The Beijing Hour

 

Evening Edition

 

 

It's Friday November 20, 2015. This is Bob Jones.

And this is Paul James, Welcome to the Beijing Hour, live from the Chinese capital... Coming up on the program this evening...

170 people being held hostage by gunmen at a luxury hotel in Mali's capital Bamako.

APEC Ecomonic leaders wrap up their summit in Manila pledging greater inclusive growth .

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrives in Malaysia for talks amid great hopes for China's Belt and Road initiative

In business... The People's Bank of China cuts a key interest rate.

In sports... Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray battle for the last slot in the ATP Final's semis.

In entertainment... The STORM Festival is set to elecrify Shenzhen .

 

 

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 News

 

 

Gunmen hold hostages in Mali hotel attack

 

Gunmen are said to be holding around 170 people hostage at a luxury hotel in Mali's capital Bamako.

The Chinese embassy has confirmed around 10 Chinese nationals are among the hostages at the Radisson hotel, which is frequented by foreigners.

A spokeperson for the hotel chain says the gunmen have "locked in" 140 guests and 30 employees.

Malian police and soldiers are now on the scene.

Officials in Bamako say 10 gunmen stormed the hotel Friday morning shouting "Allahu Akbar" or "God is great" in Arabic before firing on the guards and taking hostages.

Mali has been dealing with an Islamic insurgency following a 2012 military coup which allowed militants, which had been operating in the country's northern regions, to seize control of large swaths of Mali's Sahel region.

Although a peace agreement was signed in June of this year, certain cities in the north are still controlled by insurgent forces.

So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Chinese embassy is advising Chinese citizens in Bamako to stay indoors if they can.

 

 

APEC economic leaders highlight inclusive growth

 

This year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting has wrapped up in Manila.

Leaders of the 21-member economies have issued a joint declaration, vowing to build inclusive economies by supporting comprehensive and ambitious structural reforms.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III says the declaration has also offered guidance for developing the regions' service sector:

"The services sector is becoming a more important part of the economic equation. It makes up approximately two-thirds of the GDP in the APEC region. And we need to put more emphasis and thought into making this sector even more competitive. This framework will lead a goal-driven road map for us to achieve over the next decade to help the sector thrive."

The leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to endorsing the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific.

APEC leaders also called for increased international cooperation and solidarity in fighting terrorism, with this year's meeting held against a backdrop of terror attacks around the world.

This year's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting was the 23nd of its kind.

The next annual meeting is scheduled to be held in Peru.

 

 

Xi's speech push for Asia-Pacific free trade area

 

A number of observers going over Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech at the APEC leaders meeting this week in Manila are suggesting economic inclusiveness is one of the highlights.

Richard Heydarian with De La Salle University in the Philippines says he believes the President's speech is suggesting China wants to take on a more active economic role in the region.

"So China has the technology, has the companies, has the resources, and the AIIB, I think, will be a good mechanism for China to properly resource out those capabilities. It is way more than China growing at 20 percent like ten years ago because the size of the Chinese economy is so huge that even a few percentage growth are pivotal to prosperity in the region."

Former Russian diplomat Vladmir Zakharov says the Chinese President's speech has been closely watched in other parts of the world as well.

"Chinese President Xi Jinping's attendance to the APEC summit and a series of complicated negotiations at the meetings showed the world a brand new image of China about its opinions on politics and economy. I think the most important expectation is the new gathering of leaders of the APEC economies, and new initiatives they may propose, especially Chinese initiatives on promoting the integration of countries in the Asia-Pacific Region, which is more important as the whole world is watching carefully about the role of Chinese new leaders."

This year's APEC Leaders' meeting has concluded with a joint declaration, reaffirming a previous APEC commitment to build an open economy in the region.

 

 

Xi offers solutions to global growth, Asia-Pacific development at G20, APEC summits: Chinese FM

 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says President Xi Jinping's attendance at the two multilateral summits has demonstrated China's constructive attitude towards promoting global growth and advancing Asia-Pacific cooperation.

Wang's remarks came after President Xi expounded China's proposals on the world economy and Asia-Pacific development at the G20 summit in Antalya and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Meeting in Manila.

In dealing with the problems caused by uneven development and the deficiencies of the existing economic governance mechanism, Xi urged all G20 members and APEC economies to build an open economy and implement the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

Xi also elaborated on China's development blueprint for the next five years, saying China will adhere to a path of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development.

 

 

Observers: China's "Belt and Road" Initiatives to enhance China- ASEAN connectivity

 

Anchor:

　　

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has arrived in Malaysia for a series of meetings aimed at addressing development in southeast Asia.

During his time in Kuala Lumpur, Li Keqiang is scheduled to meet leaders from ASEAN member states, South Korea and Japan.

It's the first time Li has visited Malaysia as Chinese Premier. His official visit will come to an end on Monday.

Ahead of Premier Li's four-day trip, industry observers are saying that the China-proposed "Belt and Road" initiatives could further boost China-ASEAN cooperation.

CRI's Wang Mengzhen has the details.

Reporter:

Back in October, 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed building a close-knit China-ASEAN community under the guidance of a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road to promote maritime cooperation.

The initiative fits well with the ASEAN Master Plan for Connectivity adopted in 2010, aimed at enhancing the region's infrastructure and institutional connections.

