Chinese authorities condeming a terrorist attack on a hotel in Mali's capital on Friday which has left 3 Chinese nationals dead.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has been meeting with ASEAN leaders as part of the group's annual sessions in Malaysia.

Brussels is on lock-down amid concerns of an impending terrorist attack in the Belgian capital.

In the 2nd half of the hour, our weekly look back at the business week.

In sports... Guangzhou Evergrande in action tonight in the AFC Champions league Final.

A 25-year old solo artist has taken the UK's top music prize.

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.

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Top NewsChinese Government Condemns Terror Attack on Mali HotelThe Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday strongly condemned the terrorist attack at a hotel in the Malian capital of Bamako, during which at least 27 people were killed including three Chinese nationals.

In his statement, Xi Jinping also expressed his deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims of this latest attack.

He also noted that China would work with the International community to fight against such horrifying terrorist attacks and help maintain world peace and stability.

At the same time, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also expressed condolences to the victims' families and called for intensified efforts to effectively safeguard the safety and legal rights of Chinese nationals and institutions abroad.

Earlier, the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is currently in Kuala Lumpur, said he was deeply saddened to hear that three Chinese citizens were killed in the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako.

Wang strongly condemned the atrocity and said China would work with the International community to fight against terrorism.

Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei also expressed indignation at the Malian hotel attack.

He added that the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy in Mali had launched an emergency-response mechanism immediately and had conducted rescue operations.

Hong Lei also confirmed that four Chinese nationals had been rescued.

China Railway Construction Corporation Limited confirms staff casualties in MaliThe three Chinese citizens killed in the hotel attack in Mali's capital of Bamako have been named as employees of the China Railway Construction Corporation Limited.

The company said the victims included Zhou Tianxiang, who was in charge of its overseas business and his deputy Wang Xuanshang, as well as Chang Xuehui, manager of the company's branch in western Africa.

In a statement, the company expressed deep sorrow and sent condolences to the families of the victims and strongly condemned the terrorists' brutality.

The three were in Mali for negotiations over a local railway project.

As a major infrastructure builder in China, the company had earlier signed agreements with the Malian government to help improve the country's railway system.

Malian government declares nationwide state of emergencyAnchor:

With at least 27 people killed in the jihadist attack at a top hotel in Mali's capital Bamako, the Malian government has declared a 10-day nationwide state of emergency.

Three days of mourning have also been called for, as a mark of respect to the victims, which include three Chinese nationals, an American and a Belgian.

CRI's Li Jianhua has more.

Reporter:

Following last week's attacks in Paris, Friday has once again has become a day of rampant massacre, this time in Mali.

The President of Mali Ibrahim Boubacar Keita declared a national state of emergency from Friday midnight, and also three days of national mourning.

"Declaring a state of emergency from today, Friday 20th November, starting at midnight. Flags will be at half mast throughout the national territory and in our embassies and consulates. Three days of national mourning, starting from Monday 23rd November."A U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali 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."Early on Friday, seven gunmen entered Radisson Blu hotel, taking hostage 140 guests of different nationalities as well as some 30 hotel staffers.

Some hostages later succeeded in escaping by their own means while the majority of them were rescued by the Malian special forces.

In a speech at a regional summit in Malaysia, U.S. President Barack Obama described Friday's raid and hostage incident in Mali as "another awful reminder of the scourge of terrorism."He called on the allies and partners of the United States to step up efforts to crack down on terrorist attacks.

"We will stand with the people of Mali as they work to rid their country of terrorists and strengthen their democracy. With allies and partners the United States will be relentless against those who target our citizens. We'll continue to root out terrorists. We will not allow these killers to have a safe haven."Jihadist Al-Murabitoun group based in northern Mali has claimed responsibility for the attack.

At the beginning of this year, the group had pledged allegiance to ISIS but later withdrew from it.

It was also responsible for a shooting attack on a restaurant popular with foreigners in Bamako on March 7 this year, which killed five people and wounded nine others.

For CRI, this is Li Jianhua.

