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

Coming up on the program this morning...

Chinese President Xi Jinping calling for breakthroughs in the area of military reform...

China pledging to continuously help the long-term economic development of African countries...

And Russia announcing a slew of measures to retaliate against Turkey's downing of its bomber jet...

In Business.... Chinese Premier Li Keqiang calling on financial service institutions in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone to further reform and opening up...

In Sports...Russia accepts the ban imposed by the IAAF over ongoing doping allegations...

And in Entertainment.... The iconic Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade being held in New York City...

All of that coming up in the next hour.

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TopXi urges breakthroughs in military structural reformChinese President Xi Jinping has urged breakthroughs in reform of the country's armed forces by 2020.

Xi Jinping, also chairman of the Central Military Commission, has vowed to reorganize the current military command system.

CRI's Xie Cheng with more.

Reporter:

In line with the new planned structure, the CMC will take charge of the overall administration of the armed forces, the armed police, the militia and the reserve forces.

A general command center for land forces will be set up, enabling the CMC to directly administer and command various military departments.

The current regional military commands will be regrouped into new battle zone commands supervised by the CMC.

Currently, a majority of the Chinese troops, consisting of 850,000 ground forces, are deployed in seven military area commands headquartered in Shenyang, Beijing, Jinan, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Lanzhou.

The CMC, the top leadership organ of the Chinese military, exercises command and control over the seven military area commands, the Navy, the Air Force and the Second Artillery Corps through four general headquarters.

At a top military leadership meeting drawing to close Thursday in Beijing, Xi Jinping says the move to deepen defense and military reform is aimed at breaking down systematic, structural and policy barriers.

President Xi has also pledged to eradicate the "soil" of corruption in the military.

A new discipline inspection commission and an audit office will be established within the CMC.

China will also cut its troops levels by 300,000. Administrative and non-combat personnel in the military will be downsized.

The Chinese president's announcement comes more than two months after he vowed to downsize the nation's 2.3 million-member armed forces at the Victory Day parade on September 3rd of this year.

For CRI, I'm Xie ChengChina and Djibouti Discuss Construction of Supporting Facilities for Chinese Peacekeeping Troops: FMChina has announced it's consulting with Djibouti in Eastern Africa about the construction of supporting facilities for China's peacekeepers.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said the move will be significant since it might resolve the oil and food supply difficulties faced by China's peacekeeping navy forces.

"The establishment of related facilities will be conducive to the further peacekeeping action, the escort mission off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden and providing humanitarian aid by the Chinese navy. It will be conducive to the Chinese army to go on performing its international duty of safeguarding global and regional peace and stability."China has dispatched 21 batches of fleets for escort missions since 2008, involving a total of over 60 warships to carry out missions in the Gulf of Aden and areas off the coasts of Somalia, enforcing relevant UN resolutions.

China urges U.S.,not to flex muscles on South China SeaChina's Defense Ministry has warned the U.S. not to send military vessels again to Chinese territory in the South China Sea.

The U.S. sailed its warship USS Lassen to waters near Zhubi Reef on a so-called freedom of navigation patrol in late October, drawing strong protests from China.

Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian says while there is no problem with freedom of navigation, China urges the U.S. not to be provocative under this pretext.

He made the remarks when answering a journalist's question about possible future U.S. freedom of navigation operations in South China Sea.

Wu notes that the Chinese military will take all the necessary measures to safeguard national sovereignty, security and maritime rights.

China to enhance cooperation with Africa for win-win results: Chinese FMAnchor:

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says President Xi Jinping is going to outline a series of new ideas for increasing ties with Africa at next week Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in South Africa next week in Johannesburg.

CRI's Tu Yun has more.

Reporter:

Wang Yi has pledged that China will continuously help African countries with their economic development and enhance cooperation for what he called 'win-win' results.

He said President Xi Jinping will expound China's new concepts for developing China-Africa relations in his speech to the summit.

"President Xi Jinping will deliver a keynote speech to the whole of Africa at the opening session of the summit, to expound China's new concepts, new policies and new ideas for developing the relations with Africa and introduce a series of key measures in handling China-Africa relations in the future."The minister made the remarks at the 15th Lanting Forum held in Beijing on Thursday.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the founding of the Forum on China-Africa CooperationWang Yi said the FOCAC forum will be upgraded from the ministerial level to a summit of leaders.

