korea and Japan, but about the universal human rights of women.

She urged Abe to solve the issue as soon as possible because surviving victims were passing away - only 47 are still alive in South Korea.

Park and Abe agreed to speed up talks on the issue during their first-ever one-on-one meeting earlier this month.

Following the summit in Seoul, diplomats from both sides have held the 10th round of talks over the dispute, ending without agreement.

Myanmar's opposition wins right to independently form new governmentAung San Suu Kyi's party has won the right to form a new government on its own, after securing enough seats in the two-House Union Parliament.

Myanmar's election commission announced the news on Friday, saying that the National League for Democracy had secured 348 seats in the two houses.

Now, the NLD has the right to nominate a president of the next government. But it is yet to disclose the name of the person it will select for the role.

According to Myanmar's constitution, NLD Chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi is forbidden from becoming president because some members of her family hold foreign citizenship.

Leaders of the current government, military and the ruling party have all voiced acceptance of the voters' decision.

UK Brings in Chinese Partner to Push Forward Flagship Genomics ProjectA British genomics company has signed a contract with a Chinese company as a clinical partner in a flagship genomes project in Britain.

Genomics England, owned by the British government, was set up to sequence 100,000 whole genomes from local patients with rare diseases and their families.

Genomics England would work with China's WuXi NextCODE to drive up the quality of interpreting genomic data, so as to better understand disease and personalize care for patients.

Genomics England said the Chinese company's sequence analysis platform will help return high quality variant interpretation results back to clinicians and make a direct impact on patient care.

Biz ReportAnchor:

Time to check today's business news, starting with the closing numbers here in China.

Markets on the mainland extended their fall on Friday despite strong performances of securities shares.

The Shanghai Composite Index at one point fell by nearly 2 percent in the morning session.

Losses quickly narrowed on strong securities shares, but the upbeat sentiment in the sector failed to boost the broader market.

Recently listed companies were the day's biggest losers, with 80 firms slumping by the daily limit of 10 percent.

While new energy vehicles continued to make good gains.

At the close, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.4 percent.

The smaller Shenzhen index sank 1.9 percent.

The ChiNext Index of growth enterprises tumbled 2.6 percent.

While in Hong Kong, stocks fell with the benchmark Heng Seng Index dropping 2.2 percent.

Elsewhere in Asia,Tokyo shares ended the last trading day of the week lower as U.S. and European shares lost ground overnight dampening investor sentiment amid rising concerns about the health of the global economy.

Decliners were utilities, shipping and mining-linked shares.

The benchmark Nikkei lost half of a percent.

South Korea's KOSPI trimmed one percent.

Singapore's Straights Times index declined 1.1 percent.

Finally in Australia,Shares there ended their worst week in two months, weighed heavily by resources stocks as BHP Billiton hit a new 10-year low.

The benchmark ASX/200 was down 1.5 percent.

China protects consumers of financial productsChina's cabinet has released guidelines on ensuring better legal protection for consumers of financial products.

Under the guidelines, financial institutions must keep customer data secure and respect customers' independent choices of financial products.

Financial products will be rated by risk and complexity and according to customers preferences, perception and risk tolerance.

Financial institutions are also advised to use simple language when disclosing information that may affect customers decisions and when explaining risks.

China is currently awash with a variety of financial products, and some substandard or even illegal products have caused conflicts between providers and consumers.

Last year, the number of legal cases concerning investments and wealth management products surged 616 percent, with the total value reaching 8.6 billion U.S. dollars.

JD.com forms JV with Otto Group to sell foreign brands to ChinaChina's leading online retailer JD.com has formed a joint venture with Germany's Otto Group to sell more overseas brands in China.

The Germany-based new venture, named Zitra, will help international brands keen to sell to Chinese consumers via the internet through marketing, IT, logistics and post-sales services.

Financial details of the new company have not been revealed.

The Otto Group is the largest online retailer for fashion and lifestyle in Europe.

JD.com has expanded its offerings of global brands to cater to Chinese consumers' growing appetite for imported products.

