Economic and trade cooperation to dominate the Chinese President's visit to Africa.

China tightens controls on so called Lab Drugs.

Russian lawmakers warn of more sanctions against Turkey over the downing of a fighter jet in Syria.

In the 2nd half of the hour, We have our weekly roundup of the week’s business news.

In sports... call it 17-and-counting now for the NBA's Golden State Warriors.

And in entertainment - First cross Straight TV expo held in Taiwan.

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

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

We're also on WeChat. Type in "Beijing Hour" to find us.

Email us directly at [email protected].

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

Top NewsEconomic and trade cooperation to dominate discussions during Xi's Visit to ZimbabweAnchor:

Observers in Zimbabwe are suggesting trade and access to capital will be the main talking points on the Zimbabwean agenda when Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in the southern African country this coming week.

CRI's Zhao Jianfu has more.

Reporter:

Takura Zhangazha, a political commentator based in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, says multi-billion-dollar deals are expected to be consummated and in motion during the Chinese President's visit to his country.

"The first key thing that our government would want, and possibly the people of Zimbabwe, is clarification and finalization of things that were referred to as mega deals, in other words, bilateral trade agreements, loan agreements that were signed between the Zimbabwean government and Chinese government or Chinese corporations,"Back in August of 2014, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe traveled to Beijing, and the two countries signed cooperation agreements covering infrastructure development, energy and power generation, telecommunications, tourism, and agriculture.

President Xi will pay a state visit to Zimbabwe Dec. 1 - 2 on his way to South Africa for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit.

Earlier China's ambassador to Zimbabwe Huang Ping said President Xi would also announce more assistance to Zimbabwe during the visit.

In addition to development funding from China, economic analyst Washington Mehlomakhulu says Zimbabwe also aims to boost trade with China, which is already one of its strongest economic partners.

"Zimbabwe is looking at strengthening trade relationships between Zimbabwe and China. If you notice, the numbers have been growing annually since Zimbabwe seriously engaged China but also I think Zimbabwe would also want to see not just in terms of strengthening the relationships but also making sure that the relationship is also beneficial to Zimbabwe as a trading partner, in that they are equal partners going forward,"Mehlomakhulu says he thinks the Chinese leader's visit is also likely to help ease a chronic liquidity shortage, as Zimbabwe is in desperate need of recapitalization.

"They will look at how best to tap into the Chinese credit markets in terms of accessing credit, especially for Zimbabwean banks, which have a great need for credit,"China's investment in Zimbabwe hit 601 million U.S. dollars in 2013, surpassing its investment in any other African country of the year. Bilateral trade topped 1.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2014.

For CRI, this is Zhao Jianfu.

Experts show confidence in the cooperation between Africa and ChinaSouth African officials are expressing a lot of hope about the forthcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation next week in South Africa.

Dolana Msimang, South Africa's ambassador to China, says expectations are running high in her country about Xi Jinping's impending trip.

"And China-African cooperation has brightened Africans' prospect in many ways. China is Africa's largest trading partner, as we all know. And for us Africans, we don't think we could find a better partner, to partner us in this development quest. I wish to take also this opportunity to express on behalf of the South African Government our deepest appreciation for the commitment and dedication of the initiator of FOCAC. We are confident that it will be a memorable summit with memorable outcomes, leading to tangible results and improves the lives of peoples of Africa and China."At the same time, Chinese observers are suggesting the annual forum next week may go beyond trade and finance.

Professor Liu Hongyuan with Zhejiang Normal University suggests a focus on education and joint-research may be one area of interest.

"China and Africa should be partnering more through cultural and educational exchanges to try to absorb the essence of each other's cultures and wisdom. The think tanks and academic institutions on both sides should also be working more closely together. China should consider building universities in Africa. This could help facilitate the creation of joint science labs. On top of this, more should be done to highlight the cultural legacies both China and Africa share to create more cultural links."The Summit of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is due to be held in Johannesburg on December 4th and 5thCoffins of Chinese victims killed in Mali's terror attack return homeThe coffins of three Chinese victims who were killed in a hostage situation at a hotel in Mali last week have been brought back to their homeland.

All three were executives of the China Railway Construction Corporation.

They were killed at the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital Bamako during an attack by a Jihadist group last Friday.

The attack killed 27 people in all.

North China on yellow alert for smogA yellow alert for smog is now in effect for portions of northern China.

Beijing, Tianjin, as well as parts of Hebei, Henan and Shandong will continue to be shrowded in smog into next week.

Visibility of less than 500 meters is being reported in some areas.

Forecasters are warning the smog, which began accumulating in the greater-Beijing area on Friday, may continue to choke the air until at least Tuesday.

Flights in and out of Beijing have so-far not been affected, though flight tracking models are suggesting delays may become an issue.

At this point, authorities have not announced any restrictions on vehicles or construction projects in the capital.

China Tightens Control on "Lab Drugs"New measures are being rolled out in China to contain the fast spread of new psychotropic substances, also known as NPS or "laboratory drugs".

These are a range of drugs designed to mimic the effects of established illicit drugs, such as cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy and LSD.