He said the upgrading meets expectations from African nations and also meets the needs of the development of China-Africa relations.

He also said the summit will review and adopt two documents, outlining cooperation plans between the two sides over the coming three years.

"We will focus on helping African countries build three systems - industrialization, food safety and public health, and disease prevention as a way to resolve the three issues of employment, food and health."Wang Yi added that anti-terrorism will also be among topics at the summit.

"As China continues to promote pragmatic cooperation between China and Africa, we will strengthen bilateral cooperation in counter-terrorism and the fight against extremism. No matter what difficulties we encounter, the Chinese people will stand firmly together with the African people, because we are good friends, good partners, and close brothers, hand in hand."Last week, Militants attacked a hotel in Malian capital of Bamako last week, killing 22 people, including three Chinese.

FOCAC was established in 2000, aimed at promoting cooperation between China and Africa through dialogue.

This year's session is scheduled to open on December 4th in Johannesburg.

Trade between China and Africa exceeded 220 billion US dollars last year.

For CRI, this is Tu Yun.

China to increase investment in AfricaAnchor:

Meanwhile, the Chinese Commerce Ministry has said the future cooperation between China and Africa will be adjusted based on past experience.

CRI's Min Rui has moreReporter:

Vice Commerce Minister Qian Keming says future cooperation will focus more on strengthening infrastructure construction in Africa and helping the continent to realize industrialization and agricultural modernization.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Qian says China and Africa have mutually benefited from their cooperation.

"China has been Africa's largest trading partner for the past six-consecutive-years. The trade volume between the two reached 220 billion U.S dollars in 2014, 20 times higher than the figure when the Forum was established. Africa is an emerging destination for investment from Chinese enterprises. The stock of direct investment from China to Africa has reached 32.4 billion US dollars, growing by over 30% yearly in the past 15 years."Despite the robust figures, trade between China and Africa has been under downward pressure since a slowdown in the world economy this year.

Qian points out that this is largely due to the slide in global commodity trading prices.

He notes that China's imports from Africa have largely not been affected by the trend, while China's exports to Africa reached 80.9 billion U.S dollars, representing a 5.8% year on year growth.

Qian said all these figures show that cooperation between China and Africa is looking optimistic but that there are indeed some imbalances in the Sino-African trade structure which need to be adjusted in the future.

"China has trading surplus while Africa has a deficit. Also the trading structure is not diversified enough. Until now, our imports mostly focus on natural resources and some primary agricultural products. So we will try to diversity our imports from Africa. On the other hand, China will expand the investment scale to Africa, and promote further production capacity cooperation."Qian says China will unveil a package of cooperation proposals at the Johannesburg meeting to help African countries upgrade industrial structure, safeguard food security and build infrastructure.

Also at the summit, Chinese companies will exhibit their expertise in the areas of railway, aviation, electricity, telecom, machinery and smart manufacturing.

For CRI, I am Min Rui.

China, CEE countries sign memo to promote Belt and Road InitiativeChina has taken another step forward in synergizing its development plan with those of central and eastern European countries.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, together with leaders from Poland, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Slovakia, witnessed the signing of five MoUs on jointly promoting the Belt and Road initiative.

The Belt and Road Initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative.

Proposed by President Xi in 2013, the initiative is aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes.

The Chinese president on Thursday met with leaders from 16 CEE countries, who just attended an economic and trade forum in east China's Suzhou City.

Central and eastern Europe marks an essential part in China's Belt and Road Initiative as a quarter of the countries along the routes are located in the region.

In June, China and Hungary inked a memorandum of understanding on promoting the initiative, the first such document China has signed with a European country.

Czech PM expresses hope to forge close ties with ChinaAnchor:

Following the conclusion of a summit among China and Central and Eastern European countries, the Prime Minister of Czech Republic is pressing for stronger ties between his country and China.

CRI's Wang Mengzhen has more.

Report:

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka is leading a delegation of politicians and business leaders to China this week.

Sobotka says the Czech Republic is now actively promoting the "16+1" mechanism among China and the 16 countries which make up central and eastern Europe, saying the mechanism has a lot of potential for the development of future cooperation.