The company opened JD Worldwide earlier this year, selling only imported products from baby formula milk and fresh seafood to luxury clothing and cosmetics.

Huaneng Power plans $736 mln share sale to repay bank loansChina's Huaneng Power International has announced plans to sell 736 million U.S. dollars worth of new H-shares to repay loans and fund business development.

The firm is the listed division of China's biggest power generator Huaneng Group.

Citic CLSA Securities has been named as the agent for the sale.

HPI is going to sell 780 million new shares, about 5.1 percent of its total number of issued shares - at about 7.3 Hong Kong dollars each.

The price represents a 9.5 percent discount on Thursday's closing price in Hong Kong.

Following the announcement, HPI's shares in Hong Kong dropped 7.5 percent in Friday morning's trading session.

The company last sold new shares over a year ago when it sold 365 million shares and raised about 390 million U.S. dollars.

GM to Sell Chinese-made Cars in the U.S.:ReportU.S. automaker General Motors is reportedly going to sell Chinese-made cars in the United States starting early next year.

GM is said to be ready to introduce the Buick Envision, a mid-size SUV made in Shandong province, into the U.S. market.

The report says GM　initially intends to import between 30-thousand and 40-thousand Envisions to the U.S., where demand for pickups and SUVs has been strong amid low fuel prices.

If the move went ahead, it would add a third SUV to Buick's lineup in the U.S., joining the South Korean-built Encore, and the Enclave, built in Michigan.

Buick is one of GM's most popular brands in China, where its sells roughly four times as many as in North America.

Hong Kong commercial landmarks sold at record pricesTwo large companies from the Chinese mainland have bought two Hong Kong landmarks, paying record prices for both.

Guangzhou-based Evergrande Real Estate Group has agreed to pay 12.5 billion Hong Kong dollars or about 1.6 billion U.S. dollars for the Mass Mutual Tower in Wan Chai owned by local tycoon Joseph Lau's Chinese Estate Holdings.

Meanwhile, China Life Insurance has bought Wheelock and Co.'s One Harbour Gate West office tower and retail premises in Hung Hom for nearly 5.9 billion Hong Kong dollars.

The Mass Mutual Tower deal broke the record for the most expensive building sold in Hong Kong in terms of both the lump sum and price per square foot.

Chinese bank lending lower than expectedAnchor:

Data from China's central bank shows banks in China lent less than expected in October amid sluggish corporate demand and banks' concerns over credit quality.

New yuan loans totaled around 513 billion yuan or about 81 billion U.S. dollars last month, which is about half September's figure.

Aggregate financing dropped to 476.7 billion yuan in October from 1.3 trillion yuan in September.

Aggregate financing is the broadest measure of credit supply that includes loans, bank acceptance bills, corporate bonds and equity financing.

The weak financing figures are in line with October data pointing to cooling economic momentum.

For more on this, CRI's Lincoln Van der Westhuizen earlier spoke to Cao Can, CEO of Shengya Capital.

SportsGolf: Lucas Bjerregaard takes lead at BMW Masters in ShanghaiIn golf,Norway's Lucas Bjerregaard has jumped into the lead after Round-2 of the BMW Masters in Shanghai, carding another 6-under-66 today to move to minus-12.

Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee and first-round leader Sergio Garcia sit 2nd at minus-9.

Garcia, after carding a blistering first round 8-under-64, struggled today on his back-9, bogeying the par-3 12th, then double-bogeying the following par-5 13th after finding the water to erase the 3 birdies he made on the front-9.

He finished the day at minus-1.

Englishmen Ian Poulter and Paul Casey, along with South Korean Ahn Byeong-hun are tied for 3rd at minus-8.

--At the PGA stop in Mexico,Justin Leonard and 3 others share a tie for the lead at 6-under after round-1 of the OHL Classic at Mayakoba.

--And in Mexico City,Inbee Park has the lead at the LPGA's Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

It's the South Korean's first action since she pulled out of the stop in Hainan two weeks ago because of a problem with one of her fingers.