In its latest move, 116 NPS have been added to "the list of non-medical psychotropic and anesthetic drugs for control."Zhao Zhongchen, from the State Narcotics Control Office, explains the difference between NPS and traditional drugs.

"The psychoactive drug substances we refer to are different from the traditional drugs and synthetic drugs. The fast replacing synthetic drugs act more on the human brain and nervous system. The greatest harm of such substances is that people who use such drugs would cause trouble, as the drugs generate hallucinations, very harmful to society."Related authorities, including public security, food and drug supervision and healthcare are to collaborate in the fight against the production, smuggling and abuse of the listed substances.

The manufacturers of these drugs are continually developing new chemical combinations to replace those that are banned in order to stay one step ahead of the law.

Investigation of Shaolin Abbot partially revealedDetails surrounding an investigation into the abbot of the famed Shaolin Temple in Henan have been revealed, which so far appear to exhonorate him from the allegations made against him.

The Buddhist Association of Henan says Shi Yongxin has the proper qualifications to run the Temple.

At the same time, the Association says all the rules were followed properly when he was elected the head of the famed Temple in late 1996.

Paternity tests taken from Shi Yongxin's two adopted daugthers have also confirmed they are not his biological children.

Authorities say an investigation into his finances and other allegations against him are still underway.

Shi Yongxin, who has been dubbed the "CEO monk" for his moves to commercialize the home of Kung-Fu, has been under investigation after a series of allegations were levelled against him by a former monk at Shaolin.

The accusations made earlier this year have included embezzlement, lying about his true identity and sex with multiple women, which would go against the tenants of being a buddhist monk.

The sexual allegations, which were contained in a police report filed by an unnamed woman, were enough to prompt the investigation.

Panda Basi Celebrates Her 35th BirthdayGiant panda Basi, the oldest of its kind alive in the Chinese mainland, has celebrated her 35th birthday today in southeast China's Fuzhou City.

After her routine exercises and health check, the birthday party go underway, attracting over 300 panda fans and experts from both home and abroad.

San Diego Zoo staff gave the panda a book featuring her US visit in 1987 as a present.

"Basi, happy birthday. You are my favourite panda in the whole world. You have brought so much joy to so many people all around the world."Basi was the inspiration for Panpan, the mascot of the Beijing Asian Games in 1990.

20 years old for a panda is said to equal about 80 in human years, so if Basi were human, she'd be about 100 years old.

Twin Pandas Born in Canada Go to Larger IncubatorThe six-week-old twin giant panda cubs born in Toronto Zoo have been moved to a larger incubator as they have outgrown the one they were in.

As the first pandas born in Canada, they now weigh one kilogram and are in good health.

The two cubs are both given one-on-one time with their mother Er Shun, who is on loan from China as part of a 10-year breeding program.

The zoo staff have been increasing the mother's bamboo intake in order to maintain her milk production.

Er Shun's cubs were conceived through artificial insemination using the sperm of her zoo partner as well as the frozen sperm of two other pandas in China.

The babies are not yet on public display as this is a critical time in their early development.

E-commerce giant Dangdang to open 1000 real bookstores in 3 yearsAnchor:

Chinese online retail giant Dangdang has announced plans to launch 1000 real-world bookstores within 3 years, even though this may seem contrary to current business trends which is seeing just about everything move online.

CRI's Wang Mengzhen has the details.

Reporter:

With the success of online bookstores, many traditional bookstore chains have, in recent years, either declared bankruptcy or cut back their business activities.

This has made many people wonder whether physical 'bricks and mortar' bookstores will soon become a thing of the past.

Yi Yali is one of them - a traditional bookstore owner struggling to survive in the digital era"Between 1997 and 2010, real bookstore business reached its peak with its rapid growth. Many featured bookstores have emerged at that time. However, the bookstore business has been in a decline since 2010 due to rising costs. This includes expensive human resources and rents."However, Yin Changlong, General Manager of Shenzhen Publication and Distribution Group, disagrees with that view, saying the traditional bookstore business has not yet entered the ranks of so-called sunset industries.

"It is the failure of business strategies rather than the fall of brick-and-mortar bookstore industry itself. The biggest challenge for traditional bookstore lies in its single form, which makes it hard to build strong ties with customer. As such, bookstore operators need to be more creative."Many physical bookstore owners have adapted their business models, providing optimal sensory experiences for readers.

Among the most successful - the Taiwan-based eslite and the Beijing-based SDX Joint Publishing Company. They usually partner with other retailers such as coffee shops and art galleries to create a comprehensive cultural space.

Zhang Wei, assistant executive of Dangdang.com says the e-commerce giant wants to follow this business trend.

" Our bookstores in the first and second tier cities will be as large as one to two square kilometers, and they will become a cultural complex with sales of books and other related products with higher profits. Meanwhile, we will team up with renowned shopping malls in an attempt to substantially cut bookstores management costs."At the same time, Dangdang will merge its online and offline business and customer services. This is also being seen as a great opportunity for the online retailer to turn around its financial position.

Dangdang's first offline bookstore is expected to open in Changsha city next month, occupying 1,200 square meters.

Earlier this month, online retailer Amazon also launched its first 'real' bookstore in a Seattle- based shopping mall, making full use of its online business experience in the process.