Survivors of the Mali attack recall the night at Radisson Blu hotelAround 27 people are reported dead after Malian commandos stormed the Radisson Blue Hotel in Bamako to rescue around 170 people trapped inside, many of them foreigners.

A hotel guest Elisabeth Singor said they had tried to remain calm during the attack.

"I was woken up by gunfire and I immediately contacted two colleagues who confirmed to me that there was an attack on the hotel, and I followed all instructions I was given, that is to say to keep my composure, to hide and to stay away from the windows. And that's what we did."In an interview with local media, a freed hostage said 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 corridor 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 Jihadist group Al Mourabitoun has claimed the responsibility for the attack.

The Malian government has declared a 10-day national state of emergency and three days of national mourning.

China, ASEAN Eye Further CooperationAnchor:

A 2-day ASEAN regional summit is underway in Malaysia.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is leading the Chinese delegation to this year's event in Kuala Lumpur, and has been sitting down for talks with leaders from the various ASEAN countries to discuss future cooperation in southeast Asia.

CRI's Luo Wen reports.

Reporter:

Addressing the 18th China-ASEAN leaders' meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Premier Li Keqiang started by hailing the achievements in bilateral trade and cultural exchange against the backdrop of a global slowdown.

"During the downturn in international trade, bilateral trade volume between China and ASEAN in the January-October period reached 379.2 billion U.S. dollars, with mutual investment exceeding 150 billion U.S. dollars. The number of exchange students between the two sides exceeded 180,000."Upon his arrival on Friday, Li Keqiang said China and the ASEAN countries have linked destinies, shared interests and feelings.

As ASEAN's biggest trading partner, Li Keqiang pledged that China will deepen diplomatic ties with the bloc.

"China always considers its relations with ASEAN as the priority in China's diplomacy with its neighbours. China firmly supports the improvement of ASEAN's integration and the establishment of an ASEAN community, and supports ASEAN's central position in regional co-operation."The ASEAN Community, comprised of political-security, economic and socio-cultural pillars, is expected to take shape by the end of this year.

Founded in 1967, ASEAN consists of 10 countries in Southeastern Asia.

Seven of them are continental or maritime neighbors of China.

And China was the first country to establish a strategic partnership with ASEAN, and the first non-ASEAN signatory to the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation.

Malaysia holds the ASEAN rotating chair this year.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak says China's continued support and contribution to regional initiatives are proof of its commitment to the region.

"China's continuous support for ASEAN-China co-operation is self-evident. Further, China's substantial contribution to regional initiatives, including closer ASEAN integration, to the master plan on ASEAN connectivity, as well as to narrow the development divide within ASEAN through the initiative of ASEAN integration, are further testimony to China's commitment to the region."Discussions at Saturday's meeting also focused on ways to upgrade the China-ASEAN free trade area, promote Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and implement the China-proposed 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

Chinese premier announces more cash for MH370 search at KL meetingChinese Premier Li Keqiang has announced a Chinese government pledge of around 15-million US dollars to continue the search for missing Malaysia Airlines fliight MH370.

Li Keqiang has made the pledge while meeting with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Kuala Lumpur.

Families of the victims have been concerned the search for the missing airliner in the southern Indian Ocean may be called off, as questions have been raised about who will finance the continued search for the missing flight.

MH370 disappeared on March 8th of last year while on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people onboard, two-thirds of whom are Chinese.

Physical evidence discovered earlier this year on Reunion Island off the east coast of Africa is supporting earlier suggestions the missing flight went down somewhere off the west coast of Australia.

Malaysian opens the 27th ASEAN summit; focuses on ASEAN communityAnchor:

As part of the sessions at the ASEAN regional meetings, the 10 member countries are discussing a number of topics, including terrorism and the formal creation of an ASEAN Community by the end of this year.

CRI's Wang Mengzhen has the details.

Reporter:

During his opening remarks, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak called on world leaders to combat Islamic terrorism following recent attacks around the globe.

"Our countries are in mourning, we all share in this grief. The perpetrators of these cowardly and barbaric acts do not represent any race, religion or creed, nor should we allow them to claim to do so. They are terrorists and should be confronted as such with the full force of the law."In the wake of the deadly attacks, Malaysia deployed special security measures across Kuala Lumpur as leaders from 18 countries gathered for a series of summits over the weekend.

