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

Coming up on the program this morning...

Three Chinese citizens are among the dead after gunmen stormed a hotel in the capital of Mali...

The Chinese premier has arrived in Malaysia for a series of meetings addressing development in southeast Asia...

and the German Chancellor speaks out against setting unilateral limits on the number of refugees accepted in her country...

We have our weekly round up of the latest Business news.

In Sports...Guangzhou Evergrande gets ready for the next leg of AFC Champions League play...

In Entertainment...Chinese singer and actor Lu Han releases a new music video...

All of that coming up in the next hour, but first, just a reminder there are several ways to reach out to us here on the Beijing Hour.

You can follow us on our weibo account at weibo.com/beijinghourFind us on WeChat by searching "beijinghour"Or email us directly at [email protected].

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

Top NewsThree Chinese citizens killed in Mali hotel siegeThree Chinese citizens have been killed in a hostage-taking situation at Radisson Blu hotel in the Malian capital, Bamako.

Four other Chinese citizens have been rescued from the hotel.

All rescued Chinese are in stable condition.

So far, at least 22 people have been confirmed dead after Malian forces staged a rescue mission to free hostages held by gunmen.

Jihadist Al-Murabitoun group based in northern Mali has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack.

The group was also responsible for a shooting attack on a restaurant popular with foreigners in Bamako on March 7, which killed five people.

The attacks have been condemned by the United Nations.

A U.N. spokesperson says the international peacekeeping mission in Mali has been helping local authorities handle the crisis.

At least 22 killed after gunmen attack Mali hotelAnchor:

For more about the Mali attack, CRI's Luo Bin reports.

Reporter:

Islamic extremists armed with guns and grenades stormed the luxury Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital on Friday morning, and security forces swarmed in to free guests floor by floor.

The terrorist attacks have been condemned by the United Nations.

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says the UN peacekeeping mission has been helping local authorities handle the crisis.

"The Secretary-General condemns the horrific terrorist attacks at the Radisson hotel in Bamako which killed an unknown number of civilians and injured many more. He expresses his sincere condolences to the government of Mali and the bereaved families and wishes a speedy recovery to the wounded victims of this attack. The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali has been assisting the Malian authorities in the handling of this crisis."Mali's security minister Salif Traore has confirmed no more hostages are being held at the hotel.

But security sources said Malian forces are in the process of securing the hotel as gunmen are still inside the seven story building.

As many as 170 people were reportedly held hostage.

Some hostages succeeded in escaping by their own means while the majority of them were rescued by the Special Forces.

In an interview by local media, a freed hostage says he hid in his room until he was led to safety by soldiers.

"At the beginning I thought it was firecrackers. I didn't think it was a hostage situation. Then it continued and continued and we heard it around the hotel. I went out because I didn't think they were taking hostages. I went out to go to the restaurant and I saw in the corridoor there was a lot of smoke, so I went back into my room to stay there and then the Malian troops came and got us back. They knocked on the door and said it was security and we were evacuated in small groups by the stairs."The African country has been battling Islamist rebels for several years, and the jihadist group Al Mourabitoun claimed responsibility for the attack in a tweet.

For CRI, I'm Luo Bin.

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

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 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.

Experts expect problem of neighbor countries relations solved at ASEAN SummitOn Sunday, ASEAN leaders are set to formally declare the creation of an ASEAN Economic Community.

They will set out ASEAN's goals for the next decade, which will aim to take regional integration, resilience and competitiveness to the next level.

Malaysian experts are expecting issues of neighboring countries relations to be solved at ASEAN Summit.

Kra Group political analyst Keith Leong says several challenges have strained ASEAN's credibility, including the South China Sea disputes, and the haze from land clearing fires in Indonesia that choked neighboring countries.

"When you have problems which are multilateral, which go beyond even bilateral or internal boundaries, like the South China Sea issue, the haze issue, its weaknesses are coming to the fore."In addition, many obstacles to true economic integration still remain, such as local excise taxes, quotas and restrictions on foreign ownership.

Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute analyst Michael Yeoh says more information needs to be disseminated in ASEAN countries.

"People in ASEAN need to be made more aware of what ASEAN offers. There is a lack of ASEAN consciousness among the people of ASEAN, and what benefits ASEAN can bring."There have been economic successes though.

For example, an estimated 96 percent of all tariffs between ASEAN countries have now been eliminated.

CPC holds symposium to commemorate Hu YaobangFriday marks the 100th birthday of Hu Yaobang, former general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

The CPC Central Committee held a symposium in Beijing on Friday to commemorate Hu.

CPC leaders including Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli attended the symposium.

Hu Yaobang was born on November 20, 1915, and joined the CPC when he was 18.

During his time as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, he participated in implementing major and strategic policies put forward by the CPC's second-generation central leadership headed by Deng Xiaoping.

Industrial Transfer Coordination Events Opened in ShijiazhuangA series of events to boost cooperation, innovation, and environmental protection within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei has begun.

The events are taking place in Hebei and are co-organized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the governments of the three areas.

51 projects with an investment of a combined 45 billion US dollars are included in the event.

The Biomedical sector, advanced equipment manufacturing, and new energy automobile industries have also been highlighted during the events.

So far Beijing has transferred more than 80 industrial projects to Hebei province, with a total investment of 18.8 billion U.S. dollars.

China's temperature, sea level rise faster than global averageA report by Chinese authorities shows China has seen faster temperature and sea level increases compared with the global average.

The report says the sea level along the country's coastal areas rose by 2.9 millimeters per year from 1980 to 2012, and the average temperature in China increased by 0.9 to 1.5 degree Celsius in the 100 years since 1909.

The report, the third of its kind since 2007, also shows that from the 1970s to the beginning of 21st century, China's glaciers have retreated by 10.1 percent.

These findings indicate that China will continue to warm, with the report projecting a temperature rise of 1.5 to 5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

The report will be presented at the Paris climate change Conference at the end of the month.

The report is jointly released by China Meteorological Administration, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering.

El Nino leads to high temperatures in winter in GuangdongThe weather in Guangdong Province remains very warm, with temperatures in most parts of the southern Chinese province hovering around 30 degrees Celsius.

According to statistics released by the province's meteorological department, the average maximum temperature of Guangzhou, the provincial capital, was 26.4 degrees Celsius from Nov 8 to 19, a year-on-year increase of over 4 degrees.

Wu Hongyu from Guangdong Climate Center warns of possible drought conditions in parts of the Province as a result of the high temperature.

"The (El Nino) event will last until next spring, and it will cause high temperatures and may cause high precipitation in the province as well. However, we cannot rule out that parts of the province, such as Leizhou Peninsula, will suffer from drought."Experts have authorities to stay alert for disastrous weather.

The El Nino is a phenomenon in which the unusual warming of water surface temperatures in the ocean around the equator affects climate and weather conditions around the world.

Chinese Hot Words of 2015 Event Kicks offA cultural event allowing the public and language experts to round up the catchwords of the year has kicked off in Beijing.

The event will last from November 20 to December 7.

Yu Dianli, with the Commercial Press, says selecting catchwords of the year will help people better understand social changes:

"The words of the year selected over the past ten years have in fact recorded the changes of China and the world over the past decade. It has formed a unique 'history of culture' and vividly reflects social activities and daily lives of the people,"Chinese netizens are encouraged to recommend words of the year via Weibo, or WeChat, the social media platforms of the organizers.

Words such as "Second Child", Xi-Ma Meeting, military parade, and Internet Plus have been selected for further review.

China Publishes Marriage Status ReportAnchor:

A new survey here in China is suggesting that while trends surrounding marriage in China have been changing, traditional values are still prevalent 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 appears 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.

UN lauds China's 1st peacekeeping infantry battalion in S. SudanA senior United Nations official has lauded China's peacekeeping infantry battalion in South Sudan for safeguarding peace and stability in the world's youngest nation.

The UN official also called for nations to contribute more women to peace keeping mission.