For CRI, I am Wang Mengzhen.

Chinese Pilots Stage Show in ThailandThe elite Bayi Aerobatic Team from China's air force has wrapped up its first-ever performance in Thailand.

Six J-10 Chinese jet fighters performed on Thursday and Friday, along with their counterparts from the Thai royal air force flying JAS-39 Gripen and F-16 fighter jets.

Sirawut, from the Thai air force, spoke highly of the performance by the Chinese pilots.

"The air show marked the first practical cooperation between the air forces of China and Thailand. I can see from the show that the Chinese pilots display strict discipline and have exquisite flying skills."The air show was staged at the Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, some 250 kilometers northeast of Bangkok.

It was held to mark the end of the recent China-Thailand "Falcon Strike 2015" joint military training which started on November 12.

The Bayi Aerobatic Team, also known as the "August 1st" Aerobatic Team, was founded in 1962.

It was named after the date the Chinese PLA was founded in 1927.

3 killed, over 20 injured after gunmen attack UN base in northern Mali: UNThree people are dead and more than 20 others are hurt after unidentified gunmen attacked a U.N. peacekeeping base in the northern Malian town of Kidal this Saturday.

The United Nations force in Mali is reporting a number of the injured have been evacuated from the scene in critical condition.

Reports are suggesting the compound in Kidal may have come under rocket fire.

The attack in Mali's restive Sahel region comes just over a week after a local Jihadist group attacked the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital Bamako on Friday, leaving 27-dead, including 3 Chinese nationals.

3 Killed in Colorado Springs Shooting, 9 Victims in HospitalA shooting at an abortion clinic in the US state of Colorado has left 3 people dead, including two civilians and a police officer.

Four other civilians and five police officers have been hospitalized.

The 59-year-old suspect, Robert Dear, is in custody.

The motive for the attack remains unclear.

Lieutenant Catherine Buckley from the Colorado Springs Police Department says the dead police officer worked at the local university campus.

"Unfortunately with this tragic situation today we have to confirm that we have two civilian casualties on scene and we have the death of one police officer. We had four civilians transported to local hospitals with gunshot wounds. We had five officers transported to local hospitals with gunshot wounds. The nine individuals that were transported are in good condition at this time."The 44-year-old officer has been identified as Garrett Swasey, a 6-year veteran of the police force.

Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers.

"Obviously we mourn the loss of the two civilian victims. We mourn the loss of a very brave police officer. I just want to make sure that everybody knows that while this was a terrible, terrible tragedy, it could have been much worse but for the actions of the first responders, particularly the police officers involved."Ozy Licano is one of the injured. He spoke to reporters about what happened.

"I was texting on my phone, then I saw a man crawling to the front door, and I saw the glass shatter, and he crawled in to the entry way, then I saw this other fellow come behind him and shoot down and up and walk into the entry way. I tried to get out of my car and run, then the shots came through the glass. Then I started bleeding."While police have not said what they believe the motive for the shooting may have been, the Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado Springs has been the focus of anti-abortion activists for some time.

According to the National Abortion Federation, at least eight abortion clinic workers have been killed since 1977.

Most of the killing has happened since 2009, when abortion doctor George Tiller was shot dead at church in Wichita, Kansas.

The shooting at the Colorado clinic is the latest in a string of mass shootings in the United States.

Around one-third of all mass shootings in the world have taken place in the US over the past 20-years.

Russia has right to military response to Turkey's "criminal act": Duma chairmanRussian lawmakers are warning of more economic sanctions against Turkey from the fallout of this week's downing of a Russian fighter jet by Turkey's airforce.

Russia's State Duma, the parliament, has already taken steps to shame Turkey on the international stage this week, with a motion being put forward to make the denial of the Armenian Genocide during World War I a crime.

Turkey strongly protests against any country which terms the deaths of some 300-thousand Armenians during a forced relocation march by the then-Ottoman Empire as a genocide.

Russia has also cancelled its visa-free travel program with Turkey, on top of issuing a travel warning for the country.

In making the moves, Russian State Duma chair Sergey Naryshkin says its Russia's obligation to take action against Turkey.

"It is really an outrageous and criminal act on the part of the Turkish leadership. In fact it is a preplanned and targeted murder of Russian servicemen. It is a crime that must be punished. The people that have committed this crime have certain names, those must be made public and they must face a criminal penalty. At the same time, of course the response from the Russian side will surely follow. And in line with international law Russia has the right to military response."The Russian military has also deployed its advanced S-400 anti-aircraft missile system around its airbase in Syria.

The systems missiles can easily reach into Turkish territory.

The United States and others in NATO, including Turkey, say the deployment of the S-400 system is only exaserbating tensions, noting the forces Russia is attacking in Syria, including the Islamic State and other rebel groups the Syrian side considers terrorists, do not have air power at their disposal.

The Chinese government is among those calling for calm following Tuesday's shoot-down, which is the first time a NATO country has shot down a Russian fighter jet since the Korean War.

Erdogan hopes to meet Putin over downed jetTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he hopes to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next week in a bid to defuse the crisis over Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane.

Erdogan expressed his hopes the two could meet on the sidelines of the United Nations climate change summit.