On Sunday, leaders are also due to announce the formation of the ASEAN Community as a unified economic entity after a decade-long effort.

The Malaysian Prime Minister said the new community means a lot to the future of ASEAN as a whole.

"And let me suggest that after tomorrow we will refer to ourselves as the ASEAN Community, a proud new name to mark this significant evolution in our association. For this is ASEAN's time. This is our time."The community building process started in 2003 when leaders of the 10 member states reached consensus to set up an ASEAN Community.

In 2007, the leaders made a strong commitment to facilitating the ASEAN Community by the end of 2015, aiming at closer integration through political security, economic and socio-cultural links.

Last year, the leaders agreed in Brunei to push ahead with the ASEAN Roadmap and ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint, reaffirming their efforts to realize the ASEAN Community on time.

So far, over 90 percent of measures listed in the blueprint have been carried out. Najib Razak says the next step is to work out how to overcome barriers concerning political and cultural differences among ASEAN members.

"It is estimated that the measures we are implementing under the ASEAN Economic Community will raise overall GDP in ASEAN by 7 percent by 2025. That will be an enormous gain for our economies in the hundreds of billions."The new community is also expected to provide greater potential for China and ASEAN cooperation in infrastructure construction and cross-border trade.

ASEAN was established nearly 50-years ago as a political grouping of ten Southeast Asian nations.

As one of the five founding members of ASEAN, Malaysia has taken over the rotating chairmanship to speed up economic integration, and make ASEAN more inclusive.

For CRI, I am Wang Mengzhen21 dead in NE China colliery fireAt least 21 people are dead and one other still missing after a fire broke out inside a coal mine Friday night in the northeastern Chinese province of Heilongjiang.

The mine is in the city of Jixi, which is located near China's border with both Russia and North Korea.

38 men were working underground when the fire first broke out around 11pm last night.

16 of the miners managed to make it out.

The bodies of the 21 confirmed fatalities have been recovered.

The fate of the one person still missing remains unclear at this point.

Authorties have not said what they think sparked the deadly blaze.

Tiger Mother Sentenced to 6 MonthsA so-called Chinese "tiger mother" has had her 6-month sentence held up by the courts after being convicted earlier this year for beating her foster son.

Li Zhengqin was appealing here sentence after she was sent to jail in September after admitting to beating the 9-year-old with a back scratcher and skipping rope for not doing his homework and for telling lies.

A medical report delivered in court during her first trial suggested her adoptive son suffered only "minor injuries."Despite the boy and his biological parents pleading to have her released, an appeals court in Nanjing has rejected her appeal, saying the woman went "too far" in disciplining her adopted child for not doing his homework.

The boy was adopted by his aunt in 2013 in order to receive a better education in Nanjing.

Its unclear if the child will be able to go back to his adopted mother.

The boy's birth mother says she's concerned about her child's education in rural Anhui, where they are from.

The case itself gained a lot of attention earlier this year after pictures of the boy's injuries began circulating widely around the internet in China, sparking debate about the use of corporal punishment in Chinese families.

Hong Kong to foster IT industry with new bureau establishedAnchor:

Officials in Hong Kong are hoping the formal establishment of a new Innovation and Technology Bureau will help bolster the city's IT industry, which has been losing ground for years to the city's neighbor on the mainland side of the border.

CRI's Hong Kong correspondent Li Jing has more.

Report:

After three years of filibustering at the Legislative Council, the Innovation and Technology Bureau was finally established in Hong Kong on Friday.

It's going to be responsible for formulating policies connected to the IT sector.

Nicholas Yang has been approved by the State Council as the new chief of the Bureau.

"Hong Kong has to catch up in the IT sector. We have a lot of work to do. People in Hong Kong are smart, and we are not afraid of failing. I am ready to assist Hong Kong to take its slice of the cake in global innovation and technological development, making us a real 'super connector'. "Due to the infighting among Hong Kong lawmakers over the past few years over how to fund the new bureau, many IT companies have opted to take their business across the border to Shenzhen.