Of the 700 Chinese peacekeepers in South Sudan, there are 13 women soldiers.

This year marks the 25th year of China's participation in the UN peacekeeping missions around the world.

Statistics show China has so far sent some 30,000 peacekeepers worldwide.

Putin: military campaign in Syria not enoughRussian President Vladimir Putin says Russia's military campaign in Syria has not achieved enough, and a next phase is needed.

"We face a lot of work and I hope that the next phases will be conducted at the same high level, just as professionally, and will produce the results we've come to expect."The Russian defense minister says the number of jets has been doubled to 69. 143 sorties are being carried out on a daily basis. The sea group amounts to 10 vessels.

Russia has launched strikes on Raqqa, a major stronghold of the Islamic State.

Moscow has confirmed that the IS was responsible for downing a plane full of Russian tourists over Sinai in Egypt, killing all 224 on board.

Tangier island in danger of disappearingAnchor:

In just two weeks, more than 100 world leaders will come together in Paris for the UN's Climate Summit, where they hope to agree on a deal to limit global greenhouse gas emissions.

Their decisions could have very real impacts on the millions of people currently struggling with the affects of climate change - like the residents of Tangier Island, one of many small islands off the East Coast of the United States, which are shrinking.

Our correspondent Andrea Arenas visited Tangier Island to look at this community's fight to preserve their way of life.

Reporter:

Located in Chesapeake Bay, Tangier island is just a 45 minute ferry ride away from the mainland of the US state of Virginia, only 3 hours away from the nation's capital in Washington.

Its small population consists mostly of fishermen who are direct descendants of the original British families who first settled the island in the 1600s.

But now, this place they have called home for so long is shrinking, and parts of it have already disappeared.

Speaking on a bout tour of the island, local Mayor James Eskridge explained how the coastline has changed.

"My father was telling me when he was a boy, and used to play out this way, he said the shoreline was well out from where we are now to the west of us and you can see how much land we have lost and its continuing to disappear."According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, global sea levels have gone up by about 20 centimeters since 1880.

Many think that rate will continue to accelerate depending on the amount of heat-trapping pollution that is produced.

Currently, Tangier is only one meter above sea level, and people here fear that if action is not taken, they soon might be completely under water.

Mayor Eskridge says that helping preserve this island means saving the local ecosystem.

"The argument is you would not only preserve the people and the community, and their way of life... you would preserve the wildlife around Tangier, the sea life, the sea grasses, which are all vital to the Chesapeake bay."And as parts of the island sink into the bay, the population is also dwindling--from more than 700 people in 2010, to some 420 today. Locals say that younger generations will probably have to adapt to living on the mainland.

And Tangier faces more than just rising sea levels, the island is also subsiding and quickly eroding.

For lifelong residents like Bruce Gordy, things are starting to look quite different on the island.

"There used to be a big place called Ocean Creek, I went over as a boy, you could go looking for arrows, a huge mass of land, that's completely gone."And his neighbor Lonny Moore says that the island is now very vulnerable.

We have lost our marshes, so the tides come in and it comes right in on the streets now, you know when we have storms. We used to have the marshes all around us and that would absorb before it would get in here.

So far only part of Tangier Island has been protected from the water with a levee, but still land continues to sink, and erode, as water keeps rising.

And it's unlikely that any agreement at the Paris climate conference would come soon enough to save this shrinking community.

For CRI, I'm Andrea Arenas in Tangier Island Virginia.

Merkel opposes unilaterally setting limit on number of refugeesGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed her opposition to setting a limit on the number of refugees in her country, during a convention of the Christian Social Union (CSU) on Friday.

Merkel said in a speech that she wanted to achieve a reduction in the number of refugees through an international solution instead of a unilateral limit.

"We are fighting against the reasons they flee: we have to improve the living conditions in the refugee camps, we have to share the load with our European colleagues and our neighbors. We must end illegal human trafficking. We have to protect our outer borders and make legal agreements with Turkey and the European Union, this let us save lives and reduce the number of refugees."Before Merkel's speech, the party convention adopted a motion on immigration, saying "Germany should set a quota for civil war refugees for the next year in accordance with its affordable capacity."CSU is the sister party of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union. But the two parties have argued about the right course in the refugee policy for weeks.