Abdul Majid Ahmad Khan, President of Malaysia-China Friendship Association, says the "Belt and Road" initiative will be a boon for trade relations between the two sides in the near future.

"I think to me, the next 5 years are very optimistic. The connectivity between ASEAN and China will be totally different from what we see today. First of course, we talk about connectivity in communication in terms of air links, land and also by sea. In future, there will be the new interaction and connectivity between the Chinese people and the ASEAN people to improve tourism."

China has been ASEAN's largest trade partner since 2009, with ASEAN ranking as China's third-largest trade partner since 2011.

Bilateral trade between China and the ASEAN members is expected to hit 500 billion US dollars by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, it has been five years since the China-ASEAN free trade area was set up, eliminating tariffs on 90 percent of imported goods.

Bong Hon Liong, President of the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce, has suggested China's "Belt and Road" initiative could help realize a more integrated ASEAN community.

"The first thing is financing connectivity, which requires each nation to be more open to foreign investment. Secondly, there should be more cooperation on policy, including the signing of more inter-governmental deals. The other two aspects are tighter links between each others's infrastructure and goods. As such, people in related countries could enjoy more choices of commodities."

However, Professor Tang Zhimin from Panyapiwat Institute of Management in Thailand, believes that there's still a long way to go before the ideas contained within the "Belt and Road" initiatives can be carried out.

Professor Tang says the implementation process requires joint efforts from both governments and enterprises.

"The Belt and Road Initiatives is no doubt important to ASEAN's economic development. But we need to hammer out how to turn these ideas into concrete plans. In doing so, we will consider the establishment of governmental mechanisms within the region. Then, we will also study on how to connect the 'Belt and Road' with ASEAN's Master Plan for Connectivity in terms of funding and institutional building."

Last year, the China-ASEAN Information Harbor was jointly established as a focus for Internet connectivity between the two sides.

By the end of this year, the ten ASEAN countries are expected to form the ASEAN Community, aimed at closer integration through political security, economic and socio-cultural links.

The new community will help provide more potential for China and ASEAN cooperation in infrastructure construction and cross-border trade.

For CRI, I am Wang Mengzhen.

 

 

Chinese premier's signed article published in newspapers of Malaysia

 

An article written by the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has been published by the major Malaysian newspapers ahead of his trip to the Southeast Asian country.

In the article, Premier Li said China and Malaysia were standing at a new starting point for development in relations, and should continue to view and grow bilateral ties from a strategic perspective.

Last year marked the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia.

In the article, Premier Li says, over the past 40 years, cooperation between the two countries has set a good example of friendly exchanges between countries in the region.

 

 

China conducts military drills in South China Sea

 

The Chinese navy says it has conducted drills that simulate war in "certain waters" in the South China Sea.

The exercises involved warships, carrier-based helicopters and submarines from the country's three major fleets.

The navy says it is a regular annual naval drill that mainly focuses on anti-submarine warfare.

But it declined to detail the exact time and places for the maneuvers.

 

 

China Publishes Marriage Status Report

 

Anchor:

A new survey here in China is suggesting that while trends surrounding marriage in China have been changing, traditional values are still engrained in China when it comes to people finding a mate.

CRI's Luo Yu has more.

Reporter:

The report shows the current average age at which Chinese people get married remains at 26.

About 75 percent of men got married between the ages of 25 and 34, while more than 90 per cent of women found their husbands before turning 30 years old.

Close to 55 percent of those surveyed got to know their spouses with the help of friends, while people born after 1980 depended more on the internet to find their match, more than any other age groups.

Sociologist Li Song says attitudes towards marriage among Chinese people have changed over the past decades.

"People born in the 1960s are more eager to have a stable life, spouses born in the next decade think more about how to improve marriage. The post-1980s generation appear to be more romantic, while those born after 1990 want more recognition from their marriage partners."

The report shows most couples still follow the tradition that wives do most of the housework while husbands think more about the family's financial status.

The rate of pre-marriage cohabitation among couples born after 1980 exceeds 57 percent, 10 percent higher than in earlier generations.

Contrary to expectations, only around 15 percent of those surveyed considered wealth a key criteria for selecting a spouse, while more than 90 percent said that they put more emphasis on a sense of responsibility and emotional intelligence when looking for a potential partner.

Sociologist Li Song says there is something that can be found in every happy family.

"Couples with a strong sense of happiness usually spend much more time together raising and educating their children. They share equal responsibility when dealing with family matters and taking care of their parents."

The survey results also show that just over 45 percent of respondents married partners from their own area, a figure that has decreased during China's urbanization process.

As expected, loyalty is still seen as the most important factor for maintaining a healthy marriage.

More than 80 percent of those surveyed said they had never considered divorce.

Love and marriage expert Chen Xu suggests, besides mutual trust, responsibility is also vital for a stable marriage.

"People, especially those at a young age, should take it seriously when making the decision to get married or have a baby. Divorce is not a perfect option in the face of a marriage crisis. Young people should learn to be more responsible after getting married."

The report was published by the China Association of Marriage and Family Studies.

Over 10,000 responses were collected, spanning 10 major Chinese cities, including Beijing and Guangzhou.

For CRI, I'm Luo Yu.