"On Monday there will be a meeting in Paris, I believe Mr (Vladimir) Putin will be there, attending. I would like to meet him there and maybe talk (about) this in a reasonable way."He adds there is big potential for cooperation between Russia and Turkey despite tension over the downing of the plane.

Erdogan says he called Putin, but the Russian President did not return his phone call.

The Russian warplane came down in northwestern Syria on Tuesday, near the Turkish border. Turkey said it had entered Turkish airspace.

Russia has denied the aircraft ever left Syrian airspace.

Hollande Lobbies Commonwealth Countries on Climate ChangeFrench President Francois Hollande lobbied Commonwealth leaders on Friday to take action on climate change ahead of the upcoming Paris Climate Conference.

Hollande was speaking to a working session of 53 countries at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Malta, a grouping of mostly former British colonies.

Hollande said the meeting was aimed at preparing nations for a binding agreement in Paris.

"On Monday in Paris we will have a conference on the climate and what we can do for humanity, and see if we are capable of reaching an agreement - a universal agreement, a uniting agreement. And this Commonwealth meeting prepares the nations for such discussion. Notably, the example of Canada and Australia has given this Commonwealth meeting a good foundation for the conference in Paris."The French president also called on leaders to work together to stop extremist violence, saying "man is the greatest enemy of man".

Chile Experiences Severe DroughtA recent study shows Chile is experiencing a "mega-drought" caused by a lack of rain and climate change.

It's facing the longest and most widespread drought the country has seen in recent history, which has led to the evaporation of lakes and reservoirs.

Miguel Vega is the chairman of the Supervisory Board of a River Watch Group in central Chile's Putaendo City.

"It has been more than 10 to 12 years since we last saw water in the river, and we, the people living in Putaendo, wonder whether we will ever see water in the river again."Since 2010, the precipitation in Chile has decreased by 30% during one of the hottest periods in the last century, which is blamed on man-made climate change.

The effects of the drought are expected to continue in Chile throughout this century.

Chinese consumers enjoy Black Friday Sales in ChinaAnchor:

The Black Friday shopping frenzy may be a mainly US tradition, but cross-border e-commerce players here in China haven't been slow in identifying yet another big sales opportunity.

Our reporter Luo Bin has more.

Reporter:

Peral Zhu is one of those enjoying "Black Friday" in China.

Zhu says she used to live in the US and she misses "Black Friday," the biggest shopping day of the year in that country.

"I love buying shoes and I used to stock up on them on Black Friday. But after coming back to China, I found that designer shoes in big stores here are too expensive for me. So I didn't buy anything and lost the feeling for Black Friday for a long while.''

But this year, Zhu says she is enjoying overseas Black Friday discounts even though she is in China for the occasion, thanks to the cross-border e-commerce sites.

"In this past year I've found that some of the promising cross-border e-commerce sites are thriving and they have brought those discounted products in the US close to me."Zhu adds she is able to buy discounted goods ahead of Nov. 27 - the actual Black Friday - because the cross-border e-commerce sites began their sales about a week ago.

This is the first time major players like Amazon and the Chinese overseas shopping site ymatou.com have run the shopping festival for as long as a week or more.

Zeng Bibo, the CEO of ymatou.com, says the company is extending the shopping festival because of the huge demand in China.

"We already found that Chinese consumers who are used to shopping at home showed great enthusiasm for overseas products during our Black Friday campaign last year. But we were under-prepared then, as we didn't have a good supply of many goods and the service system didn't provide enough support."This year, the company made early preparations.

"Black Friday or Thanksgiving sales in other countries all start a week earlier for the shops' VIP customers. So if you go shopping on the actual day, there won't be anything good left. This year, our professional buyers started stocking up two weeks ago when the shops had their VIP sales."According to China customs and the China E-commerce Research Center, over 18 million Chinese consumers bought goods online from overseas last year, spending 140 billion yuan, or nearly 22 billion US dollars.

For CRI, this is Luo Bin.

Australian Set Chrastmas-themed World RecordAn Australian man has set his 4th Christmas-themed Guinness World Record by lighting up a tree with over half-a-million lights in the capital, Canberra.

David Richards has broken the record for the most lights on an artificial Christmas tree that was set by a Japanese theme park 5-years ago.

Richards and a group of active volunteers have adorned the 22-meter tall steel tree with 518-thousand-838 lights.

"I started planning in December last year in the middle of the last Christmas lights and then the first meeting started in January, and it's an enormous amount of planning, there are hundreds of people, government, permits, volunteers and staff. So an enormous amount of work."Richards hopes to use his record-breaking display to help raise money for Canberra's Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, charity by drawing crowds and inviting them to donate.

Macau to inject more non-gaming features in its economic developmentThe Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) is planning to rid its economy of an over-dependence on gambling; instead, it wants to build more new resorts, with non-gaming features to attract tourists.

It says conferences and the exhibition industry will provide a new - non gaming - focus.

Liang Weite, from the Secretariat for Economy and Finance of the Macau SAR, said the local government will attach greater importance to the Conference industry in particular.