Sichuan agricultural expo links local Chinese food with worldThe third Sichuan Agricultural Expo is underway in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, to promote the region's local food to the world.

Exhibitors from ASEAN countries and from across Asia, as well as Europe and the United States, have come to the five-day expo to seek agricultural cooperation opportunities with local businessmen and growers from 21 cities in the southwest Chinese province.

Fu Wendong, executive vice president of Sichuan International Exhibition Company, says the Expo will help to provide a platform to promote a better environment for agricultural cooperation in the world.

"Europe and the United States have brought their local food and agricultural products. Japan and Israel come with advanced agriculture machines and farming techniques. Oceanic countries bring wine projects here."Local exhibitors have brought along their specialties such as wines, fish, eggs and fruits to the event.

The event will run until Monday.

WeatherBeijing will have some snow today with a high of 0 degrees Celsius; overnight temperatures should dip down to -2.

Shanghai will see some showers with a high of 17, more showers tonight and a low of 17.

In Chongqing, it will be cloudy with a high of 21, same skies tonight, lows of 17.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 24.

Kabul, overcast, highs of 11.

Over to North America,New York will be cloudy with a high of 12 degrees.

Washington, cloudy, 13 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 30.

Toronto will have a wet day with a high of 6 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires, cloudy with a high of 26.

And Rio de Janeiro will have slight rain with a high of 25 degrees Celsius.

Headline NewsThree Chinese citizens killed in Mali hotel siegeThree Chinese citizens have been killed in a hostage-taking situation at Radisson Blu hotel in the Malian capital, Bamako.

Four other Chinese citizens have been rescued from the hotel.

All rescued Chinese are in stable condition.

So far, at least 22 people have been confirmed dead after Malian forces staged a rescue mission to free hostages held by gunmen.

Jihadist Al-Murabitoun group based in northern Mali has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack.

The group was also responsible for a shooting attack on a restaurant popular with foreigners in Bamako on March 7, which killed five people.

The attacks have been condemned by the United Nations.

A U.N. spokesperson says the international peacekeeping mission in Mali has been helping local authorities handle the crisis.

Chinese premier arrives in Malaysia for East Asian leaders' meetingsChinese Premier Li Keqiang is now in Kuala Lumpur for a series of leaders' meetings on East Asian cooperation and an official visit to Malaysia.

During his four-day stay, Li is scheduled to attend the 18th China-ASEAN leaders' meeting, the 18th ASEAN-China, Japan and South Korea leaders' meeting, and the 10th East Asia Summit.

Li is expected to discuss topics such as promoting regional development, jointly safeguarding regional peace, and creating stable economic growth.

The Chinese premier hopes the coming meetings will push forward negotiations on the upgrading of the China-ASEAN free trade area.

Meantime, Li Keqiang will hold talks with Malaysian leaders and visit Malacca State.

He will also witness the signing of documents ranging from agreements on trade and culture exchanges to judicial cooperation.

CPC holds symposium to commemorate Hu YaobangFriday marks the 100th birthday of Hu Yaobang, former general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

The CPC Central Committee held a symposium in Beijing on Friday to commemorate Hu.

CPC leaders including Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli attended the symposium.

Putin: military campaign in Syria not enoughRussian President Vladimir Putin says Russia's military campaign in Syria has not achieved enough, and a next phase is needed.

The Russian defense ministry says the number of jets has been doubled to 69. 143 sorties are being carried out on a daily basis. The sea group amounts to 10 vessels.

Russia has launched strikes on Raqqa, a major stronghold of the Islamic State.

Moscow has confirmed that the IS was responsible for downing a plane full of Russian tourists over Sinai in Egypt, killing all 224 aboard.

Weekly Business RoundupAnchor:

It's time to take a look back at some of the headlines from the world of business in our Weekly Business Review.