 

 

High-Rise Injury Case Shines Spotlight on Social Morality in China

 

Anchor:

Debate is brewing here in China about how liable property owners in a residental complex should be when it comes to injuries or damage caused by objects being thrown from windows.

CRI's Victor Ning explains.

Reporter:

On a November afternoon last year, a discarded cement block fell from an eleven-story apartment building in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. It hit a 44-day-old baby on the ground and left her with severe injuries.

The perpetrator could not be identified, so the girl's parents sued owners of all 128 units in the building. A local court ruled in early November that the apartment owners should collectively compensate the girl's family with nearly 400-thousand yuan, or 62-thousand USD dollars.

Local Judge Sun Jiao explains the court's decision.

"The decision was based on our national laws. It is a way of allocating aid and compensation to the family of the injured. It does not mean that all defendants caused the injury, but under the special circumstances of the case, it is a way of securing compensation, within our legal framework."

According to Chinese law, when a fallen or discarded object from a building causes injuries or damages, the building's occupants are deemed responsible unless they can prove otherwise.

The plaintiff's lawyer says the family has incurred significant costs relating to the girl's treatment and recovery.

As expected, the ruling was not well received by some of the building's residents.

"I live on the third floor. I wasn't even at home when the incident happened. I don't understand why the family is asking for compensation from all of us."

"We won't pay the compensation at all. It is okay if they ask for donations. But it is not fair. We will appeal the ruling."

Some of the apartment owners have submitted evidence that they were not home or living in those apartments at the time of the incident. But the court says none of the evidence could sufficiently prove the defendants' claims. The court says if the perpetrator was found in the future, the current defendants will be exonerated.

The girl's father, a man surnamed He, says he understands the controversy surrounding the case, but is satisfied with the ruling.

" We are happy with the court's decision, but we are facing the pressure of public opinion. Some defendants feel the ruling was unfair. But we are telling our story before the court of law, and it made a lawful decision, so we stand by it."

Local police say the lack of hard evidence complicated the case. Security monitors have since been installed outside the residential building and its surrounding buildings.

However, local police officer Yi Wenchuan says dangerous objects have not stopped coming down.

"Often people throw down rocks, glass bottles, and other dangerous items. We have been called a few times regarding such incidents. It has happened both before and after the case involving the baby girl."

Similar cases in China have happened before, involving injuries and even deaths. It was not the first time either that the entire building's occupants have been sued.

The family's lawyer says seeking legal protection and compensation is only a last resort in such cases. All parties involved in the case have called for more moral awareness and civility among those who may want to drop things out of their windows.

For CRI, I'm Victor Ning.

 

 

EU ministers arriving for talks on border checks

 

European Union Justice and Interior ministers have met in Brussels to devise new and improve EU-wide measures to crack down on extremist attacks.

The EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos, called on the EU to work together to create a joint intelligence agency which is built on "cooperation and trust."

"Europe is standing by France in solidarity and compassion. This meeting here in Brussels is of great importance today. First of all, let me remind you that after Charlie Hebdo, I proposed and finally it was done, the creation of the counter-terrorism centre to Europe. I believe it is a moment to make one more step forward and put (forward) the basis for the creation of a European intelligence agency."

Ministers at the emergency meeting also heard arguments from France and Belgium for the tightening of gun laws, the toughening of border security and the choking off of funds heading to extremist groups.

 

 

Islamic State threatens to blow up White House

 

Islamic State militants have issued a new online threat, saying they intend to bomb the White House and launch more attacks in Paris.

The 6-minute video, titled "Paris Before Rome," is believed to have been produced by the Islamic State in an area it controls in Iraq.

The video shows an Islamic State militant threatening to attack French monuments, while at the same time vowing to strike the White House.

It comes a day after another video surfaced threatening to attack New York City.

The FBI says its not aware of any credible threat of a "Paris-type attack" in the United States.

 

 

U.S. House passes Bill to Halt Refugee program

 

Anchor:

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill, Thursday, calling on the administration to halt plans to accept thousands of Syrian and Iraqi refugees. They did so despite repeated threats from the White House that it would veto the legislation if it is also passed by the Senate.

CRI's Washington chief correspondent Xiaohong with more.

Reporter:

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 289 to 137 to pass the bill to restrict the influx of Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

The Republican-proposed bill requires the country's top security officials, namely the Secretary of Homeland Security, the director of the FBI and the director of National Intelligence, to certify that potential refugees from Syria or Iraq do not pose a security risk to the United States.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said before the vote that it's common sense to pause, revaluate and put higher standard in place when it comes to the security of the American people.

He pointed to recent congressional testimonies from FBI Director James Comey and Homeland Security Secretary Jay Johnson acknowledging the challenges of trying to investigate refugees from war-torn Syria and Iraq.

"Our own law enforcement experts are telling us they don't have confidence that they can detect or block with the current standards in place that ISIl or ISIS is not trying to infiltrating the refugee population. This is an urgent issue and that's why we're dealing with this urgently."

President Barack Obama on Wednesday vowed to veto the bill, saying the proposed bill is untenable and would provide no meaningful additional security for the American people.

Opponents of the bill argued that there is already a vigorous 18-month to 24-month vetting process for refugees. According to the White House, the total number of Syrians admitted to the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001 attack stood at 2,174. And none of them has been arrested or deported because of allegations they harbored extremist ambitions.