Park comes into the 2nd-to-last event of the season in 2nd place in the world rankings after New Zealand's Lydia Ko surpassed her after winning in Taiwan last month.

Ko is not taking part in this week's event in Mexico.

She, along with mainland golfers Feng Shanshan and Lin Xiyu, are resting this week in preparation for the LPGA Championships next weekend in Flordia.

Football: China keeps World Cup hopes aliveIn football,The Chinese squad has kept its 2018 World Cup hopes alive in resounding fashion, destroying Bhutan last night 12-nil.

The thrashing in Changsha gives the boys from the mainland 10-points in 5 matches, and also gives them a plus-20 goal differential.

It's an important stat to consider, as the mainland squad is set for a possible do-or-die match this coming week as they take on the boys from Hong Kong.

--Hong Kong has maintained its 2nd place position in Group C, edging the Maldives last night in Male 1-nil.

This gives Hong Kong 13-points in 6-matches, meaning Tuesday night's match down in Mongkok could well decide who might find their way to Russia and who will be watching at home..

If the mainland squad can get past Hong Kong next week, they will level with points, but will move into 2nd in the group by virtue of goal differential, as Hong Kong only sits at plus-10.

The top-2 teams from each group move into the next qualifying round.

--In other Group C action from earlier today, it was Qatar all but assuring they'll move into the next stage of qualifying, dumping the Maldives 4-nil this morning in Doha.

Qatar moves to 5-0, and will be up against lowly Bhutan this coming Tuesday in Thimphu.

That all-but-guaranteed victory will secure their way into the next round.

--In other action from the Asian qualifiers last night,Chinese Taipei is all-but-assured of not making it through, going down to Thailand 4-2 last night in Bangkok.

The boys from the island are winless in all 4 of their qualifying matches, and will have to beat both Vietnam and Iraq in their last 2 matches, and have both those clubs lose all the rest of theirs if they have any hope of making it through.

--It was Australia blanking Kyrgyzstan 3-nil.

A win by the Aussies next Tuesday in Bangladesh all but assures their trip to the next round.

--South Korea blanked Myanmar 4-nil to maintain their perfect record atop Group G.

--Japan maintained its 1st place position in Group E, shutting out Singapore 3-nil.

--The top team in Asia, Iran, held off Turkmenistan 3-1 at home to level with Oman at 11-points atop Group D.

--Across the city in Tehran, it was Afghanistan - which plays out of Tehran - dumping Cambodia 3-nil.

Neither of those clubs have a shot at moving on.

--The Philippines was handed a virtual death-blow in their hopes of making it through, going down to Yemen 1-nil last night in Manila.

This Philippine side is in a dire situation now after Uzbekistan upset Group H leaders North Korea 3-1 last night in Tashkent.

So unless the Philippines can defeat both Group H 2nd place side Uzbekistan and Group leaders North Korea in their final 2 matches, they will not be moving through.

--Tajikistan blanked Bangladesh 5-nil last night in a mean-nothing match, as neither has a shot at moving on.

--India edged Guam 1-nil in Bangalore for its first victory in another mean-nothing affair.

--Palestine has kept its World Cup hopes alive, thumping Malaysia last night 6-nil to maintain pace with the UAE, who hammered Timor-Leste last night 8-nil.

The UAE sits 2nd in Group A with 10-points, one point ahead of the Palestinians, but with a match-in-hand.

--And it was Lebanon keeping its hopes alive, hammering Laos 7-nil earlier this morning in Beiruit.

That moves the Lebanese side up to a tie with Kuwait in Group G for 2nd on points.

However, the Kuwaities do have a match-in-hand this coming Tuesday against Myanmar.

NFL: Rex Ryan gets revenge as Bills take down JetsWeek 10 of the National Football League season is underway.

The Thursday-night matchup has seen Rex Ryan get his revenge.

The former head coach of the New York Jets, who was sacked at the end of last season, helped guide his new team, the Buffalo Bills, to a 22-17 win this morning on his return to the Meadowlands.

The win moves Buffalo into 2nd place in the AFC East at 5-4.