"In the past three years, the "16+1" cooperation mechanism has been proven to be workable and fruitful, and it has attracted more and more European countries to collaborate with China. For the first time, Austria and Greece have also joined this year's summit as observers, while many other EU member states have showed their interest to the mechanism."Beyond the usual pledges of broad-based cooperation at these types of meetings, high-speed rail construction has been put forward as a specific area where China can help Central and Eastern Europe develop.

The final touches on an agreement have been made to create a rail link connecting Hungary's capital Budapest with the Serbian capital, Belgrade.

At the same time, the Chinese side has also put forward a plan to give Central and Eastern European countries more access to infrastructure financing, including China becoming part of a European development bank, while at the same time, giving the 16-countries in the CCE grouping preferential access to capital from Chinese banks.

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka says this should help create closer ties with China's financial system.

"Right now, the Bank of China has set up a branch in the capital city Prague. Now we are looking for more Chinese financial institutions to have their offices in Czech. Yesterday, I have visited the well-known Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, and the bank is also considering to expand its overseas business to Czech. As such, we will continue our effort to make Prague a financial hub linking China and Central, Eastern Europe."Beyond traditional cooperation, which has almost exclusively focused on infrastructure, the Czech Prime Minister says his government needs to foster closer contact with China on an educational level.

"We welcome more Chinese students to study in the Czech Republic. In fact, our country is in need of more Chinese interpreters. Since business contacts have been extended, and more and more Czech cities are establishing partnership with China, there is a high demand for people who can speak both Czech and Chinese."The Chinese and Czech governments are also looking into setting up a joint science and research institute.

As part of his time in China, Sobotka has also given a lecture at Peking University.

He is also sitting down with Chinese President Xi Jinping before wrapping up his week-long visit to China.

For CRI, I am Wang Mengzhen.

The construction of HK-Macau-Zhuhai Bridge to be delayed by a yearAnchor:

Hong Kong authorities have confirmed the completion of the bridge linking Hong Kong to Macau and the mainland city of Zhuhai will be delayed for at least a year, with construction not set to finish now until the end of 2017.

CRI's Hong Kong correspondent Li Jing has the story.

Report:

The Hong Kong Highways Department has confirmed for the first time the Hong Kong section of the bridge won't be completed by the original plan of the end of next year.

There has been a lot of speculation surrounding the delays, but no official confirmation until this week.

Hong Kong's Highways Department is pinning the blame on a number of factors, including the physical difficulties involved in the construction, as well as issues surrounding land reclamation for the bridge's struts, a shortage of labor and supplies, as well as issues connected to environmental requirements and height limits.

Hong Kong lawmakers don't appear likely to give the green-light to add any additional money into the mix to get the bridge built faster.

Hong Kong Transport Secretary Anthony Cheung says they have no plans to ask for additional cash in the budget.

"Earlier this year, the Transport Panel at LegCo supported our 5.4 billion HK dollars budget request. It should be enough to deal with the delays in the rest of the construction."Hong Kong's contribution to the bridge was originally set at 30 billion HK dollars, which is just under 4-billion US dollars.

However, the additional 5.4 billion HK dollars being asked for hasn't been approved yet by Hong Kong's Legislative Council.

Another factor causing delays is the drifting of an artificial island built for the bride, which has reportedly drifted as much as 7-meters because of the dredging methods being used.

LegCo Transport panel vice-Chair Tang Ka-piu says this may end up pushing costs higher.

"I am worried the cost and budget will be higher. I urge the Secretary of Transport to have more detailed and clear explanation about the budget and process to the Transport Panel of LegCo."After the bridge is opened, the travel time from Hong Kong to the mainland city of Zhuhai will be cut from more than three hours to only half an hour.

Professor Xu Jiang with the Department of Geography and Resource Management at the Chinese University of Hong Kong says the delay is likely going to have an impact on plans for the integration of the Pearl River Delta region.

"The three cities could focus their marketing strategies around day trips or two-day trips if it is easier for visitors to travel around. So the delay will cause a slowdown of the anticipated development of the regional tourism industry. The bridge is a key piece of infrastructure for Hong Kong playing a greater role in the region."Hong Kong authorities are also hoping to use the bridge to leverage more shipping container traffic into the city, as it will be easier to move the products to the mainland through the bridge.

Construction of the bridge started in December 2009.

However, work on the Hong Kong side was held-up for around 2-years due to legal challenges over the environmental impact of the bridge.