House minority leader Nancy Pelosi criticized the proposed legislation, saying it missed some important and more practical issues.

"And what are we not doing. We're not addressing visa-waiving. We're not addressing guns. We're not addressing the fact that this bill only talked about people coming from Iraq and Syria. Our bill is more inclusive. It's smarter. And therefore it's stronger in terms of protecting the American people. "

In the Senate, a bill co-drafted by Republican and Democratic legislators touched upon the visa-waiving measure. If adopted, Europeans or other foreign citizens who have traveled to Syria or Iraq in the past five years will not be granted a visa waiver to enter the United States, a measure currently enjoyed by citizens of about 40 countries, all strong U.S. allies.

Peter King, a Republican Congressman, has also suggested a ban on gun sales to people on terrorist watch list.

A Bloomberg Politics poll released Wednesday showed that 53% of American adults don't want Syrian refugees resettled in the U.S., while 28% voiced support to the administration's pledge to take in 10 thousand Syrian refugees next year.

Xiaohong, CRI, Washington DC.

 

 

DPRK proposes working-level talks with S. Korea

 

South Korean authorities have accepted a proposal from North Korea for working-level talks.

The offer of talks comes amid continued complaints by the South that its overtures for a meeting have been ignored.

Pyongyang has denied the charge, and has called on Seoul to drop its hostility toward the North.

In an agreement worked out after a border skirmish in August, both Koreas agreed to hold inter-governmental talks at an earliest possible date in a bid to improve ties.

However, no talks have materialized since then.

 

 

Chinese Scientist re-appointed as President of World Academy of Sciences

 

The Chinese Scientist Bai Chunli has been re-elected as the president of the World Academy of Sciences for another two years.

His reappointment was announced at the academy's general meeting in the Austrian capital, Vienna on Thursday.

Looking ahead, Bai Chunli said the TWAS would continue to pursue academic talent while increasing diversity within the academy.

"We have enhanced the support for young scientists by setting up the Young-Affiliates network for them to initiate academic communication. We also want to attract more young and female academics to the TWAS. Not only do we pay attention to the South-South cooperation, but we also put emphasis on the North-South cooperation."

Bai, also the President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, became the first Chinese president of the TWAS when he took office in 2013.

During his first two years in office, he invited five more countries to join the academy as well as helped it set up several research centers in China.

 

 

Snow has swept north China

 

Sudden snowfall has swept across north China and brought traffic problems to roads in many parts.

Moderate to heavy snow in north China's Hebei Province has slowed down traffic in the cities and has led to highway closures in some places.

Meanwhile, persistent snowfall and dense fog has caused a number of traffic accidents in the regions of Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia.

In northeast China's Liaoning Province, temperatures have seen a sharp drop due to the widespread snowfall.

Wu Manli, chief weather forecaster at Liaoning Meteorological Observatory, says the freezing weather is expected to last a few more days.

"Temperatures will stay low from Thursday evening to the daytime of Sunday, with the lowest daily temperature ranging between 7 to 9 degrees Celsius below freezing point. The coldest area of Fuxin will see a record low of minus 11 or 12 degrees Celsius."

Light and moderate snow has also affected Beijing, adding further pressure to the city's traffic congestion. The snowy weather in Beijing is expected to last through the weekend.

 

 

Weather

 

 

Beijing will have snow tonight with a low of minus 1, tomorrow will also have snow with a high of 0.

Shanghai will have shower tonight with a low of 14, more shower tomorrow, high of 17.

Chongqing will be cloudy with a low of 15, tomorrow will be overcast, high of 21.

Lhasa will be clear with a low of minus 4, tomorrow will be sunny with a high of 14.

Elsewhere in Asia,

Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 25.

Kabul, overcast, 13.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, cloudy, high of 26,

Brisbane,cloudy,33,

Perth,also cloudy, 36,

And finally Auckland, New Zealand will have slight rain with a high of 21 degrees Celsius.

 

 

Headline news

 

 

Gunmen hold hostages in Mali hotel attack

 

Gunmen are said to be holding around 170 people hostage at a luxury hotel in Mali's capital Bamako.

The Chinese embassy has confirmed around 10 Chinese nationals are among the hostages at the Radisson hotel, which is frequented by foreigners.

A spokeperson for the hotel chain says the gunmen have "locked in" 140 guests and 30 employees.

Malian police and soldiers are now on the scene.

Officials in Bamako say 10 gunmen stormed the hotel Friday morning shouting "Allahu Akbar" or "God is great" in Arabic before firing on the guards and taking hostages.

Mali has been dealing with an Islamic insurgency following a 2012 military coup which allowed militants, which had been operating in the country's northern regions, to seize control of large swaths of Mali's Sahel region.

Although a peace agreement was signed in June of this year, certain cities in the north are still controlled by insurgent forces.

So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Chinese embassy is advising Chinese citizens in Bamako to stay indoors if they can.

 

 

Observers: China's "Belt and Road" Initiatives to enhance China- ASEAN connectivity

 

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is in Malaysia for a series of meetings aimed at addressing development in southeast Asia.

During his time in Kuala Lumpur, Li Keqiang is scheduled to meet leaders from ASEAN member states, South Korea and Japan.