In this edition, we will take you through this year's APEC meeting in Manila and tell you about a new online bank to be set up by Baidu and CITIC.

CRI's Wenjie has more.

Reporter:

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Meeting concluded in Manila on Thursday, with the 21-member economies issuing a joint declaration focused on inclusive economic growth.

Currently, economic development in the Asia-Pacific region has been slowing down, with an expected growth rate of 3.2%.

To release the prolonged weakness in global economic activity, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, Alan Bollard, said leaders from 21 economies in Asia Pacific will focus on the development of micro, small and medium enterprises.

"One is micro and small and medium enterprises where we are trying to find ways to ensure that they can use supply chains to export and import, that they can make use of new electronic technologies to do that. And that we ensure things like trade agreements, and various developments around the border are all not just done for big businesses, but for small businesses as well."Bollard added China has been playing an active role in boosting regional economy and trade.

"China has put in place a number of initiatives about new drivers of growth. And we now have a range of technical working groups and APEC is working away on those particular in initiatives. And some of those have been reported back to ministers this year. In addition, China helped us establish economic activity blueprint. "In 2016, the APEC region is expected to post a stronger GDP growth rate of 3.4 percent.

China's central bank said Thursday that it will cut the interest rates on standing lending facilities.

After the cut, interest rates of overnight and seven-day SLFs for local financial institutions will be reduced to 2.75 percent and 3.25 percent respectively from Friday.

The central bank added that Thursday's move aims to help make interest rates more market-based and is in line with the current liquidity situation.

The SLF is a liquidity tool, created by the central bank in early 2013 to support its local branches.

The tool could provide a large amount of funding to banks when they face a liquidity squeeze and are unable to get sufficient financing from the interbank market.

Official data released on Monday showed China's overseas nonfinancial investment during the first 10 months of this year surged 16.3 percent year on year, which is seen as a stabilizer of world economic growth.

Stats show mainland made nearly 590 billion yuan or 95 billion U.S. dollars in outbound direct investments during the period.

Jiang Wenbin, deputy director of the Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Commerce, attributed the surge in ODI growth to China's Belt and Road initiative.

He said the project has provided a new economic impetus by promoting international cooperation and increasing production capacity.

"Over the past 10 months, Chinese companies made outbound direct investment in 49 countries in the Belt and Road region, accomplishing a 36.7 percent year-on-year increase to reach nearly 13.2 billion U.S. dollars."ODI projects covered a wide range of fields including transportation, residential construction, and electric power engineering and petrochemical industries.

China's top economic regulator announced on Wednesday that it will slash the price distributors pay to producers for non-residential natural gas.

From Friday, non-residential natural gas prices at city gate stations will be cut by 700 yuan or 110 U.S. dollars per thousand cubic meters.

The National Development and Reform Commission also said it would allow industry players to raise gas prices by 20 percent based on supply and demand from Nov. 20, 2016, exactly a year after Friday's cut.

Tuesday marks the first anniversary of the launching of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect.

The multi-billion-dollar trading link between Shanghai and Hong Kong has seen billions of dollars in daily cross-border transactions over the past year.

President of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Li Xiaojia, says more "bridges" will be built in the future, and is committed to building Hong Kong into an influential global hub for commodity, currency and company pricing.

"Will commodity trading be possible in the future? If the Chinese RMB can join the SDR, it will be a huge milestone in China's reform process."As of last Friday, northbound yearly turnover value has amounted to 240 billion U.S. dollars.

While the southbound yearly turnover value has reached 95 billion U.S. dollars.

A Sino-German joint venture named China Europe International Exchange was launched in Frankfurt on Wednesday, kicking off the trading of Renminbi-denominated exchange traded funds.

The exchange offers ETFs based on Chinese mainland's underlying assets and a broad range of RMB-denominated bonds.

Two new RMB-denominated ETFs became available, namely the SSE 50 ETF and the Money Market ETF, issued by Commerzbank in partnership with Bank of China International and China Construction Bank International.

On the corporate front,China's search engine giant Baidu and financial service company CITIC Group announced Wednesday they would open an online bank.