Around 35-percent of Shenzhen's overall GDP is now made through the IT sector.

Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung says the long-awaited creation of the Innovation and Technology Bureau should help Hong Kong become more competitive with Shenzhen, but admits its not going to happen overnight.

"I really hope we could have taken the first step three years ago, but it's better late than never. It takes years to foster a new industry sector such as innovation and technology, and setbacks should be expected along the way. So even though we have the Bureau and the Secretary now, short-term success is not guaranteed."Professor Tony Chan, President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, says the new bureau is should help both Hong Kong's economy, and his institution as well.

"It sends out the message that Hong Kong has potential in technology and innovation. If not, why would big companies and multinational companies invest here? I hope the Bureau can create a good environment, so that students are willing to study courses at HKUST connected to IT development. It should also make it easier for those graduates to get a job. It is a win-win situation. "CY Leung first proposed the idea of a new Innovation and Technology Bureau when he first came to office in 2012.

A motion to set up the Bureau was passed in October of last year, but the budgeting for it wasn't approved in time.

The process was restarted earlier this year, with approval for the new bureau once-again coming in June.

However, another battle over its funding wasn't solved until earlier this month.

In the end, Legco has approved 37-million HK dollars a year on staffing, as well as $30 million HK dollars on operational funding.

This is around 9-million US dollars in total.

For CRI, this is Li Jing in Hong Kong.

Maximum alert level in Brussels: all subway stations closedBelgium's Prime Minister says the terror threat level in the Brussels region has been increased to "maximum" amid word authorities have received information about a possible attack "similar to Paris".

Charles Michel says the decision to impose the highest level of security after Belgian authorities uncovered "relatively precise" information about "a threat of coordinate attacks" by several individuals with weapons.

He says the potential targets are "shopping centers, public transport and big events."This has forced the closure of all metro stations in the city.

Officials in-charge of the city's public transport system say the metro will remain closed at least until Sunday afternoon.

Local authorities have also been advised to cancel large events and are urging people to avoid crowds.

Belgium is at the centre of the investigation into last week's terror attacks in Paris.

One of the suspects from Brussels is still at large.

Turkish media: 3 suspected militants detainedIt's being reported Turkey's authorities have arrested three suspected Islamic State militants.

The three included two Syrians and a 26-year-old Belgian, identified as Ahmet Dahmani who is suspected of having explored areas in Paris where attacks took place on 13 November.

They were detained on suspicion of "aiding and abetting" the Islamic State group.

The three were detained after police raided a hotel in the coastal city of Antalya.

There has been no official comment on the operation as yet.

UN Security Council votes unanimously to destroy Islamic StateAnchorThe UN Security Council has unanimously approved a French-sponsored resolution, calling on all nations to redouble and coordinate action to prevent further attacks by Islamic State terrorists and other extremist groups.

China's permanent representative to the UN says the international community should form a united front in fighting against terrorism.

CRI's UN correspondent Su Yi has more.

ReporterThe resolution says the Islamic State group "constitutes a global and unprecedented threat to international peace and security" and expresses the council's determination "to combat by all means this unprecedented threat."The resolution calls on UN member states "that have the capacity to do so to take all necessary measures" against the Islamic State group and all other violent extremist groups "to eradicate the safe haven they have established over significant parts of Iraq and Syria."French UN ambassador Francois Delattre,"The resolution we just adopted recognizes the exceptional nature of the threat from Daesh and calls on all member states to take all necessary measure to eradicate its sanctuaries created in Syria and Iraq and also push back its ideology which is radical. This resolution frames our action under the international law and the upholding of the UN Charter."China's UN ambassador Liu Jieyi is calling on the international community to form a united front against terrorism.

"The international community should work together, follow the missions and principles of the UN Charter, and bring the leading role of the UN into full play, in order to further enhance coordination and cooperation against terrorism."Liu also says the Chinese government will continue to fight against terrorism in any form and is willing to strengthen anti-terrorism cooperation with other countries.