It's the first time Li has visited Malaysia as Chinese Premier. His official visit will come to an end on Monday.

 

 

DPRK proposes working-level talks with S. Korea

 

South Korean authorities have accepted a proposal from North Korea for working-level talks.

The offer of talks comes amid continued complaints by the South that its overtures for a meeting have been ignored.

Pyongyang has denied the charge, and has called on Seoul to drop its hostility toward the North.

In an agreement worked out after a border skirmish in August, both Koreas agreed to hold inter-governmental talks at an earliest possible date in a bid to improve ties.

However, no talks have materialized since then.

 

 

Britain sends large mission to China to promote tourism

 

More than 70 tourism and trade industry officials from the UK are set to travel to China next week to promote tourism.

The delegation will include hotel officials, retailers and tour operators.

British Tourism Authority VisitBritain is organizing the tour, which will attend the annual Destination Britain China event.

It's set to take place in Beijing from Monday to Wednesday.

More than 100 buyers from 15 different cities across China, including Hong Kong, will participate in the event.

The Destination Britain China event has been taking place since 2009.

 

 

Biz Reports

 

 

Anchor:

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

Markets in China closed higher on the last trading day of the week.

Electronic and light industries firms were among those leading the gains today.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite gained nearly 0.4 percent.

The smaller Shenzhen Component Index added 0.7 percent.

The ChiNext Index for growth enterprises surged over 1 percent.

Down in Hong Kong, the Heng Seng closed the trading week, adding 1.1 percent.

Elsewhere in Asia:

Japan's Nikkei gained 0.1 percent.

South Korea's KOSPI ended up 0.05 percent.

Singapore's Straits Times Index lost 0.07 percent.

And finally, Australia's ASX/200 edged up over a quarter percent.

 

 

SLF Rate Cut takes effect as of today

 

Cuts to the interest rates banks have to pay to keep their local branches topped up with cash have taken effect today.

As of today, the overnight rates of the Central Bank's Standing Lending Facility, or SLF, sits at 2.75-percent.

This is down from the previous rate of 4.5-percent.

7-day lending rates now sit at 3.25-percent, down from 5.5-percent.

In making the move, the People's Bank of China says the move to cut its SLF rates will reduce spikes in the interbank lending market.

The Standing Lending Facility is a policy tool the PBoC uses to inject cash into the banking system.

Observers are suggesting the move to cut the SLF rates could be a signal of further interest rate cuts on the way for businesses.

 

 

Innovative, Small Businesses in China Receives Multibillion-dollar Tax Cuts

 

New government figures say Chinese firms have managed to save around 37-billion US dollars through tax cuts though the first 3-quarters of this year.

In a bid to bolster corporate spending, the corporate income tax rate in China has been slashed from 25 to 15 percent.

This has saved high-tech companies in China close to 16-billion dollars.

The government says the tax breaks brought in this year have also saved small businesses over 10-billion dollars.

This year's tax reductions are part of the Chinese government's broader goal of spurring innovation to generate new jobs.

A series of preferential policies for companies involved in research and development are expected to be rolled out next year.

 

 

New IKEA Store to Open in Central China

 

IKEA has signed a new agreement worth some 625-million U.S. dollars to build a new outlet in central China.

The 300-thousand square meter IKEA is going to be built in the Yanghu Economic Zone in Hunan's capital, Changsha.

The massive facility is due to be finished by 2019.

IKEA hopes to attract over 20 million customers a year in Changsha.

The Swedish company expects the new store will create 5-thousand jobs.

IKEA currently has 18 stores in 15 Chinese cities.

It entered the Chinese market 6-years ago.

 

 

Foxconn to Build New Processing Base in Northwest China

 

Apple's main supplier Foxconn is planning to build a new processing base in northwest China.

The contract electronics maker signed a cooperation deal today, Friday, with a local radio and TV network firm agreeing to establish a base in Lanzhou of Gansu Province.

The new base will focus on the combination of new information technology, including cloud computing, and big data.

The deal aims to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation in Gansu, boosting local economic growth.

Earlier in September, Foxconn signed an agreement with Gansu's provincial government pledging to build long-term cooperation.

Taiwan based Foxconn has expanded rapidly with over 30 industrial gardens up and running across China, since it was launched in the Chinese mainland in 1988.

 

 

China's Steel Prices Hit Record Lows

 

Steel Prices in China are languishing at record lows following sluggish economic growth in the first half of the year.

Benchmark steel rebar prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange hit a record low of 1,733 Chinese yuan. Down almost 30%.

Globally, China is both the biggest producer and consumer of steel. The slump has seen one of China's largest steel providers, Tangshan Songtin Iron & Steel halt production.

The China Iron and Steel Association forecasts that steel production will contract almost 3 percent next year.

For more on this, CRI's Lincoln Van der Westhuizen spoke to Terrill L. Frantz, Assistant Professor of Management & Director of Global Development at Peking University's HSBC Business School.

Back anchor:

Terrill L. Frantz, Assistant Professor of Management & Director of Global Development at Peking University's HSBC Business School speaking with CRI's Lincoln Van der Westhuizen.

 

 

Chilean Firm Offers Course for Importing from China

 

A Chilean consulting firm is offering a special course for potential importers of Chinese goods.