"The success rate of conferences will be much higher than that of any other industry, because they could be big or small, and they could be held in a variety of different venues and restaurants. This, to a large extent, will benefit the local economy, and propel the development of small-medium-sized enterprises. Therefore, we are likely to put more effort in this sector."Liang also said they would take advantage of this opportunity to accelerate the development of family travel, and conference and exhibition tourism.

WeatherBeijing will be overcast tonight with a low of minus 4, tomorrow will be sunny with a high of 4.

Shanghai will have slight rain tonight with a low of 9, tomorrow will be overcast, high of 14.

Chongqing will be cloudy with a low of 10, tomorrow will be cloudy, high of 16.

Lhasa will be clear with a low of minus 3, tomorrow will be cloudy with a high of 13.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad will be overcast with a high of 24.

Kabul, cloudy, 10.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, rainy, high of 28,Brisbane,also rainy,28,Perth, cloudy, 28,And finally Auckland, New Zealand will be cloudy with a high of 21 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsNorth China on yellow alert for smogA yellow alert for smog is now in effect for portions of northern China.

Beijing, Tianjin, as well as parts of Hebei, Henan and Shandong will continue to be shrowded in smog into next week.

Visibility of less than 500 meters is being reported in some areas.

Forecasters are warning the smog, which began accumulating in the greater-Beijing area on Friday, may continue to choke the air until at least Tuesday.

Flights in and out of Beijing have so-far not been affected, though flight tracking models are suggesting delays may become an issue.

At this point, authorities have not announced any restrictions on vehicles or construction projects in the capital.

Investigation of Shaolin Abbot partially revealedDetails surrounding an investigation into the abbot of the famed Shaolin Temple in Henan have been revealed, which so far appear to exhonorate him from the allegations made against him.

The Buddhist Associaiton of Henan says Shi Yongxin has the proper qualifications to run the Temple.

At the same time, the Association says all the rules were followed properly when he was elected the head of the famed Temple in late 1996.

Paternity tests taken from Shi Yongxin's two adopted daugthers have also confirmed they are not his biological children.

Authorities say an investigation into his finances and other allegations against him are still underway.

3 killed, over 20 injured after gunmen attack UN base in northern Mali: UNThree people are dead and more than 20 others are hurt after unidentified gunmen attacked a U.N. peacekeeping base in the northern Malian town of Kidal this Saturday.

The United Nations force in Mali is reporting a number of the injured have been evacuated from the scene in critical condition.

Reports are suggesting the compound in Kidal may have come under rocket fire.

The attack in Mali's restive Sahel region comes just over a week after a local Jihadist group attacked the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital Bamako on Friday, leaving 27-dead, including 3 Chinese nationals.

3 killed, 9 other injured in Colorado shootingThree people are dead and 9 others hurt following a mass shooting in the U.S. state of Colorado.

The dead include a police officer and two civilians.

The gunman is in custody after a 5-hour standoff after he stormed an abortion clinic in Colorado Springs, opening fire with a rifle.

All the survivors are said to be in good condition.

The identity and motive of the suspect has not been revealed.

Authorities say the suspect acted alone.

While mass shootings in the United States have become more common in recent years, attacks involving abortion clinics have become more rare since the debate over right-to-life policies in the US began dying down in the 1990's.

Weekly Biz Roundup(Saturday)Anchor:

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 the latest session of China-US Trade Talks, and tell you about Alibaba's attempt to buy a stake in a popular English language newspaper in Hong Kong.

CRI's Wenjie has more.

reporter:

The 26th Session of the China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade concluded on Monday in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province in south China.

Zhang Xiangchen, vice negotiation representative for international trade with China's Ministry of Commerce, said the session is a great success.

"The China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade has scored a great success, and reached many consensuses. Those consensuses involve many sectors, such as intellectual property protection, fishery, Lumbering, wild animal protection, cooperation in food industry, investment and trade between provinces and states. These sectors all achieved major progress."The three-day event was co-chaired by senior officials including Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang and US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry said on Thursday that the future cooperation between China and Africa will be adjusted based on past experience.

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

He also pointed out that 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 noted that this is largely due to the slide in global commodity trading prices.

China's top customs authority on Wednesday rolled out 18 measures to buoy China's sinking foreign trade.

Customs procedures have been streamlined, raising customs clearance efficiency by around 50 percent.

Foreign trade fees have been lowered or eliminated to reduce enterprises' financial burden.

The authority has also slashed six items subject to government approvals or review for trade-oriented manufacturers.

Authorities in both Hong Kong and the mainland announced they have "basically achieved" full liberalization of trade in services following the signing of a new pact Friday morning.

Finance officials from both sides have signed the Agreement on Trade in Services under the framework of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement.

A previous agreement the Special Administrative Region signed last year with neighboring Guangdong province will now be expanded to the entire country.

It allows almost all local services to enjoy preferential treatment, such as legal, accounting, banking, telecommunications, culture and entertainment.

According to Priscilla Lau, Hong Kong SAR deputy to the National People's Congress, 93 percent of Hong Kong's GDP is in the service sector.

She said the new agreement brings along great opportunities to Hong Kong professionals, especially in the financial sector.