"The Chinese government opposes terrorism in any form and will fight resolutely against any violent terrorism act that challenges the bottom line of humanity. Fighting against the terrorist force of East-Turkistan, which is represented by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, is an important part of the global counter-terrorism efforts. We will continue to strengthen the anti-terrorism cooperation with the international community to safeguard world peace."The resolution was adopted a week after violent extremists launched a coordinated gun and bomb assault that killed 130 people in Paris.

It also comes eight days after twin suicide bombings in Beirut killed 43 people, and three weeks after a Russian airliner crashed over Egypt's Sinai peninsula killing all 224 people on board.

ISIS has claimed it carried out all three attacks.

For CRI, I'm Su Yi in New York.

Tangier island in danger of disappearingAnchor:

In just nine days time, 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 a very real impact on the millions of people currently struggling with the affects of climate change - such as 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 populatin 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.

WeatherBeijing will have snow tonight with a low of minus 2, tomorrow will also have snow with a high of minus 2.

Shanghai will have shower tonight with a low of 15, overcast tomorrow, high of 19.

Chongqing will be overcast with a low of 16, tomorrow will be cloudy, high of 22.

Lhasa will be clear with a low of minus 3, tomorrow will be sunny with a high of 14.

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

Kabul, slight rain, 9.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, cloudy, high of 24,Brisbane,rainy,27,Perth, cloudy, 34,And finally Auckland, New Zealand will have slight rain with a high of 18 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsChinese Government Condemns Terror Attack on Mali HotelThe Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday strongly condemned the terrorist attack at a hotel in the Malian capital of Bamako, during which at least 27 people were killed including three Chinese nationals.

In his statement, Xi Jinping also expressed his deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims of this latest attack.

He also noted that China would work with the International community to fight against such horrifying terrorist attacks and help maintain world peace and stability.

At the same time, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also expressed condolences to the victims' families and called for intensified efforts to effectively safeguard the safety and legal rights of Chinese nationals and institutions abroad.

Earlier, the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is currently in Kuala Lumpur, said he was deeply saddened to hear that three Chinese citizens were killed in the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako.

Wang strongly condemned the atrocity and said China would work with the International community to fight against terrorism.

Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei also expressed indignation at the Malian hotel attack.

He added that the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy in Mali had launched an emergency-response mechanism immediately and had conducted rescue operations.

Hong Lei also confirmed that four Chinese nationals had been rescued.

China, ASEAN Eye Further CooperationChinese Premier Li Keqiang has sat down for talks with leaders from ASEAN countries to discuss future cooperation in southeastern Asia.

Li Keqiang pledged that China will deepen diplomatic ties with the ASEAN bloc.

Malaysia holds the ASEAN rotating chair this year.

For his part, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said China's continued support and contribution to regional initiatives are proof of its commitment to the region.

Maximum alert level in Brussels: all subway stations closedThe Belgian Prime Minister says the terror threat level in the Brussels region has been increased to "maximum" because the authorities received information on the risk of an attack "similar to Paris".

This has forced the closure of all metro stations in the city.

Officials in-charge of the city's public transport system say the metro will remain closed at least until one o'clock Sunday morning.

Local authorities have also been advised to cancel large events and are urging people to avoid crowds.

Belgium is at the centre of the investigation into last week's terror attacks in Paris.

One of the suspects from Brussels is still at large.

China issues snow storm warningsChina's weather observatory has issued a blue alert for snow storms in Beijing and neighboring regions.

Blue is the lowest in the four-tier color-coded weather warning system.

China's meteorological authority forecast snowstorms will hit the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and northern provinces of Shanxi and Hebei as well as Beijing and Tianjin municipalities on Saturday and Sunday.

Some areas are expected to see snowfall of up to 12 millimeters.

It has also suggested snow-hit areas take precautions as temperatures are also forecast to plunge.

Weekly Biz RoundupWeekly Business ReviewAnchor:

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 to Take on Al Ahli TonightIn football action here in China,The final match of this year's AFC Champions League is set to get underway tonight.

Guangzhou Evergrande is at home to the UAE's Al Ahli.

Both clubs come into the final leg of the home-and-home on even terms, having drawn nil-nil in the first match in Dubai.

Al Ahli head coach Cosmin Olaroiu says offense is going to be his club's key to victory tonight.