For CRI, this is Li Jing in Hong Kong.

Experts on China's Latest Hukou ReformAnchor:

In the latest step to reform its Hukou system, China is considering extending the household registration to 13 million unregistered citizens.

But experts say the plan needs comprehensive preparation before being carried out.

CRI's Luo Wen reports.

Reporter:

According to the National Population Census in 2010, there are 13 million unregistered people in China, accounting for 1 percent of its population.

The Public Security Ministry declared last week that it would help these citizens obtain proper recognition.

Wan Haiyuan, from the country's top economic planner, the NDRC, says without hukou, the lives of these people are largely tough.

"The figure of 13 million outnumbers the entire populations of some foreign countries. Without Hukou, it's difficult for them to find a job or lead a smooth life."Without a hukou, a person in China is denied access to welfare benefits like public education and reimbursement for healthcare costs.

Wan Haiyuan led a survey last year, covering 15 provinces and autonomous regions in the country.

It found more than 60 percent of those unregistered are from families violating the old family planning policy.

Other unregistered people include abandoned children, children born out of wedlock and those whose documents are missing.

Wan Haiyuan warns a new social problem is looming and it needs effective policies to address it.

"These people don't have registration records and neither do their spouses or children. Without efficient measures introduced, a new social stratum will be solidified and it may affect social stability."Wan agrees on the hukou-granting move, but suggests the government do more before it puts the plan into practice.

"The management of hukou in China involves more than 10 government departments, so the first and most important thing is to make them work in a coordinated way. Then, the government also has to think about how to enhance the current social security system to cover such a great number of newly registered people."But Zhang Yi with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences advocates it's more important now to build legal grounds for the move.

"The family planning law should be repealed or revised, making the violation of the one-child policy unnecessary for household registration."Zhang Yi believes the capacity of the country's public service system is enough to serve all of the newly registered.

"It won't bring a big problem since the 13 million people are scattered throughout the country. A single province or autonomous region accommodates no more than 1 million, with which the current public service system is able to deal."China officially promulgated the family register system back in 1958 to control the movement of people between urban and rural areas amid a severe supply shortage.

Since the Third Plenum of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in 2013, the top leadership has issued several documents on hukou reform, signaling a determination to reform the system.

In late 2013, the government first relaxed the family planning policy, allowing couples to have a second child if one spouse was an only child.

This October, it introduced an overall two-child policy, reducing the possibility of people remaining unregistered due to a violation of the country's laws.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

Russia to Launch Sanctions against Turkey over Downed JetRussia has announced a series of economic and military measures to retaliate against Turkey's downing of a Russian bomber jet.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday said the measures are designed against "an act of aggression.""These drafted measures will introduce bans and restrictions with respect to the activities of Turkish economic structures on the Russian territory, restriction and bans on shipments of goods including food, on works and services provided by the Turkish companies, as well as other restrictive measures."Russia's Economy Ministry said Moscow will also limit flights between Russia and Turkey, halt preparations for a joint free trade zone, and restrict high profile projects with Turkey.

The Russian defense ministry also said it had cut off all cooperation with the Turkish military.

Meanwhile, Turkey said it will not apologize for the incident, but has called for the two countries to keep all diplomatic and communication channels open.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the two countries' top leaders have opportunities ahead.

"We have agreed with my Russian counterpart over the phone principally to meet face-to-face at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Minister's meeting in Belgrade. President Vladimir Putin and our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also have opportunity to meet."The Turkish president said on Thursday that he tried to talk with Vladimir Putin following the incident, but the Russian side did not respond.

Germany to send aircraft to Syria to help France Fight ISIn the aftermath of the attacks in Paris, Germany has changed policy and decided to join the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet confirmed on Thursday that Germany will send aircraft for reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.

Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said that the government had agreed to provide satellite surveillance.

"In Syria, a clear picture of the situation is needed, which means surveillance. We can provide a German French satellite, which can deliver a precise picture of the wider area."The moves follow attacks by Islamic extremists in Paris on November 13 that killed 130 people and led French President Hollande to call for a grand coalition of countries to fight ISIS.

The decision still needs parliamentary approval.

Germany currently provides weapons and training for Kurds fighting against IS in Iraq.

Belgium Lowers Terror Attack Alert Level for BrusselsBelgian officials on Thursday reduced their assessment of the threats facing Brussels, by lowering the threat level for the capital city from four to three.

