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

Coming up on the program...

Chinese authorities urge the US to cancel its arms sale to Taiwan...

China and Russia sign 30 cooperation deals in areas like energy, investment, and finance...

and the UN Security Council passes a new resolution for cutting financing to terror groups like the Islamic State...

In Business...China's general trade exports have already hit the one trillion dollar mark for 2015...

In Sports...the final has been set for the FIFA Club World Cup...

And in Entertainment...Donnie Yen talks about the latest Yip Man movie...

All of that coming up in the next hour.

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Top NewsChina urges United States to revoke arms sale to TaiwanAnchor:

Chinese authorities have expressed strong opposition to the United States over its arms sale to Taiwan and have urged the U.S. to revoke the sale.

CRI reporter Guo Yan has the details.

Reporter:

The Chinese Defense Ministry says "The United States' wrongdoing of selling arms to Taiwan will inevitably harm China-U.S. military relations."Defense Ministry spokesperson Yang Yujun says the move "brutally" interfered with China's internal affairs, "sabotaged" China's sovereignty and security interests, and "damaged the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations."The Defense Ministry urges the U.S. government to abide by its commitment made in previous China-U.S. joint communiqués and stop arms sales to Taiwan, as well as cut U.S.-Taiwan military ties.

Under the joint communiques, the United States promised to gradually reduce its sales of arms to Taiwan and eventually stop selling weapons to the island.

Earlier, China's Foreign Ministry also warned that America's move of selling arms to Taiwan will harm China-U.S. ties.

Beijing has also announced that it is going to take counter-measures including sanctions on some U.S. companies involved in the arms sale.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hong Lei.

"US companies' involvement in arms sales with Taiwan constitutes a severe infringement of China's sovereignty and security interests. The Chinese government and companies will not conduct cooperation with business engaged in these activities."The U.S. State Department on Wednesday notified Congress of a 1.83-billion-U.S.-dollar arms deal to Taiwan.

Following the announcement, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang has summoned US diplomats in Beijing to make solemn representations to the U.S. over the arms sale.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest has reacted that there has been no change to U.S. long-standing "one-China" policy.

Su Xiaohui, a researcher with the China Institute of International Studies, says China's response to arm deal is strong and clear, yet it will not push its relationship with the U.S. towards negative development.

"While the Obama Administration has decided on the arms sale, we can see that the U.S. has been explaining that their policy regarding Taiwan has not been changed. And we also noticed that the U.S. is a little constrained this time in terms of the value of arms sale. Although the arms sale could be considered as the result of complicated factors, the U.S. has in fact made a wrong decision and choice."For CRI, I'm Guo Yan.

China, Russia sign 30 cooperation documentsAnchorChina and Russia signed more than 30 cooperation documents after the Prime Ministers' meeting. Both leaders witnessed the signings and then met the media together.

CRI's Niu Honglin has more.

ReporterThe documents cover areas including energy, investment, finance, high technology among others.

Energy giants Sinopec and Rosneft signed a Memorandum of Understanding on oil and gas projects in eastern Siberia while CNPC and Gazprom inked an agreement on the design and construction of the cross-border section of China-Russia east-route natural gas pipeline.

The central banks of China and Russia have also signed a MOU to expand financial cooperation, promoting local currency settlements, bank card issuance, access to local-currency bond markets and credit rating partnerships.

When meeting the press, Premiere Li said there is an increasing commodity imports from Russia to China and a rising bilateral cooperation in energy, equipment as well as high technology and e-commerce.

However, he says that both countries are as well facing common challenges for growth.

"Currently the strength of the global economic recovery, especially in the price of commodities, is rapidly decreasing. Complex factors in the international economy are giving us two neighbors, because China and Russia are each other's biggest neighbors, are bringing new challenges to our two global emerging economies."Medvedev has also called for the two nations to seek new growth points for bilateral trade, especially the potential of cooperation on agriculture.

"China is a country with the largest population on the planet. Russia is the country with the largest territory, which has ten per cent of the world farmland concentrated on it. So if we join these potentials, we will get an absolutely new situation. We agreed to do that and we have signed agreements aimed at the development of our relations in this sphere."Later on Thursday, they have also witnessed the signing of a cooperation agreement between China Radio International and the Russian Siberian Media Group. Both sides are set to strengthen cooperation on program exchanges and promotion, people to people communication as well as the establishment of a coordinated major-events covering mechanism.

The agreement is a part of the preparation for a China-Russia Media Exchange Year in 2016 and 2017. Li and Medvedev both called on the media to contribute to the understanding and friendship of the people in the two countries.

Speaking at the event, attended by students from China and Russia, Medvedev said the two countries would support each other as friends.

"Friendship comes from the heart; it comes from mutual liking, respect and faith. And it is these feelings that a huge number of people who live in Chinese and Russians share. And you should not doubt these people can always count on mutual support, due to the feelings of their friends"In a joint communique released after the meeting, the two countries pledged to enhance coordination in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and jointly fight terrorism.