The two-day course, being held next week, aims to help business owners in Chile navigate Chinese websites and place their orders.

Presentations will be made by Customs and shipping agents as part of the course which will also offer an introduction to Chinese culture.

The firm says the course will be offered again next month.

A free-trade agreement between China and Chile was signed a decade ago, facilitating trade exchanges between companies.

 

 

South Korea's Consumption Propensity Falls to Record Low

 

The amount South Korean consumers are willing to spend declined to a record low in the third quarter of this year due to slowing income growth.

The figure stood at 71.5 percent, the lowest level for 12 years.

Household expenditure reduced 0.5 percent year on year to 3057 U.S. dollars in the July-September period, the first decline in 2 and a half years.

Household monthly income averaged over 3800 U.S. dollars during the third quarter, up 0.7 percent from the same period of last year, the lowest growth since the third quarter of 2009.

Consumers reduced spending on worries about economic slowdown while preparing for life after retirement.

Residence costs surged 23.5 percent during the quarter on the back of higher home rental, while food costs increased 2.7 percent because of higher vegetable and meat prices.

 

 

Average wages in Spain falls to lowest level since 2007

 

Figures from Spain's Finance Ministry show that the country's average wage has fallen to its lowest level since 2007.

The figure now stands at over 18 thousand euros, or around 20 thousand U.S. dollars.

The highest salaries were to be found in the capital city of Madrid, while the lowest were recorded in the rural region of Extremadura.

The salaries showed little fluctuations from 2008 to 2011, but began to fall after the implementation of labor reforms in 2012.

The finance ministry said the fall was less to do with lower salaries for existing jobs, but that newly created jobs now offered much lower pay than before the crisis.

Meanwhile, the report also said the biggest earners in the country still saw their salaries continue to grow.

Gender discrimination in earnings in the highest-paid sectors was also notable, with women only accounting for 18 percent of those earning 10 times the minimum wage.

 

 

Sports

 

 

Rafael Nadal to Take on David Ferrer Tonight in London

 

In tennis,

The last slot in the semi-finals of the ATP Finals is set to be decided tonight in London.

Stan Wawrinka will battle Andy Murray for the chance to take on Roger Federer in the semis.

Wawrinka admits it's been a while since he's been up against Murray.

"Yeah, for sure, it's great to know that the winner (of the match) is going to qualify (for the semi-finals) and that's something good. It's going to be an interesting match. We didn't play (each other) for two years now, he's playing at home, he always plays well indoors or out so it's going to be a difficult match but let's see how I can feel, how I can start and how I can play against Andy."

Both Wawrinka and Murray come into the match with 1-1 records at the final tournament of the ATP season.

Tonight's first match has Rafael Nadal taking on David Ferrer in a mean-nothing affair.

Nadal is already through, and will face Novak Djokovic in the other semi-final tomorrow.

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On the women's side,

China's Liu Chang is set to take on Russia's Evgeniya Rodina in the third round of WTA Challenger event taking place in Taipei.

Liu is the only Chinese player remaining in the women's singles draw in Taiwan.

She's through after powering past Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm last night in straight sets.

 

 

Badminton: Mixed doubles squad Xu & Chen ousted from Hong Kong Open

 

In badminton,

An upset today at the Super Series event in Hong Kong on the Mixed Doubles front.

The Chinese duo of Xu Chen and Ma Jin have been eliminated from the tournament.

The world number-4 team went down to an unseeded pair from South Korea in a 3-set struggle earlier today.

Still on the Mixed Double's front,

The top seeded Chinese team of Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei were given a scare today by a pair from Indonesia.

After narrowly escaping the first set on an extra point, the world number-1's lost their 2nd set and barely held on to get past Indonesia's Praveen Jordan and Debbie Susanto 22-20, 17-21, 21-19.

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In other action from Hong Kong,

In the men's singles event, it was Tian Houwei downing Chinese compatriot Wang Zhengming in straight-sets.

And later tonight, the marquis match-up is a rematch of last week's China Open final.

Chinese world number-1 Chen Long will be looking for revenge as he takes on Malaysian powerhouse Lee Chong Wei.

 

 

Golf: Feng, Lin struggle in 1st round of LPGA Championships

 

In golf,

Round 2 of the LPGA Championships is set to get underway in a couple of hours in Florida.

American Austin Ernst has the first round lead at 6-under, one stroke ahead of South Korea's Lee Mi-Hyang.

However, all eyes at the tournament are on New Zealander Lydia Ko and South Korea's Imbee Park to see who will finish the LPGA season as the top golfer, as the two are neck-and-neck on points, with the New Zealand teen entering the tournament in Florida with a slight edge.

She has the advantage on the course so far as well, sitting in a tie for 9th at minus-3.

Imbee Park is 2 strokes back at minus-1.

Park will need to finish the tournament in the top-8, and beat Ko by at least 2-strokes if she's going to take this year's LPGA title.

Chinese golfers Feng Shanshan and Lin Xiyu struggled somewhat on Thursday, both carding 2-over-74's to sit well back on the leaderboard.

----

From the European Tour Championships in Dubai,

The 2nd round of the final event of the year is in full swing.

However, all eyes are on Rory McIlroy and Danny Willet.