The government earlier announced on Monday that it would keep Brussels at level 4, the highest level possible, until next Monday.

Prime Minister Charles Michel said on Thursday evening that the decision to lower the threat level back to 3, which was made by the government's Coordinating Unit for Threat Analysis, means the character of an attack is no longer "imminent".

Michel said soldiers would remain in Brussels and security would still be on alert with progressive and regular assessments of the threat level.

The government had banned any event attracting large crowds to guarantee people's safety and to preserve security resources.

WeatherBeijing will be cloudy with a high of 0; clear tonight with a low of -4.

Shanghai will be sunny with a high of 7, cloudy tonight and a low of 4.

Chongqing will be overcast with a high of 13, slight rain tonight, lows of 11.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 22.

Kabul, sunny, 11.

Over to North America,New York will be cloudy with a high of 18 degrees.

Washington, cloudy, 20 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 29.

Toronto will have slight rain with a high of 13 degrees.

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

And Rio de Janeiro will be overcast with a high of 26 degrees Celsius.

Headline NewsChina, Africa launch arbitration center to handle disputesAn arbitration center has been launched in South Africa's Johannesburg as an alternative to solving disputes between China and Africa.

The China-Africa Joint Arbitration Center (CAJAC) was established given the rising trade levels between Africa and China and the current slow court processes for disputes.

The center will handle labor, business and the governments' complaints between the Chinese and Africans.

It is expected to help facilitate trade and relations between Africa and China.

South African Advocate Michael Kuper SC will become the first chairperson of the center.

China tightens control over psychotropic substancesChina is tightening its control over the manufacture and use of psychotropic and anesthetic substances.

This comes amid growing abuse of synthetic drugs based on them.

The National Narcotics Control commission says the manufacture of these drugs has developed on a considerate scale in the country's Yangtze River Delta and has ties with overseas drug trafficking groups.

According to the commission, 116 types of psychotropic substances are on the current control list, and more will be included as new situations arise.

A campaign is also set to be carried out to check the manufacturing and use of listed substances and keep a record of all groups and individuals involved.

South Korea and North Korea to Hold Senior-Level TalksSouth Korea and North Korea will hold a senior level meeting on December 11. South Korea's unification ministry says that vice-ministerial-level talks will be held in the border city of Kaesong in the North.

The agenda will include issues on improving inter-Korean relations.

The meeting was decided on by the two sides in August. Tensions escalated between the South and North in August over landmine explosions near the border, which severely injured two South Korean soldiers. The two sides eventually met to defuse tensions, and decided to hold future talks.

The last ministerial-level talks between the two Koreas were held in 2007.

South Africa Lifts Ban on Domestic Trade of Rhino HornsA court in South Africa has lifted a ban on domestic trade of rhino horns in a case brought by rhino breeders.

It came after 12 suspects including 3 police officers were arrested early this week for rhino poaching.

The case was filed by John Hume and Johan Kruger, 2 biggest private rhino breeders in the country, who have argued that the moratorium on the trade, imposed by the government 6 years ago, only caused a rhino poaching crisis rather than curbed it.

Minister of Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa has claimed she intends to appeal the decision made by the High Court in Pretoria.

Official stats show 749 rhinos in South Africa died from poaching between this January and August, while over 1200 rhinos were illegally killed in the country last year.

Biz ReportsStocksFirst, a quick look at the closing numbers across North America and Europe as well as a recap on the Chinese market.

U.S. stock markets are closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving Day holiday.

With retailers preparing for the start of the holiday shopping season, retail sales are expected to be strong.

Over in Europe, shares ended well.

The British benchmark FTSE 100 increased by 0.9 percent. Glencore increased by 5.8 percent, topping the gainers of the blue chips.

Germany's Dax surged 1.4 percent. Infineon Technologies AG topped the list of risers with a remarkable 12.9 percent gain.

This while the French CAC 40 added more than one percent.

Quick recap on the Chinese markets:

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.3 percent.

The smaller Shenzhen index lost one percent.

Premier urges stronger reform in financial service in Shanghai FTZChinese Premier Li Keqiang has urged financial service institutions in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone to carry out stronger financial reforms and opening up.