"To win the trophy we have to score. We know this. And we tried during this period to prepare the team to play in the way that we get the trophy. Of course they have the advantage of home game, the supporters and all environment. But we know what exactly what we have to do."Guangzhou comes into tonight's match with a depleted line-up.

Evergrande's leading scorer, Ricardo Goulart, has been sidelined from an injury he sustained in the last match in Dubai.

The final of the AFC Champions League gets underway in around 15-minutes time (8pm).

-----------------In about an hour, Round 13 of the English Premier League gets underway,The early match on the schedule has Manchester United up against Watford.

---In other action,League leading Manchester City is at home to Liverpool.

--Arsenal, which is tied with City on points at 26, is on the road taking on West Brom Albion.

--3rd place Leicester City is also away at Newcastle.

---Its Bournemouth looking for just its 3rd win of the season at it takes on Swansea.　　--Struggling Chelsea entertains Norwich.

--Aston Villa, desperate to pull itself out of relegation, is away at Everton.

--And its Southampton entertaining Stoke.

-------------------Later tonight,The La Liga's first "El Clasico" of the season will take place tonight, with Barcelona taking on Real Madrid.

Real Madrid head coach Rafa Benitez says his team is ready after coming off the international break.

"Obviously, we'll play against a good team but I have a lot of confidence. I was answering about the training sessions, the commitment of the players, the passion that they will put on this game... So I am quite positive and I feel that we can do really well. It will be a difficult game, for sure, but I think it will be a positive game for the fans all around the world."It's still unclear if Lionel Messi will be able to suit up for Barca.

He started training this week after sitting out the last 2-months with a ligament tear in his knee.

But it is still unknown if he will be available.

Barcelona currently sits at the top of La Liga, 3-points ahead of Real.

Nadal beats Ferrer in LondonIn tennis,Stan Wawrinka is set to battle Swiss compatriot Rodger Federer for a shot at making the ATP Finals in London.

The French Open champion is through after powering past Andy Murray in a hard-fought, straight sets win, 7-6, 6-4 to grab the last semi-final spot of the season-ending tournament.

Wawrinka admits its not going to be easy to get past his countryman.

"It will be a tough one for sure. First I will have to recover from tonight. It was a two hour match and it will be late by the time I get back so not too much time to get ready but we'll see. I'm playing well, he's playing well. It will be a tough challenge but I hope I can play a good match."The last time the two met was the semi-finals of this year's US Open, which Federer won in straight-sets.

---------The other semi-final tonight has Rafael Nadal against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

Nadal comes into tonight's match with an undefeated record at the ATP Finals, having to come from a set down last night to get past David Ferrer, even though he had already secured his spot in tonight's semi-final.

"So for me it was another opportunity for me to compete. And I think I competed well. I won a very tough match. A very good match in terms of quality in moments.　And I am very happy. You know, three straight wins against top eight players. So it was great news for me."Tonight's match will be a rematch of the final of China Open last month, which saw Djokovic thump Nadal 6-2, 6-2 here in Beijing.

A win by Nadal tonight would even their career head-to-head match-ups at 24-victories each.

Badminton: Semi-finals underway at Hong Kong OpenIn badminton action from the Hong Kong Open,The Chinese Mixed Doubles pair of Liu Cheng and Bao Yixin are into tomorrow's final after dispatching a pair from South Korea earlier today in straight-sets.

It could be an all-China final tomorrow in Mixed Doubles if top-seeded Zhao Yunlei and Zhang Nan can get past another South Korean duo later tonight.

--Zhao Yunlei is already assured action on Sunday in Hong Kong, after she and her partner Tian Qing moved into the Women's Doubles Final with a straight-sets win over a pair from Japan this afternoon.

That too could be an all-China final tomorrow if Tang Yuanting and Yu Yang can dispatch a pair from Indonesia tonight.

--There will be no Chinese representation in the Men's Doubles final tomorrow, after Chai Biao and Hong Wei were knocked off by the top-seeded pairing from South Korea in a 3-set thriller.