Baixin Bank, a direct sales bank providing online financial services, will be China's first venture between an Internet company and a traditional bank.

The new bank's registered capital will be 2 billion yuan or about 313 million U.S. dollars.

CITIC Bank, a subsidiary of CITIC group, will be the controlling shareholder.

China's Tsinghua Unigroup on Monday announced plans to invest 300 billion yuan or nearly 50 billion U.S. dollars, in the chip industry over the next five years.

The move aims to help Tsinghua Unigroup to become the world's third-biggest chipmaker.

Gao Shang, commodity analyst with Guantong Futures, believes the move will also be a crucial part of Tsinghua Unigroup's going-global strategy.

The company controlled by Tsinghua University is in talks with a U.S.-based company involved in the chip industry.

The planned investment is almost equal to Intel's chip revenue last year.

The deal will be finalized as early as the end of this month.

The Export-Import Bank of China on Thursday signed a lending agreement with China Railway Corporation to help the latter explore global markets.

The bank will grant the railway contractor a line of credit of up to 500 billion yuan, or some 80 billion U.S. dollars, for major infrastructure projects.

China Railway is speeding up efforts to increase its overseas presence.

The company and four Indonesian firms have agreed to set up a joint venture to build a high-speed railway linking Jakarta and Bandung, the first overseas high-speed railway project for a Chinese company.

The project is expected to start later this month and take three years to complete.

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

SportsGuangzhou preps for game against Al AhliIn some domestic Football news:

Guangzhou Evergrande is prepping for the second leg of their AFC Champions League against Al Alhi on Saturday.

Evergrande is looking to lift the continental title for a second time in three years at Tianhe Sport Centre Stadium.

Five time Chinese Super League winners already beat out Seongnam FC, Kashiwa Reysol and Gamba Osaka en route to the final.

But after a 0-0 draw against Al Ahli in Dubai earlier this month, a score-draw in the return fixture in southern China would be enough for visitors Al Ahli to hand the United Arab Emirates a first continental title in 12 years.

Guangzhou's captain, Zheng Zhi stated that his team is prepared for this important game.

"The match with the national team is over. So we are back in Guangzhou trying to focus on the AFC Champions League final. Yu Hanchao and Zheng Long did not play the game against Hong Kong, so they probably saved some energy comparing with other Evergrande players who were featured in the last game for China. Zheng and Yu will play for Guangzhou tomorrow. The result of the match with the national team will not affect the final tomorrow – mentally or physically. Everyone in the team is looking forward to the trophy so we are determined to overcome whatever difficulties we face."Guanzhou will be heading into the match with some injury concerns.

Leading Scorer Ricardo Goulart is currently recovering from an injury sustained in Dubai's matchRussian athletes go to court over alleged dopingand for some developments in Russia's current doping scandal:

Russian athletes stated at press conference in Moscow on Friday, that they will file a defamation lawsuit against Yulia Stepanova, the sportswoman who blew the whistle on doping in Russian athletics.

Athletes present at the conference were Russian runners Kristina Ugarova and Tatyana Myazina, who account for 2 out of 5 athletes who could be suspended for life following WADA's recommendation.

The two runners vowed to take Stepanova and German Ard TV to court following their documentary on widespread use of doping in Russian Athletics.

During the press conference, the lawyer for the two runners, Alexander Karabanov, spoke about the actions of Stepanova.

"It is obvious that Stepanova acted not in the interests of the Russian (athletics) federation, having created a very serious conflict and now we see that she has support of certain western structures. In this situation the conclusion is obvious. I think that the girl was obviously motivated by someone or something. And the fact that she is now applying for Canadian citizenship indicates that someone supported her in this criminal initiative against Russia."Stepanova, a middle-distance runner, competed for Russia until she was handed a two-year suspension on suspicion of doping in 2013.

She secretly recorded Russian coaches and athletes over almost two years describing how they used performance-enhancing drugs.

Stepanova and her husband, a former Russian anti-doping agency official, went public with their information last year, when they appeared as witnesses in a TV documentary, affirming Russia's alleged doping in athletics.