"93 percent of our GDP is in the service sector. If we want to strengthen our link with the mainland, it is necessary to have liberalization of the service sector. We have a lot of financial products in RMB. If we want to have RMB to go international, to become convertible and be accepted by international financial sector, it is important to expand our business within the mainland."The new pact will be effective from June next year,CEPA was first signed in 2003, aiming to open up the mainland market to Hong Kong companies by removing tariffs and investment restrictions while promoting mutual recognition of professional qualifications.

China's central bank on Wednesday announced the first batch of overseas central banks and similar institutions which have been allowed to enter China's inter-bank foreign exchange market.

The seven institutions have completed registration with the China Foreign Exchange Trading System.

They are the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Reserve Bank of Australia, Hungarian National Bank, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Development Association, World Bank Group Trust Funds, and GIC Private Limited.

This group covers three categories of institutions - foreign central banks, international financial institutions and sovereign wealth funds.

They can directly participate in the inter-bank forex market as foreign members, use existing inter-bank forex market members as their agents, or entrust the PBOC as their agent.

They will also be allowed to conduct Renminbi and foreign exchange trading of one or more traded forex products, including spots, forwards, swaps and options.

On Friday, China scrapped compulsory net purchase orders on securities traders to allow them trade freely on market conditions.

China Securities Regulatory Commission ordered securities traders to buy more stocks than they sold in July when stock markets experienced violent fluctuations.

The move is considered a reflection of CSRC's confidence in the stock markets, which resumed IPOs earlier this month.

On the corporate front,It was reported on Tuesday that Chinese Internet giant Alibaba is in talks to buy a stake in the South China Morning Post newspaper.

Reports said Alibaba's founder Jack Ma has been negotiating the deal with the SCMP Group's major shareholder, and the contract will be signed shortly.

If the deal is agreed on, this would be another investment by Alibaba in media after its recent bid for Youku Tudou, the video sharing website seen as China's YouTube as well as financial news provider Yicai, in which Alibaba invested 1.2 billion yuan in June.

Founded in 1903, the South China Morning Post is the most widely circulated English language newspaper in Hong Kong.

An industry research released on Wednesday suggests sales of Apple's iPhone 6s and 6s-Plus in China are weaker than expected.

Stats from IHS Technology suggest Apple's sales through the 3rd quarter accounted for about 12-percent of mobile phone sales in China.

That's only about 0.5-percent higher than the previous quarter.

Wang Yang, director of IHS Technology, says a lack of new advancements in the 6S series has people in China looking toward cheaper options.

"All the major Chinese smartphone makers have been able to convince more Chinese consumers to buy home-grown products, marketing them as high-quality products at lower prices. As an example, an iPhone is sold at 5,000 to 6,000 yuan in China, while many Chinese-produced smartphones can cost only around 1,000 yuan, or even cheaper. Those phones performance is about 80 percent of that of an iPhone. For consumers in China, this quality-to-price ratio has become more appealing to them."Stats released by Alibaba shows Apple ranked fourth in the sales of mobile phones during is massive Singles' Day promotion.

Xiaomi, Huawei and Meizu out sold Apple on November 11th.

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

SportsBasketball: Golden State adds to record winning streakIn basketball,Make it 17-in-a-row for the boys from Oakland.

The Golden State Warriors continue to add to their record-breaking unbeaten streak to start the season, dumping in 22 3-pointers to hammer Phoenix 135-116 this morning.

The 22 3-pointers was just one-off the NBA record set by Orlando during the 1999-2000 season.

--In other action,It was Orlando beating up Milwaukee 114-90.

--Cleveland got past Charlotte 95-90.

--The Knicks have now lost 3-in-a-row, going down to Miami 97-78.

--Boston slapped around Washinton 111-78.

--Atlanta downed Memphis 116-101.

--The Indiana Pacers are riding a 4-game winning streak following a 104-92 win at home over Chicago.

--Oklahoma City has extended its lead in the Northwest Division with a 103-87 victory over Detroit.

--San Antonio handled Denver 91-80.

--The LA Clippers got past New Orleans 111-90.

--Sacramento heads into its match-up tomorrow against Golden State on a down note, losing at home to Minnesota 101-91.

--And it was James Harden helping Philadelphia to the longest losing skid in North American professional sports history, with Houston edging the 76ers 116-114 this morning.

Harden scored 50-points to hand Philly its 27th consecutive loss dating back to last year.

A 76ers loss on Sunday in Memphis will equal the NBA's worst start to a season at 0-18 currently held by the New Jersey, now Brooklyn, Nets.

------------It's a travel day today in the China Basketball Association, with a full-boat scheduled for tomorrow, with all 20-teams back in action after playing last night.

Among the action, Xinjiang will be looking to extend its season-opening winning streak to 11 at home to Shandong following their win last night over Jilin.

Shandong heads into tomorrow's game off a loss last night to Liaoning.

--Foshan will be looking for its first win of the season tomorrow at home to Fujian after being dumped by Guangsha last night.

--Tianjin, with just one win on the season, also limps into action tomorrow against Liaoning after being smacked around last night by Randolph Morris and the Beijing Ducks at Master Card center.

The Ducks are migrating north to Taiyuan for a match against Shanxi tomorrow.