--China is also being shut out of the women's singles final after 8th-seeded Wang Yihan went down to world number-1 Carolina Marin from Spain in straight-sets this afternoon.

---And in Men's Singles action tonight, its Tian Houwei up against Ginting Anthony from Indonesia, while Hong Kong's Ng Ka-long is into his first-ever Super Series semi-final, but will be hard-pressed to move forward, as he is taking on Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei.

The former world number-1 is through to the semi-finals after once-again knocking off current world number-1 Chen Long last night.

Lee Chong Wei, who is working his way back up the world rankings after his doping ban earlier this year, dumped Chen Long in the finals of the China Open last weekend as well.

Basketball: Golden State one win away from matching best NBA startIn basketball,The Golden State Warriors are on the cusp of making history.

Stephen Curry had 27-points to lead Golden State to a 106-94 win over Chicago this morning to push the club to a 14-0 start oto the NBA season.

The Warriors can tie Yao Ming's 1993-94 Houston Rockets team for the best start in a season at 15 wins when they take on Denver on Monday morning, Beijing time.

Denver comes into that match-up on the heels of this morning's 114-107 loss to Phoenix this morning.

--While Golden State is poised to make history, Philadelphia is just 3 losses away from making some of its own.

The 76ers are just 3-more bad games from tying an NBA-record 26-straight losses, after they went down to Charlotte 113-88 this morning.

Philly lost 10-straight to end last season, and are now 0-13 to start this campaign.

---Other winners on the day included Boston, Detroit, Memphis, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Dallas, Portland and Toronto.

--Here in China,It's a day off today in the CBA, with 6-teams set for action tomorrow to start round-8.

Those matches will include Xinjiang looking to maintain the only unblemished record in the league when they take on Tianjin.

Xinjiang, which smacked around Shenzhen last night, is now the only undefeated team in the CBA after Sichuan lost its first to Liaoning last night.

Lester Hudson, who opted to come back to China this year after giving up a multi-year contract with the LA Clippers, had 36-points last night to lead the Dinosaurs to a 114-107 win over Sichuan.

Both now have 6-1 records.

In other CBA action last night,The Jiangsu Dragons, who are still without the services of Greg Oden, finally won their first game with a 128-112 win over still-winless Foshan.

Oden, who went first overall in the 2007 NBA draft, has been unable to play so far this season after hurting his hand during the pre-season.

--Shandong has moved to 5-2 on the season with a win last night over Fujian.

--And it was Willy Warren with 36-points to lead Zhejiang Chouzhou over Tianjin last night.

Warren, the LA Clippers 2nd round pick in the 2010 NBA draft, signed with Chouzhou this year after playing last year with Chongqing, which is now Beijing Beikong.

Golf: Lydia Ko well positioned to take LPGA crownIn golf,New Zealand teenager Lydia Ko is well-positioned to finish the LPGA season with a number of accolades, provided she doesn't melt-down in her last 36-holes of the season.

Ko turned in a 5-under-67 on Friday to sit alone in 2nd place at 8-under after the 2nd round of the LPGA Championships in Florida.

The 18-year old sits 4-strokes ahead of South Korean Imbee Park, who is chasing Ko in the year's final tournament for all the big year-end prizes.

These include the LPGA's scoring title, Player of the Year, a one-million US dollar bonus for winning the "Race to CME Globe" tournament, and the right to head into next year as the top ranked golfer on the LPGA.

Meanwhile, the two mainland golfers in the field are sitting well off the pace, though Lin Xiyu did recover somewhat on Friday, shooting 3-under to move to minus-1 on the tournament.

Feng Shanshan's season-ending tournament does not go well.

She struggled again on Friday, and currently sits 6-over on the tournament after carding a 4-over-76 on Friday--------3rd round action is underway at the European Tour's season-ending event in Dubai, with Rory McIlroy well-positioned to take this year's Race to Dubai crown.

Hockey: Price returns to lift Montreal over IslandersIn NHL action from this morning,Carey Price made 33 stops in his return to the line-up from injury to back stop the Montreal Canadiens to a 5-3 win over the New York Islanders.

Price, the NHL's reigning MVP and Vezina Trophy winner, missed 8-games with a lower body injury.