Karabanov said his clients will suit the German channel that aired the documentary as well.

England hires Eddie Jones as new Rugby CoachIn some Rugby news from England:

The English National Rugby team has picked up Eddie Jones as their first ever foreign Rugby coach.

The 55-year-old Jones signed a four year contract with England and talked to press at Twickenham on Friday about his new position.

Jones was bought out of his former contract with the South Africa's Stormers and will take charge of England team from December 1st onwards.

During the press event, Jones spoke about his thoughts concerning his recent change in teams.

"This opportunity is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I had to take it. I don't feel good about what I did to the Stormers. But at the same time I am excited about this opportunity. The Stormers were fantastic. Honestly. The CEO and the president were very kind in letting me go and I appreciate that. And obviously contractually I had the option of being able to get out."Jones's first match will be against Scotland in February.

Nadal beats Ferrer in Londonin some tennis news:

Rafael Nadal recovered from a set down to defeat David Ferrer 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the ATP World Tour Finals in London on Friday.

It was quickly a victory for Nadal in his match against fellow Spaniard Ferrer.

Neither player had much at stake as Nadal had already clinched first place in his group and Ferrer had been eliminated.

But regardless, both athletes put on a good show.

In the end, victory would be Nadal’s after 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Sailing's Olympic Qualifiers kicks off in OmanIn some sailing news:

Places for the 2016 Rio Olympics are up for grabs as the Laser Radial Women's World Championships kicked off in Oman on Friday.

Some of the favorites in the championship are Gintare Scheidt of Lithuania, who won the Test event in Rio in August, Evi Acker of Belgium who is ranked world number one, and Marit Bouwmeester.

Bouwmeester was the silver medalist in the London 2012 games and is currently ranked fourth in the world.

During a press event, Bouwmeester spoke about her training coming into the tournament.

"Well after I won silver medal in London and I am very determined to change the color and hopefully come away with the gold next year. So I am training very hard and I continue to keep doing it. And hopefully I can do my best here and do well."　Also coming into the tournament will be returning champions, American Paige Railey and China's Lijia Xu.

Both athletes took an extended leave from the sport, but are coming back in top form to qualify.

Lee Chong Wei beats Chen Long at Hong Kong Openand for a quick badminton update:

Malaysian star Lee Chong Wei faced top-seeded rival Chen Long of China in the quarterfinals of the BWF Super Series Hong Kong Open on Friday.

After splitting the first two games, Lee took control of the third with a 16-13 lead.

From there Lee never looked back as he eliminated Chen with a 13-21 21-19 21-15.

Lee will now advance to Saturday's Semi-final games.

EntertainmentSinger-actor Luhan Releases Music Video of 'Football Gang'

Chinese singer and actor Lu Han released the music video 'Football Gang' on Friday.

In the video, Lu Han included football movements into his choreography to meet the song's theme.

This is the fourth music video from the 25-year-old pop star's solo album 'Reloaded'.

Earlier this week, his latest song 'Medals,' for the crime thriller 'The Witness,' has made waves, ranking at the top of the first ever "User Generated" chart, co-produced by Billboard and China's YinYueTai.

The music video of Medals has been viewed more than 3 million times on major streaming websites in China.

Meanwhile, 'The Witness' a Chinese remake of the 2011 South Korean movie 'Blind' has pulled in over 214 million yuan in ticket sales since its release in the mainland in late October.

Lu Han is the former Chinese member of popular K-pop boy band EXO.

52nd Grand Bell Awards Kicks offThe 52nd Grand Bell Awards kicked off in Seoul on Friday night, though some of the top nominees were boycotting the event.

South Korean drama 'Ode to My Father' becomes the biggest winner last night, grabbing ten awards, including best film and best director.

Hwang Jung-min was named Best Actor for his role in the film.

'Ode to My Father' depicts a part of modern Korean history through the life of an ordinary man, as he experiences events such as the Hungnam Evacuation of 1950 during the Korean War.