Li said at a press release in Shanghai on Thursday that the negative list approach should be expanded to financial services such as banks, securities, insurance and funding companies, so as to better manage foreign investment.

First piloted in the Shanghai FTZ in 2013, the negative list model states sectors and businesses that are off limits to foreign investment, and will be adopted nationwide in the next five years.

It will help motivate foreign investors, ensure the protection of foreign investors' rights and better allocate their money.

Since the launch of the Shanghai FTZ in 2013, the Shanghai Pilot FTZ has seen significant progress in attracting foreign investment with the help of financial reforms.

The number of newly registered foreign-invested enterprises in the Shanghai FTZ rose more than 50 percent in the first nine month this year.

Corporate News of this weekLet's check out some of the main events taking place on the corporate front in China this week.

Beijing-based Xuan Yi Xia Technology, operator of short video app Miaopai, has announced the completion of a USD 200 mln fourth round of funding led by Chinese internet giant Sina.

Sina and Xuan Yi Xia will jointly create a USD 100 mln mobile video investment fund and partner in the short term to promote direct broadcast products.

For more on this topic, we are joined on the line by Doug Young, Associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief with Reuters.

1, Is Miaopai teaming up with Sina a clear signal to counter Tencent's video streaming business?

2, Some are saying the short video industry will experience rapid growth in the coming 2 years, even becoming the next Wechat or Weibo, what is your take on that?

China Unicom has drafted a tentative proposal for 4G network sharing between it and rival operator China Telecom.

It's been reported that the agreement could cover arrangements for sharing base station, equipment room, and transmission resources, as well as technology.

1, Is the second largest player teaming up with the third to fight China Mobile?

2, If this proposal is carried out, will this result in Chinese users seeing lighter phone bills?

PBOC, ECB finish currency swap testChina's central bank and the European Central Bank completed two tests on bilateral currency swaps this year.

The tests were conducted in April and November 2015 by providing symbolic amounts of euro and renminbi liquidity.

The funds involved in the tests were ultimately allocated to some commercial banks in China and the euro zone.

In October 2013, the PBOC and the ECB signed a bilateral local currency swap arrangement for the purpose of supporting economic and trade activities and ensuring the stability of financial markets.

The arrangement will facilitate trade and investment activities between China and Europe and it marks a new achievement on the bilateral monetary and financial cooperation front.

CITIC Securities under probe for rule violationChina Securities Regulatory Commission is now investigating CITIC Securities for violation of regulations.

As the country's largest brokerage, the firm did not give any details of the probe.

The Chinese government has toughened supervision over securities firms since the stock market began to swing in mid-June.

The latest investigation came after Thursday report says CITIC Securities has overstated some of its financial derivatives by more than 1 trillion yuan, or about 156 billion U.S. dollars, in monthly reports from April to September.

In response, CITIC securities says the incorrect numbers were caused by a system upgrade and they were not included in its quarterly financial filings.

CITIC Securities' shares dipped one percent Thursday, while all other brokerage firms also posted declines.

China issues 14 bln yuan-denominated treasury bondsChina's Ministry of Finance on Thursday issued 10 billion Yuan-denominated treasury bonds to institutional investors in Hong Kong, worth some 1.6 billion U.S. dollars.

Another 2 billion yuan of treasury bonds will be issued to individual residents of Hong Kong starting from Nov. 27 till Dec. 14.

Meanwhile, the ministry on Thursday also floated 2 billion yuan of treasury bonds to five foreign central banks and local monetary authorities.

Hong Kong has been given the unique position in floating yuan-denominated treasury bonds, because the majority of offshore renminbi is traded in Hong Kong and it is Chinese territory.

China started selling yuan-denominated treasury bonds in Hong Kong in 2009 to support Hong Kong's economy and speed up the expansion of the offshore yuan business.

Alipay expands mobile payment service to TaiwanMainland tourists in Taiwan will soon be able to buy from thousands of vendors using a mobile app from Alipay.

Owned by e-commerce giant Alibaba, Alipay is the leading electronic payment platform on the mainland.

Although currently only a few chain stores in Taiwan offer the service, Alipay is partnering up with local Taiwan's E.SUN Bank to promote this project.

The total number of vendors to adopt the mobile payment method is set to reach 3,000 by the end of the year, and will reach 10,000 next year.

Alipay's mobile payment services will help small vendors in Taiwan who cannot afford cross-border credit card systems such as Visa.