Prior to the meeting, Li held a red-carpet ceremony to welcome Medvedev at the Great Hall of the People.

For CRI, I'm Niu Honglin.

High-level advisory committee established for World Internet ConferenceA high-level advisory committee for the World Internet Conference's (WIC) organizing committee secretariat has been established.

The committee aims to promote international cooperation and exchanges in the Internet sector.

The advisory committee is expected to invite world leaders in the online sector to offer advice for the WIC, and to contribute ideas for the development of the Internet in China.

The committee has held its first meeting on the sidelines of the second WIC in Wuzhen with Jack Ma, founder of China's Internet giant Alibaba, and Fadi Chehade, president and CEO of ICANN as co-chairmen.

The WIC organizing committee secretariat has invited 31 leading Internet figures from governments, enterprises, academic institutions and technological communities to be members of the first high-level advisory committee.

China's top think tank forecasts 6.8 percent growthChina's top think tank predicts that China will see its economic growth post between 6.6 and 6.8 percent in the coming year.

The number comes ahead of a major economic conference this week, during which authorities are to evaluate the current situation and map out the country's economic target for the following year.

Li Yang, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says fast growth is no longer the country's prime focus.

"China's goal is to develop comprehensively. Besides GDP, we should focus on providing a more comfortable life to people. So when assessing China's economy, we need to discard the old standards and place more focus on the environment, quality and efficiency of growth."The think tank also suggested the central bank adopt a "structurally loose" monetary policy and a more flexible exchange rate for the Chinese currency.

On Wednesday, China's central bank projected its baseline forecast for next year's growth at 6.8 percent.

Chinese commerce minister confident about foreign tradeChinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng says he is confident in China's foreign trade.

Gao made the remarks while attending the 10th Ministerial Meeting of the WTO in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

Official data show China's foreign trade in November dropped 4.5 percent year on year, the ninth-consecutive monthly decline and a significant contraction along with the 9 percent plunge registered in October.

"So we can see that although China's trade volume is declining, but its trade share in the global market has been on the rise. Therefore the rise in China's trade share in the global market this year is certain. In my own judgment, it will be 0.8 to 1 percentage points higher."The commerce minister notes that given the fluctuating global market and China's own development needs, adjusting the growth pattern is still crucial for the country's economy.

"China's economy is closely connected to the external market environment. As China's economy enters the new normal, it needs to adjust its structure and transform its growth pattern. For example we have a lot of production capacities and products originally designed for the international market. Now that the international market has shrunk, these capacities and products must also be adjusted."China has allowed the yuan to slowly weaken to a near four-month low against the dollar, but few believe exporters will be significantly helped by anything short of a drastic devaluation.

Fed's rate increase will have certain impacts on ChinaChinese authorities say they are still evaluating the impact of the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to hike interest rates.

Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Shen Danyang says the decision will mainly affect China's foreign trade and investment.

"As for how much of an impact there will be, at present we will have to do a specific analysis depending on the circumstances of the interest rate raise, the scale of the interest raise and the implementation of other supporting policies (on which) we will do an assessment."The US Federal Reserve decided to raise its benchmark interest rate for the first time in seven years, by 25 basis points.

Banks in HK have not raise interest rates after HKMA announcementAnchor:

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority increased its base rate for the first time in 7 years by 25 basis points to 0.75 percent on Thursday, following the increase in US rates by the Federal Reserve.

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

Report:

As the Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US dollar, interest rates between the two currencies are closely linked.

The chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Norman Chan, says Hong Kong dollar interbank rates will rise gradually.

"The normalization of Hong Kong's interest rate will begin with the outflow of funds from the Hong Kong dollar trigger by high interest rates of the US dollar. Given that the pace of US interest rate hikes would likely to be gradual and we have a very big cushion of close to $1.6 trillion HK dollars in our monetary base, we presently expect the rise in Hong Kong dollar interbank interest rates to be incremental."George Leung, the Advisor in Strategy and Economics with HSBC Asia Pacific, says a strong US dollar has already affected Hong Kong's economy.

"We have seen a relatively slow economic growth this year, which is to a large extent attributed to the weak performance in our foreign trade."Hong Kong's Financial Secretary John Tsang, meanwhile, has warned investors to be aware of possible asset market volatility in the wake of the US rate hike.

"There might be an outflow of capital from Hong Kong, but we have a sound economic base and well-established financial systems, so we are able to handle large-scale capital flow. The Government will closely monitor changes in the external environment and maintain stability in the local financial and labor markets."Experts predict that Hong Kong's property market would cool down following the rate hike, however, some major banks in Hong Kong have not announced interest rate hikes so far, including HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of China.

It means that their customers will not see an immediate rise in mortgage or deposit rates.

For CRI, this is Li Jing in Hong Kong.

Beijing to See New Round of Heavy SmogChina's National Meteorological Center is forecasting that Beijing and some neighboring regions will experience another round of smog starting on Saturday.