Meanwhile, Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun won the title of Best Actress with her performance in the action film 'The Assassination'.

Chinese actor Sun Honglei and Chinese actress Gao Yuanyuan appeared at the event, winning Overseas Best Actor and Best Actress awards respectively.

Controversies over the awards administration and winner selection process led to many nominees announcing they would be boycotting the ceremony, with the organizers being forced to change the winners list at the last minute.

Founded in 1962, the Grand Bell Film Awards is South Korea's equivalent of the Academy Awards.

Michael Keaton's 'Spotlight' Opens in the USMichael Keaton's investigative journalism film 'Spotlight' opens in the US on Friday.

Directed by Thomas McCarthy, the film portrays the Boston Globe's "Spotlight" team, and how they broke the Massachusetts Catholic sex abuse scandal.

Boston Globe reporter Sacha Pfeiffer says 'Spotlight' has captured the shock of the scandal and the work they did to bring it to light.

"Totally surreal. Still bizarre. I think we feel really proud of the job they did. We saw how hard they worked to get ready for it. Most people don't get the opportunity to see that and we all think that they did and uncannily accurate portrayal of us, including capturing mannerisms we didn't even know we had."The Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Keaton stars in this film as the leader of the investigative reporting team in this film.

He says the film sends out an important message about the need for solid, investigative journalism.

"There's great people out there doing great things, but I think it's in the minority now, probably always was in terms of the really upper level of great journalism. But now it's smaller because you know everybody's a journalist, and it's based on nothing. It's based on zero, except an opinion or sensationalism or lies."'Spotlight' was shown at this year's Venice International Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival.

Iconic Ballerina Maya Plisetskaya's Memorial Gala Held in MoscowRussia's top ballet dancers are ready to bid farewell to iconic ballerina Maya Plisetskaya.

On Friday night, a special gala and performance was held in Moscow in honor of the world-famous dancer, on what would have been her 90th birthday.

Plisetskaya died on May 2 in Munich, Germany at 89.

Ballet Director Andris Liepa indicates the event was originally designed as a celebration of the legendary dancer's milestone birthday.

"I remember one moment - when we were discussing all the performances for the gala and were leaving, Maya said: 'Everything works out, all will come, I have arranged everything. The only thing that is left is to live to see it.' Unfortunately, she didn't live to this moment. But we - all - do this evening in her honor."As the iconic ballerina was involved in the planning of the show, Bolshoi Ballet manager Vladimir Urin says spectators can still see the event she intended.

"We were discussing the program of this event for a long time. Everything what will be in this concert, it is all at her will. The program was written by her hand. And when you open tomorrow evening's program, you will see a facsimile written by Maya. And you will see that it completely matches what you see on stage."Plisetskaya was renowned for intense performances that contrasted with the ethereal style of many other dancers, especially in Tchaikovsky's 'Swan Lake.'

11.22.63 Teaser Trailer: James Franco Stars in the Stephen King SeriesHulu 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.

WeatherBeijing will have some snow today with a high of 0 degrees Celsius; overnight temperatures should dip down to -2.

Shanghai will see some showers with a high of 17, more showers tonight and a low of 17.

In Chongqing, it will be cloudy with a high of 21, same skies tonight, lows of 17.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 24.

Kabul, overcast, highs of 11.

Over to North America,New York will be cloudy with a high of 12 degrees.

Washington, cloudy, 13 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 30.

Toronto will have a wet day with a high of 6 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires, cloudy with a high of 26.

And Rio de Janeiro will have slight rain with a high of 25 degrees Celsius.

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

A recap of your headlines:

Three Chinese citizens are among the dead after gunmen stormed a hotel in the capital of Mali...

The Chinese premier has arrived in Malaysia for a series of meetings addressing development in Southeast Asia...

and the German Chancellor speaks out against setting unilateral limits on the number of refugees accepted in her country...

In Sports...Russian athletes go to court over a doping scandal...

In Entertainment...Chinese singer and actor Lu Han releases a new music video...

On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers: I'm Shane Bigham in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour, to open a window to the world together.