---At the PGA stop in Georgia,American Kevin Chappell has a one-stroke lead at minus-11 heading into the weekend at the RSM Classic at Sea Island.

EntertainmentTaipei Golden Horse award to be announced tonightThe 52nd Golden Horse Awards will be announced tonight.

Taiwan director Hou Hsiao-hsien's martial arts film, "The Assassin," and Chang Tso-chi's "Thanatos, Drunk" are the biggest hits vying for recognition in the major categories at the upcoming event.

The Assassin, leads the Golden Horse Awards with 11 nominations including Best Film, Best Director, best Actress for Shu Qi, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

"Thanatos, Drunk" is just behind with ten nominations including Best Film and Best Director, as well as all the acting categories except for Best Actress.

Hong Kong director Philip Yung's "Port of Call", meanwhile, received nine nominations including Best Actor for lead star Aaron Kwok.

While mainland Jia Zhangke's "Mountains May Depart" received seven, the highest number for a mainland movie competing in the upcoming awards.

In Best Actor's category, mainland's director-actor Feng Xiaogang, actor Deng Chao and Hong Kong actor Aaron Kwok are among those being nominated.

Best Actress nominees include Taiwan's director-actress Sylvia Chang, actress Hsu Chi and mainland actress Zhao Tao.

Clementine Dedicates Mercury Prize To ParisBenjamin Clementine has been announced as the winner of the Mercury Prize, the UK's most prestigious music award.

The 25-year-old's debut album At Least For Now beat competition from the likes of Florence + The Machine, Wolf Alice and Supergrass star Gaz Coombes.

As he accepted the 20,000 pounds prize, around 30,000 US dollars at a ceremony in London, the singer and pianist broke into tears and dedicated the win to those killed in last week's Paris terror attacks.

He said the attacks left him feeling "very sad" and "heartbroken".

Clementine was raised in north London but moved to Paris in his 20s, busking on the Metro before earning a music contract.

The Mercury Prize judging panel called Clementine's debut album "dramatic, intimate and pulsatingly original" and hailed him as "a remarkable new pianist and singer".

Also among the 12 acts nominated were Ghostpoet, Scottish composer C Duncan, punk duo Slaves, Zimbabwean-born Eska and Soak, and 19-year-old Belfast-born Bridie Monds-Watson.

Top Gear China presenters race to Manchester United match in a tankDespite the departure of the UK Top Gear program's favorite presenters, the motoring show's international appeal looks promising after Top Gear China aired its most watched episode ever which saw its presenters race across England in tanks to get to a Manchester United match.

The first five episodes of the second series have so far been viewed by more than 200 million viewers.

The latest episode surpassed the 9 million average after it drew a record breaking 11 million viewers.

In it, the Taiwan actor-singer host raced across England, competing against his co-presenters, using a variety of vehicles, including a tank, in a quest for a single ticket to a Manchester United v Everton match.

The TV viewing figures have been swelled by a huge online audience of 173 million across the series so far, thanks to views via China's eight biggest video platforms.

The success has been helped by a huge publicity campaign by the BBC to promote the second season of the show in China, with a 30ft high "Big Stig" touring 10 cities across China ahead of the first episode.

The new-look British version of the hit BBC2 motoring show, with DJ and TV presenter Chris Evans as the new lead host, is due to debut next year.

WeatherBeijing will have snow tonight with a low of minus 2, tomorrow will also have snow with a high of minus 2.

Shanghai will have shower tonight with a low of 15, overcast tomorrow, high of 19.

Chongqing will be overcast with a low of 16, tomorrow will be cloudy, high of 22.

Lhasa will be clear with a low of minus 3, tomorrow will be sunny with a high of 14.

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

Kabul, slight rain, 9.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, cloudy, high of 24,Brisbane,rainy,27,Perth, cloudy, 34,And finally Auckland, New Zealand will have slight rain with a high of 18 degrees Celsius.

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

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

More details emerging about who the attackers were in Friday's deadly terrorist attacks in Paris.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and other G20 leaders set to meet later today in Turkey to talk about counter-terrorism.

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