--Sichuan will try to keep pace with Xinjiang at the top of the league, with the now 9-1 Blue Whales heading down the road in Zhejiang to take on Golden Bulls after tuning-up the Bayi Rockets last night in Ningbo.

The Military Boys head south into Jiangsu to take on the Dragons, who earned their 3rd win of the season last night over Shanghai.

The Sharks are staying at home as they entertain Jiangsu Tongxi, who come into the game at 5-5 following their loss last night to Shenzhen.

Yikan plays host to Guangsha tomorrow.

---Qingdao will try to right-the-ship tomorrow at home to Jilin after falling to 2-8 on the season last night to Shanxi.

--Yi Jianlian and the rest of the Guangdong Southern Tigers are in Beijing to take on Beikong tomorrow.

Beikong comes in off a loss to Chouzhou last night.

Manchester City to Take on Southampton in EPLIn English Premier League action tonight,Round 14 is set to kick-off tonight with 6 games on deck.

Among them, 3rd place Manchester City will be at home to Southampton.

Man City manager Manuel Pellegrini:

"As always, in the Premier League you never know which are the difficult games or the most easy games. But Southampton are having a good season. I don't think they lose any game away. They have good players and we need to play in a high performance if we want to win."City comes in off a loss this week in the Champions League to Juventus, as well as dropping their previous Premier League match to Liverpool.

Southampton lost last week to Stoke, which is on the road tonight against Sunderland.

Stoke manager Mark Hughes.

"Last time out against Southampton we were excellent and arguably should have won by more. So if we play as well as we did against Southampton we'll cause Sunderland a problem."In other Premier League action tonight,Aston Villa is at home against Watford.

------Everton are on the road in Bournemouth.

------Crystal Palace will be up against Newcastle.

------And it's league leading Leicester City taking on Manchester United.

------On Sunday,Struggling Chelsea will be up against its London rivals Tottenham.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho admits the defending champs find themselves in a tough spot.

"In this moment, we are far from even the European positions and we have to play every game with.... ambition, with determination, because every point at the end of the season can make a difference. We lost to many points, already, that now we have to fight for every point even more."Chelsea currently sits 15th on the table with only 4 victories from 13 matches this season.

Tottenham currently sits 5th, and are on a 12-game unbeaten run.

Murray Confident for Doubles Competition at Davis Cup FinalIn tennis,Andy Murray and his brother Jamie are up against Belgium's Kimmer Coppejans and Steve Darcis in the critical Davis Cup doubles match tonight.

The two sides come into tonight's doubles match with the Davis Cup Final knotted at 1-1.

Murray won his singles match in straight-sets last night, while Belgium's top player, David Goffin had to come from behind to get past Britain's Kyle Edmond.

The 20-year old was just one set away from giving Britain a 2-0 lead, after surprising the world number-16 Goffin in the first two sets.

However, Edmond cracked somewhat under pressure, and ended up allowing Goffin back in to soldier-out a 5-set victory for Belgium.

Following tonight's double's match Andy Murray will be taking on David Goffin in the marquis men's singles match of the Finals.

"Goffin's a top-quality player when he plays well. He's ranked 15, 16 in the world, plays well on the clay. I'm aware that will be a very tough match to win. In the doubles, Davis Cup is always tough, never easy, just because of the way doubles is played. I believe we can win the tie, obviously, otherwise there would be no point in us being there. But it's going to be tough, for sure."Belgium is looking for its first-ever Davis Cup victory, while Britain hasn't hoisted the trophy since 1936.

----------------Here in China,Zhang Ze has booked a place in the finals of the China Tennis Grand Prix Cup in Shenzhen.

The 25-year-old is currently ranked 188th in the ATP world rankings.

Golf: Spieth poised for final round run in AustraliaIn golf,World number-1 Jordan Spieth has positioned himself for a run at the top of the leaderboard heading into Sunday's final round at the Australian Open.

The American carding a 4-under-67 today to sit alone in 2nd place at minus-7, three strokes back of local golfer Matt Jones who sits at minus-10.

The golfer most in Australia were watching for at this tournament, Adam Scott, turned around his game somewhat today, carding a 3-under-68 to move into a 4-way tie for 7th at minus-1.

The only mainland golfer to make the cut in Sydney, Li Xinyang, is down the list tied for 48th at plus-6.

Hockey: Dubinsky to have hearing for Crosby hitAction in the National Hockey League resumed this morning after a day off for the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.

Among the action this morning,The Columbus Blue Jackets' Brandon Dubinsky is set to have a hearing in front of the NHL's Player Safety board after a nasty cross-check to the back of the neck of Pittsburgh super star Sidney Crosby.

Dubinsky slammed Crosby to the ice late in the 2nd period of the Blue Jackets' eventual 2-1 overtime win, putting Crosby out for the rest of the period.

Crosby, who has a history of concussions, did return to the game in the 3rd period, and is said to be fine.

--In other action,The Boston Bruins have now won 5-in-a-row, getting past the New York Rangers 4-3 this morning.

--Montreal is riding a 4-game winning streak after a 3-2 shootout win over New Jersey.

--It was Philly handing Nashville its 4th overtime loss of the season 3-2.

--Winnipeg beat Minnesota 3-1.