The Jets are also 5-4, but move down to 3rd in the AFC East by virute of the head-to-head loss.

Top Chinese women's shuttler upset at China OpenIn badminton action from the China Open,Quarter-final action taking place today, which saw a solid Friday for the Chinese men.

Top seed Chen Long is through to the semi-finals after downing Kenichi Tago from Japan in straight sets.

He's set to take on Wang Zhengming in the semi's after he downed a competitor from India in straight-sets as well.

On the other side of the bracket, 2nd seeded Chen Jin needed a 3rd set to get past compatriot Gao Huan.

Chen will take on Malaysia's Chong Wei Feng in the other semi-final.

---On the women's side,A major upset today, as top-seeded Wang Yihan has been bounced from the China Open.

She went down to German 5th seed Juliane Schenk this afternoon.

After downing Schenk 21-19 in the first set, the German rallied, winning the last two sets 21-16, 21-17 to advance into the semi-finals.

She'll be up against a Thai shuttler tomorrow.

On the other side of the women's singles draw, 2nd seed Li Xuerui also had a bit of a scare.

She dropped her first set to fellow Chinese shuttler Han Li, but regained her composure, hamming Han 21-7, 21-5 in the final two sets to move on.

Tennis: Wang Qiang into Hua Hin semi-finalsIn tennis,Rising Chinese women's tennis player Wang Qiang is through to the semi-finals of the WTA Challenger event in Hua Hin, Thailand.

The 23-year old from Tianjin managed to gut-out a grueling win over Hsieh Su-wei from Taiwan today.

Despite winning in straight-sets, 6-3, 6-2, the seemingly lop-sided score doesn't reflect the match itself, as it took nearly 2-hours-10 minutes for Wang Qiang to finally best the double's specialist from Kaohsiung.

Wang will be up against Japan's Naomi Osaka, after she downed Chinese teenager Liu Fangzhou in a 3-set battle.

On the other side of the draw, 26-year old Duan Yingying from Tianjin is in action tonight in Hua Hin against Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova.

Basketball: Golden State with 10th straight winIn basketball,The Golden State Warriors' amazing run continues to roll-on in the NBA.

Stephen Curry went 15-for-25, including eight 3-pointers to give the defending champions their 10th win in a row, rolling over Minnesota 129-116.

Curry, the reigning league MVP, has hit 52 3-pointers so far this season, which is more than 3 different teams in the league have hit so far this season.

The Warriors should be poised to make it 11-in-a-row as they head home to take on the lowly Brooklyn Nets on Sunday morning, Beijing-time.

--There were just 2 other games this morning in the NBA.

It was the Miami Heat squeezing out their 3rd straight win, holding off the Utah Jazz 92-91.

--And it was the Phoenix Suns snapping a 2-game losing streak, shutting down Blake Griffin and the LA Clippers at home 118-104.

The Suns held Griffin, who is averaging over 27-points a game, to just 11 this afternoon.

---------Here in China,A full slate tonight in the CBA, with all 20-teams in action.

Hockey: Rangers win 7th straightIn action from the National Hockey League,The New York Rangers' hot streak continues.

Mats Zuccarello with a goal and two assists, one of 6 Rangers with multiple points on the day, to lead New York to a 6-3 win over the visiting St. Louis Blues.

The Rangers have won 7-straight, and are 9-0-1 in their last 10-games, topping the Metropolitan Division with 26-points.

--The Washington Capitals have managed to keep pace with the Rangers in the Metropolitan, dumping the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 in Philly.

--It was New Jersey continuing its strong start to the season, getting past the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 in Chicago.

--Dallas doubled up on Winnipeg 6-3.

--Arizona thumped Edmonton 4-1.

--Toronto won its 2nd game in a row, but only their 4th of the season, as they got past Nashville 2-1 in a shootout.

--It was Ottawa edging Vancouver 3-2.

--Tampa Bay dumped Calgary 3-1.

--Buffalo has moved up to .500 on the season with their 3rd-straight, edging Florida 3-2.