Those two are battling it out to see who will win the coveted Race to Dubai trophy as the top golfer on the European Tour this year.

There are 5 other golfers with a mathmatical shot to secure the crown, should McIlroy and Willet blow up through this weekend, including Justin Rose, Branden Grace, Ahn Byeong-hun, Louis Oosthuizen and Shane Lowry.

---------

And at this week's PGA stop,

American Kevin Kisner sits at minus-7 for a one-stroke lead at the RSM Classic at the famous Sea Island course in Georgia.

 

 

Basketball: Golden State within 2 of tying NBA best start record

 

In basketball,

The defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors are just 2 wins away from equaling the best start ever to an NBA season.

Facing one of their toughest tests to date in keeping their streak alive, Stephen Curry dominated, scoring 40-points and pulling in 11 defensive rebounds in leading Golden State over Pacific Division rivals the LA Clippers 124-117.

At 13-0 to start the season, a win at home against Chicago this weekend and a road victory over Denver on Tuesday morning will match the record set by Yao Ming and his 1993-94 Houston Rockets for the best start in the NBA at 15-0.

There were only 2 other games in the NBA this morning.

LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers snapped a 2-game losing skid, thumping Milwaukee 115-100.

--

And LeBron's former club, the Miami Heat, were also victorious, holding off the Sacramento Kings 116-109 this morning in Miami.

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Five games taking place tonight in the CBA, including some of the top teams in the league battling one-another.

The Sichuan Blue Whales are taking their perfect 6-0 record into Liaoning tonight to battle the 5-1 Dinosaurs.

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And its 4-2 Shenzhen looking to hand the Flying Tigers their first loss of the season tonight in Xinjiang.

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The other match-ups have Fujian at home to Shandong.

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Zhejiang Chouzhou is in Tianjin.

--

And only one team in the league will be winless after tonight, as bottom-dwellers Foshan are in Jiangsu to take on the Dragons, with both clubs coming in with 0-6 records to start off the CBA season.

 

 

Hockey: Ovetchkin becomes top Russian goal scorer in NHL

 

From the National Hockey League this morning,

Russian superstar Alex Ovetchkin has another milestone to add to his career.

The Washinton Capitals winger scored his 484th NHL goal earlier this morning to surpass Sergei Fedorov to become the all-time Russian-born goal scorer in the league.

"Sooner or later I knew I was gonna, it was gonna come, so of course I got a little frustrated when you have good chances."

Ovetchkin's goal, his first in 5-games, wasn't enough though, as his Washington Capitals went down to Dallas this morning 3-2.

In other NHL action this morning,

Pittsburgh got past Colorado 4-3.

--

Boston doubled-up on Minnesota 4-2.

--

Martin Jones earned his 3rd shutout of the season, as his San Jose Sharks got past Philadelphia 1-0 in overtime.

--

Anaheim downed Florida 3-1.

--

Arizona upset Montreal 3-2.

--

Ottawa blanked Columbus 3-0.

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St. Louis needed the shootout to get past Buffalo 3-2.

--

And it was the Tampa Bay Lightning snapping the New York Rangers 9-game winning streak with a 2-1 victory.

 

 

aseball: MLB announces MVP awards

 

Major League Baseball has announced its Most Valuable Player awards for this past season.

Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper has been named the National League MVP.

The 23-year old was the unanimous choice among the baseball writers who select the awards every year.

Toronto Blue Jays 3rd baseman Josh Donaldson has taken the American League MVP award.

Donaldson led a power-packed Jays' line-up into the playoffs for the first time in 2-decades.

"I felt like after the break I came back and I felt like I was starting to come along pretty strong there a couple of weeks into it. You know, honestly our team was on a roll so I was able to kind of deflect my own self of thinking, I was just going out there and trying to help my team win and honestly I, that's how I feel like you end up winning awards."

Donaldson has won the AL MVP ahead of LA Angels outfielder Mike Trout, who won the award last year.

Bryce Harper, the 2012 Rookie of the Year, took this year's NL MVP award ahead of Arizona 1st baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

 

 

NFL: Jacksonville starts week 11 with victory

 

In action from the National Football League,

Week 11 is underway.

The Thursday night match-up has seen the Jacksonville Jaguars put themselves in a better position to possibly make the playoffs in the weak AFC south division, getting past the Tennessee Titans 19-13 this morning.

The win puts Jacksonville at 4-6 on the season, which could be good enough for a share of the AFC South lead after this week, depending on what happens with Houston and Indiana, who both have 4-5 records.

The loss puts Tennessee at 2-8 on the year.

 

 

Entertainment

 

 

Budweiser STORM Festival to electrify Shenzhen

 

The eagerly awaited Storm electronic music festival finally comes to Shenzhen this weekend.

The two-day music fest, which runs November 21-22, is touted as China's largest celebration of electro music culture.

Although this is the inaugural year for the festival in Shenzhen, the Storm Festival is already into its third year in Shanghai.

This year's Shanghai Festival saw performances from EDM heavy-hitters Skrillex, Tiesto, Laidback Luke and A-Trak, among many others.

The Shenzhen line-up, boasts performances by Afrojack, Fedde Le Grand, Kaskade and Showtek.

The Budweiser STORM Electronic Music Festival is currently the largest outdoor EDM festival in China.