--Chicago needed overtime to get past Anaheim 2-1.

--Washington doubled-up on Tampa Bay 4-2 for its 4th-in-a-row.

Lighting sniper Tyler Johnson, who had just returned to the Tampa line-up after an upper-body injury, leaving the game after only playing one shift.

--Buffalo dominated Carolina 4-1.

--It was Detroit getting past Edmonton in overtime, 4-3.

--Flordia snuck past the New York Islanders 3-2 in a shootout.

--Dallas has extended its lead in the Central Division with a 3-2 shootout win over Vancouver.

--And Arizona is just 2-points back of Pacific Division leading Los Angeles following a 2-1 shootout win over Calgary.

China's Kang Yue Get Two Golds at World Weightlifting ChampionshipsIn weightlifting,Chinese lifter Kang Yue has won the women's 75-kilogram snatch event.

She also took gold in the overall competition.

Seven Kenyan athletes banned for dopingIn athletics,Two-time World cross-country champions Emily Chebet is among 7 Kenyan athletes who have been hit with bans for doping offences.

29-year-old Chebet is being suspended for 4-years after testing positive for a diuretic and a masking agent.

Her ban has been backdated to July and will run until the summer of 2019.

At the same time, Joyce Zakary and Koki Manunga, who were caught doping during the World Championships in Beijing this summer, have also been hit with 4-year bans.

The announcement comes on the heels of a newly-released report this week penned by the Professional Athletes Association of Kenya, which is pleading with both the Kenyan government and the World Anti-Doping Agency to do more to stem the rampant doping thought to be taking place among Kenyan athletes.

Kenya, which is home to some of the world's best middle and long-distance runners, topped the medal table this summer in Beijing.

However, its Athletes Association says it fears Kenya may end up going down the same path as Russia is currently on unless something is done to end the corruption and doping in Kenyan athletics.

EntertainmentFirst Cross-Straits TV Program Exhibition Held in TaiwanThe first Cross-Strait TV Program Exhibition has been held in Taipei City, Taiwan.

Over 200 attendees and 24 exhibitors have participated in the exhibition and brought their hit TV programs, including dramas and documentaries.

"Nirvana in Fire," a mainland TV series, is being exhibited. This TV series was broadcast in Taiwan recently, receiving high ratings and sparking lively discussions in the media. It has also boosted the sales in Taiwan of the novel from which it was adapted.

Wang Weijiang is the director of the Taiwan Visual and Audio Production Association.

"Since 2008, the number of Chinese mainland TV series broadcast in Taiwan has increased rapidly. At present over 8,000 hours of mainland dramas are broadcast in Taiwan per year, as compared with around 800 hours before 2008. In the past year some programs filmed jointly by both sides of the Strait earned good reputations, which will become a pattern to follow in our future cooperation."Media agencies from both sides also signed three agreements on strategic cooperation as well as jointly filming new TV drama.

Coldplay Monkeys Around in 'Adventure of a Lifetime' Video: WatchColdplay up to some monkey business in the band's video for its new single "Adventure of a Lifetime."The chimp-filled video is a nod in the direction of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Directed by Mat Whitecross, the animated clip follows a group of chimpanzees that come across a Beats Pill - portable, bluetooth speaker under a pile of leaves.

Soon after, the primates discover the power of music and form a band that resembles members of Coldplay.

The concept for the video was hatched after Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and motion capture expert Andy Serkis met on a plane and discussed a few ideas.

The video took about six months to make.

The colorful and bouncy "Adventure of a Lifetime" is the first single from Coldplay's upcoming seventh album, A Head Full of Dreams, which is scheduled for release on Dec. 4.

Adele's 25 breaks Oasis's 18-year sales record for Be Here NowAdele has overtaken Oasis's 18-year sales record with her latest album 25, as she claimed a new chart victory.

The Oscar-winning Skyfall singer's third full-length album sold 737,000 copies within the first week of its release, surpassing Liam and Noel Gallagher's Britpop band, who have held the record since 1997.

However, Oasis continues to hold the sales record for the first three days with their third album, Be Here Now, which shifted 696,000 copies when it was released in August 1997.

25 - which Adele described as a "make up album" comes four years after the album 21 - and is already a massive hit in the US.

There, it's smashed all sales records having sold 2.8 million copies in the first five days, including 1.45 million digital sales, according to Nielsen Music.

The album, which features the Number One single Hello, is enjoying more success than its predecessors, 21 and 19.

WeatherBeijing will be overcast tonight with a low of minus 4, tomorrow will be sunny with a high of 4.

Shanghai will have slight rain tonight with a low of 9, tomorrow will be overcast, high of 14.

Chongqing will be cloudy with a low of 10, tomorrow will be cloudy, high of 16.

Lhasa will be clear with a low of minus 3, tomorrow will be cloudy with a high of 13.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad will be overcast with a high of 24.

Kabul, cloudy, 10.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, rainy, high of 28,Brisbane,also rainy,28,Perth, cloudy, 28,And finally Auckland, New Zealand will be cloudy with a high of 21 degrees Celsius.

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

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

Economic and trade cooperation to dominate the chinese President's visit to Africa.

China tightens controls on so called Lab Drugs.

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