--Jason Zucker scored his 2nd of the game in overtime to give Minnesota a 3-2 win over Carolina.

--Colorado got past Boston 3-2.

--And out west, it was the LA Kings jumping into 1st place in the Pacific division with a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders.

EntertainmentChinese Singer Yin Xiangjie Arrested for Drug Offence againChinese singer Yin Xiangjie, was arrested by Beijing police for drug offences on Thursday.

The 46-year-old singer was caught at an apartment in Beijing's Chaoyang DistrictA few grams of drugs, and drug-taking equipment were found at the scene.

Yin's drug urine test also proved positive.

He has confessed to illegally possessing and taking drugs. Yun was detained for drug-abusing last December and was only discharged from prison this July.

The singer shot to fame after singing "Boat Tracker's Love" in 1993, featuring fellow singer Yu Wenhua.

He was once appointed as the publicity volunteer for an anti-drug campaign in 2007.

 "Spectre" premieres in Beijing last nightAs if there wasn't enough going on in Beijing last night with the Hunger Games cast turning out in force - Bond actors Lea Seydoux and Daniel Craig also stepped before the media for the premiere of the latest film, Spectre.

Bond girl Lea was as glamorous as ever in a plunging and revealing white gown, with leading man Daniel Craig looking dapper as always in a smart black frock coat at the event held at The Place, in the Central Business District in Beijing.

Craig talked about his feelings on taking on the role of Bond for the forth time.

"i was just tremendously excited. Sam Mendes came back to direct this movie. we had an amazing time on skyfall. I thought we still have a big story to tell. Spectre is really a way to celebrate Bond. We are all incredibly proud of it. "Chinese singer Zhang Liangying who performs "Spectre"'s promotional song "Writing's On The Wall" also attended the premiere.

Spectre managed to smash all box office records in its first week, raking in an eye-watering ?42 million after it was released in the UK on October 26.

China's River Road adjudged winner at Colombo International Film FestivalThe Chinese movie, River Road has won the Best Asian Film category at the Colombo International Film Festival, which was held in the Sri Lankan capital this week.

The international film festival organized by the Film Directors' Guild of Sri Lanka and partnered by Ceylon Theatres and National Film Corporation, showcased films from a variety of countries and varied cinematic disciplines.

The main goal of the event is to promote Sri Lankan cinema globally and to introduce internationally recognized art-house movies which would not be commercially released in local cinemas.

This year's festival had two competitive streams for feature films, under the categories "Asian" and "Sri Lankan."Ten critically acclaimed films produced across Asia in 2014 and 2015 were short listed to compete in the final round of the Asian category of the film competition.

China's River Road emerged the grand winner on the night. It was directed by Li Ruijun and portrays the journey of two little brothers from a forgotten minority tribe in northern China, in search of their homeland of water and meadows.

Adele's 21 ranked America's biggest hit albums, the Beatles Biggest ActAdele's smash-hit release 21 has been ranked the top American Billboard 200 album.

The soundtrack to the Sound of Music, which celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this year, comes in second place on the new list, the first time Billboard has ranked top albums and artists in one signature chart.

Michael Jackson's Thriller completes the top three with 37 weeks in first place and 78 weeks in the top 10.

WeatherBeijing will be overcast and also hazy tonight with a low of 6, the hazy and cloudy weather will continue tomorrow with a high of 9.

Shanghai will be overcast tonight with a low of 14, cloudy tomorrow, high of 18.

Chongqing will be cloudy with a low of 14, tomorrow will have slight rain, high of 20.

Lhasa will be cloudy with a low of minus 1, tomorrow will be cloudy with a high of 14.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 25.

Kabul, cloudy, 10.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, slight rain, high of 20,Brisbane,also rainy,29,Perth, cloudy, 36,And finally Auckland, New Zealand will be cloudy with a high of 18 degrees Celsius.

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

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

Chinese President Xi Jinping preparing to travel to Turkey for this weekend's G20 Summit.

The opposition in Myanmar has secured enough parliamentary seats to for the country's next government.

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