Founded in 2013, the festival drew 24,000 people in its first, setting a benchmark for the Chinese EDM industry.

 

 

Mercury Prize winner to be announced by DJ Lauren Laverne

 

UK Mercury Prize nominees, which include this year Florence and The Machine, will find out if they have won the prestigious prize when it is revealed live by DJ Lauren Laverne, later Friday.

The shortlist - which also includes Jamie xx and Roisin Murphy - was unveiled by Laverne in early October and all 12 acts up for album of the year will perform at the ceremony at the BBC Radio Theatre in central London.

Florence's 'How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful' will compete against established acts such as former nominee Ghostpoet's third offering 'Shedding Skin'.

First-time nominee Benjamin Clementine's acclaimed album 'At Least For Now' is second favourite to win behind Jamie xx's 'In Colour'.

The 12-strong list is completed by Aphex Twin's long-awaited electronica album 'Syro and Hairless Toys', the third solo album from Roisin Murphy, one half of duo Moloko.

 

 

11.22.63 Teaser Trailer: James Franco Stars in the Stephen King Series

 

Hulu Original series '11.22.63' has debuted its first teaser trailer.

It follows high school history teacher Jake Epping as he travels back in time to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. But his mission is threatened by Lee Harvey Oswald; falling in love; and the past itself, which doesn't appear to want to be changed.

The series also stars Chris Cooper, Josh Duhamel, T.R. Knight, and Cherry Jones.

J.J. Abrams, Stephen King, and Bridget Carpenter serve as executive producers for the series.

Academy Award-winning Director Kevin Macdonald directs and executive produces the first two hours.

The nine-hour limited event series, based on the 2011 'LA Times Book Prize' winning novel written by Stephen King, will premiere on Presidents Day, February 15, 2016, on the US Hulu streaming service.

 

 

Lafourcade wins 4 Latin Grammys, Guerra takes 3 at US Latin Grammys

 

Natalia Lafourcade was the big winner Thursday at the Latin Grammy Awards, clinching four of her five nominations for her album "Hasta la Raiz."

But the Mexican singer-songwriter lost out on the top prize, album of the year, which went to Dominican bachata artist Juan Luis Guerra for "Todo Tiene su Hora."

Lafourcade still claimed two of the night's most prestigious awards, song of the year and record of the year for the title track of "Hasta la Raiz."

Colorful performance mash-ups underscored the mix: Jamaican artist Omi shared the stage with reggaeton singer Nicky Jam.

Will Smith returned to his rap roots, performing "Fiesta" with Colombian trop-rockers Bomba Estereo.

Actresses Jacqueline Bracamontes and Roselyn Sanchez hosted the three-hour ceremony.

The Latin Grammy Awards were broadcast live on Univision in Las Vegas.

For the first time, the telecast also reached viewers in China.

 

 

Director Zheng Xiaolong's 'The Legend of Mi Yue' to Hit TV on November 30th

 

Director Zheng Xiaolong's upcoming epic series The Legend of Mi Yue is ready to hit TV screens this month.

Based on the life of ancient China's first female politician Mi Bazi, the 81-episode series is set to be aired from November 30th, on Beijing Satellite TV and the Shanghai-based Dragon TV.

The TV drama has been adapted from the namesake novel, which portrays the ups and downs of Mi Yue, who turns from being a simple girl into an iron-handed power behind the throne.

The star-studded cast includes Sun Li, Liu Tao and Huang Xuan.

The award-winning director says the TV drama has already attracted attention from overseas markets before its Chinese mainland debut.

Zheng Xiaolong also said the series' overseas distributor is in discussions with at least a dozen companies, including California-based Netflix.

The director's previous hit TV drama 'The Legend of Zhen Huan' was streamed by Netflix in the United States earlier this year.

 

 

International film festival opens in western India

 

The International Film Festival of India, the country's biggest film fest, opened in the western state of Goa, Friday.

The 10-day festival has a stellar line up of world cinema, and participation from national and international dignitaries, according to the organizers.

Close to 250 movies will be screened at the film festival -- with 187 movies shown in the World Cinema section, and 47 films in the Indian Panorama section.

Although Spain is the main focus this year, there are also 15 entries in the international competition from countries such as Argentina, Belgium, France, Germany and Iceland.

Argentina's biggest box office hit "El Clan" will round off the festival.

 

 

Weather

 

 

Beijing will have snow tonight with a low of minus 1, tomorrow will also have snow with a high of 0.

Shanghai will have shower tonight with a low of 14, more shower tomorrow, high of 17.

Chongqing will be cloudy with a low of 15, tomorrow will be overcast, high of 21.

Lhasa will be clear with a low of minus 4, tomorrow will be sunny with a high of 14.

Elsewhere in Asia,

Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 25.

Kabul, overcast, 13.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, cloudy, high of 26,

Brisbane,cloudy,33,

Perth,also cloudy, 36,

And finally Auckland, New Zealand will have slight rain with a high of 21 degrees Celsius.

 

 

 

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

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

170 people being held hostage by Gunmen at a luxury hotel in Mali's capital Bamako.

APEC Ecomonic leaders wrap up their summit in Manila pledging greater inclusive growth .

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrives in Malaysia for talks amid great hopes for China's Belt and Road initiative

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