It also saves mainland tourists the trouble of converting renminbi to New Taiwan dollars.

Alipay and the E.Sun Bank are also working to expand the service to Taiwan residents.

SportsRussia accepts ban from IAAFThe world's athletics governing body IAAF says during its council meeting in Monaco that Russia accepts the ban from the sport in wake of the doping revelations.

Russia's membership at the IAAF has been suspended. It can only reinstate itself as a member if an inspection team deems Russia has met all verification criteria.

Russia's anti-doping advisor Natalya Zhelanova says they will welcome the support and any measure that will help them in resolving the issue.

"Yes we will try. From our government side, we support all the recommendations because it's not a governmental organisation. Two of these are, it's absolutely the same like WADA organisation, an anti-doping organisation and ARAF, it's the same, it's independent from government, it's a sport organisation but we do our best for support and to implement recommendation that were given by IAAF and WADA."The World Anti-doping Agency has pledged its support and asks Russia to be committed.

Meanwhile, IAAF president Sebastian Coe has stepped down from his ambassadorial role with Nike.

An internal Nike email which has been leaked suggested Coe gave support to the US city of Eugene to host the 2021 world athletics championships in close links with the company.

The hosting rights were surprisingly awarded to Eugene without going through a biddig process.

Coe says there is not a conflict of interests and he is stepping down to avoide any more distractions.

"The current noise level around this ambassadorial role is not good for the IAAF and it is not good for Nike. Frankly it is a distraction to the 18-hour days that I and our teams are working to steady the ship."Coe also said he will step down as chair of the British Olympic Association after next year's Rio Games.

Deng Wei Clinches Three Golds at the World Weightlifting ChampionshipsIn weightlifting,Chinese lifters have taken four golds at the World Weightlifting Championships in Houston, Texas, with three of them going to Deng Wei.

Deng opened the women's 63-kilogram final with a snatch lift of 113 kilos, then followed with a world record clean and jerk lift of 146 kilos for a winning total of 259.

"I'm very happy to win this title. Because I didn't have a lot of training before this competition. I was also not that confident, as I haven't completely recovered from some injuries I suffered several weeks before. But I gave it my all, and ended up breaking the world record. This is far beyond my expectations."The other gold medal of the Day came from Tian Tao who won the men's 85-kilogram snatch.

Like his teammate Lv Xiaojun from a day earlier, Tian failed all his clean and jerk attempts and was disqualified from the 85-kilo finals.

Zhou Yuelong, Marco Fu in second round of UK ChampionshipIn snooker,China's Zhou Yuelong and Marco Fu from Hong Kong have both made it into the second round of the UK Championship.

World Cup winner Zhou will be put to the test when he meets former world champion Shawn Murphy.

Fu set up an all-Chinese derby with Yu Delu.

Zhao Xintong and Zhan Anda are out.

Some of the late Chinese starters of the first round include Zhang Yong, Xiao Guodong and Cao Yupeng who are all scheduled to play later today.

Guo'an, Manzano terminate contract; Europa League resultsIn football,Beijing Guo'an manager Gregorio Manzano has confirmed he will not be coaching the Chinese Super League team next season.

Manzano said on his verified Weibo account that he has reached an agreement with Guo'an to terminate his contract which runs until the end of next year.

Manzano's position has been in doubt since the end of season at the beginning of this month. He led Guo'an to a fourth-place finish in the CSL but was shut out of next season's AFC Champions League.

Manzano took over Guo'an in February 2014 and was voted best coach of that season.

Guo'an have started selecting a successor but candidates have not been announced.

In other football action, from the Europa League this morning,Group A's Ajax sank a last-ditch killer to beat Celtic 2-1 and send the Scottish side crashing out.

Liverpool progressed into the knock-outs from top of Group B with a 2-1 win over Bordeaux.

Dortmund conceded their top spot in Group C as they went down to FK Krasnodar 1-0.

Captain Mats Hummels gifted a penalty just 30 seconds into the game which Krasnodar converted into a winner.

Edmund makes debut, opens Davis Cup FinalsIn tennis,The early rosters have been set up for this weekend's Davis Cup finals between Britain and Belgium.

British youngster Kyle Edmund will be making his debut in the final against David Goffin in the opening singles.

Andy Murray then takes on Ruben Bemelmans on the same day.

Murray will team up with his brother Jamie to play Steve Darcis and Kimmer Coppejans in doubles.

The reverse singles originally set for Andy Murray and Goffin could be changed with Darcis potentially coming in if it goes to a deciding rubber in the best-of-five finals.

EntertainmentMacy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Kicks off in NYCThe massive Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade kicked off in New York City on Thursday.

The parade has featured giant character balloons, signature floats, the nation's finest marching brands, enchanting performance groups, celebrity appearances and the one-and-only Santa Claus.

Serving as a highlight of the parade, the executive producer of Macy's Thanksgiving parade, Amy Kule, introduces the four new incredible balloons floated along the parade route this year.

"This year we've got a brand new Ronald McDonald balloon. We've got Scrat, he's got the world's biggest fangs, of course he's chasing his iconic acorn. He's not going to get it but he's going to keep trying. We've got Red from 'Angry Birds,' you know he happens to be the only angry item in the whole parade. And of course we've got Dino from Sinclair."Organizers say this year's parade has featured 17 balloons in total, with iconic cartoon figures like Hello Kitty, Paddington Bear, and Pikachu from 'Pokemon' on the list.

A star-studded cast, including Pat Benatar Neil Giraldo and Mariah Carey, have also given performances during the parade.

Considered to be America's most beloved and the biggest parade, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has attracted over ten thousand people taking part in it.

The parade is also watched by more than 3.5 million people on the streets of Manhattan, and over 50 million people nationwide watching the televised event at their homes.

The parade route is 2.5 miles long, and started at 9 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Thursday, and ended at 12 p.m.

It marks the 89th year of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Actress Tang Wei Attends Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Hong KongChinese actress Tang Wei has made an appearance at a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Hong Kong.

Meeting the press, the 36-year-old actress says she hasn't figured out her holiday plans yet, because she would rather take opportunities as they come.

Married with South Korean director Kim Tae-yong, Tang Wei unveils that he already gave her the best gift she could ask for.

"I think the biggest surprise he gave me is his love. I don't do any planning in life. I just go with flow and take it easy. No matter what happens, I'm like 'Wow, it's fun.'"Kim and Tang met when he directed her in his 2009 romance drama, "Late Autumn." The two tied the knot in 2014 in an intimate ceremony in Sweden.

Tang Wei is now taking a break from acting after an incredibly busy year.

Five of her films were released in 2015, including historical drama 'A Tale of Three Cities', musical 'Office' and her first Hollywood endeavor, 'Black Hat', opposite Chris Hemsworth.

One Direction discuss new albumOne Direction has talked about recording new album as a four-piece, and their upcoming hiatus at a press conference held in Mexico City.

Group member Louis Tomlinson shares his feelings on Zayn Malik's leaving.

"It's going to be strange when someone we have worked for the last four or five years leaves, so of course there were adjustments to be made, but actually it was quite cool, actually I felt that we got on better as a band and we are more passionate about this than ever."The band also announced that they will take a break from next March, in order to pursue their solo careers.

Group member Liam Payne gives more details.

"So I think there is not a question or not whether we're going to come back. I think we have been working hard for the last five years, and we just need a little time to kind of regroup I guess, otherwise we'll lose sight of it. They (the fans) can be excited."One Direction is set to perform at the Telehit Awards in Mexico City today.

Their fifth studio album 'Made in the A.M.', including hit songs 'Drag Me Down' and 'Perfect' is now in stores.

WeatherBeijing will be cloudy with a high of 0; clear tonight with a low of -4.

Shanghai will be sunny with a high of 7, cloudy tonight and a low of 4.

Chongqing will be overcast with a high of 13, slight rain tonight, lows of 11.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 22.

Kabul, sunny, 11.

Over to North America,New York will be cloudy with a high of 18 degrees.

Washington, cloudy, 20 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 29.

Toronto will have slight rain with a high of 13 degrees.

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

And Rio de Janeiro will be overcast with a high of 26 degrees Celsius.

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

Recapping our top stories this morning...

Chinese President Xi Jinping calling for breakthroughs in the area of military reform...

China pledging to continuously help the long-term economic development of African countries...

And Russia announcing a slew of measures to retaliate against Turkey's downing of its bomber jet...

On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, Spencer Musick in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together.