The smog, lasting until next Tuesday, is expected to be the worst so far this year.

The forecast says visibility in Beijing, parts of Hebei and Henan will be reduced to less than one kilometer during the new bout of smog.

Meanwhile, the PM2.5 reading in southern Beijing and parts of Hebei could surpass 500.

The center is warning the public to take necessary safety precautions.

Two Chinese Navy Pilots Survive Plane CrashA Chinese navy spokesman has confirmed that two navy piolts have managed to parachute safely after their airplane crashed in Zhejiang Province.

The accident occurred as the two from the East China Sea Fleet conducted flight training.

There was no other damage on the ground.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Putin PresserAnchor:

Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual press conference to address tense relations with Turkey, Russia's economy, and the crisis in Syria.

Putin spoke to the media for three hours on Thursday.

Albina Kovalyova reports from Moscow.

Reporter:

In his 11th annual press conference, Russia's president expressed confidence in the country's economy.

He said that the peak of the crisis had passed and stabilisation was under way. His optimistic words came despite the low rate of the ruble and poor investment climate in Russia.

Moving on to geopolitics, Mr. Putin had tough words for Turkey and said there is no prospect for better relations between the two countries.

"We believe that the actions by the Turkish authorities with respect to our plane which they shot down, were not unfriendly but an act of enmity.""I don't understand why they did it. What have they achieved? Did they think that we would run away from there? Of course not. Russia is not that kind of country."Last year it was Ukraine and the West that received harsh criticism from Putin. This year, however, the focus has shifted, according to Independent Analyst Masha Lipman.

"Definitely Turkey in Putin's press conference today sounded like the enemy, the enemy country was how he referred to Turkey, and he sounded angry and he sounded irreconcilable...and this contrasted to the reconciliatory tone with regards to the United States which used to be our enemy number one until very recently..."Mr. Putin also addressed the crisis in Syria, saying Moscow and Washington were working together to find a solution- and saying US proposals on Syria were acceptable.

Yet at the same time, the president said Russia will continue to carry out its airstrikes in Syria, so long as the Syrian army continues its military operations.

Russia and the West still remain divided over the fate of Syria. Western allies want to see President Bahshar al-Assad ousted, while Russia continues to back him.

Unlike last year Vladimir Putin seemed to regain his confidence at this year's press conference - despite the economic strain and political isolation of Russia.

FOR CRI, I am Albina Kovalyova in MOSCOWUN Security Council adopts resolution to cut off Islamic State fundingThe UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution to cut off funds for the Islamic State group, in a firmer move by the international community to fight terrorism.

The council voted 15-0 to adopt the new resolution, jointly drafted by the United States and Russia.

Measures such as an asset freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo will be taken against the terrorist group that controls large swaths of Syria and Iraq, including oil and gas fields.

The resolution was adopted by the 15-nation UN body at an open meeting chaired by U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, whose country holds the rotating council presidency for December.

Turkey detains 11 IS suspects over plot against U.S. consulateIstanbul police on Thursday detained 11 Islamic State militants suspected of planning an attack on the U.S. consulate general.

Local media reports say all the suspects held by the special terror units are Syrians with fake passports.

Turkish police has been on high alert over intelligence reports about a planned attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Ankara and Istanbul.

The U.S. consulate in Istanbul has issued two security threats this month, while the U.S. embassy in Ankara limited services on Monday and Tuesday citing "security threat."IMF chief to appeal trial decisionInternational Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has been ordered to stand trial in France over her role in a 2008 arbitration ruling that handed 400 million euros to a French business magnate.

Lagarde, who was French finance minister at the time, denied wrongdoing in a statement issued Thursday and said she had ordered her lawyers to appeal the decision.

Lagarde has maintained her innocence since the investigation began in 2011.

If convicted, she could be sentenced to one year in prison.

French legal analyst Christopher Mesnooh on Thursday said that any potential sanctions would be "minor" if Lagarde would be found guilty, but there will be other losses for the IMF boss.

"She has been mentioned as a potential candidate for the presidency of France at some point in the future. She has usually said that she would prefer to stay with the IMF, than run for political office. She is certainly a candidate for any number of positions in a future French government, especially if it is the right wing that wins the election in 2017. So she has a certain number of things to lose, although what the actual repercussions will be on her remains to be seen."Meanwhile a statement from the IMF has said that the organization continues to express its confidence in the managing director's ability to effectively carry out her duties.

France's attorney general said Ms Lagarde would have five days to appeal, once the court decision is made public later today or on Monday.

Warring Factions in Libya Sign Deal to Form Unified GovernmentA U.N.-brokered agreement has been signed by delegates from Libya's warring factions aiming to form a national unity government.

Under the deal, a nine-member presidential council will form a government with the current, eastern-based House of Representatives as the main legislature and a State Council as a second consultative chamber.

Saleh al-Makhzoum, deputy speaker of the country's General National Congress, says it is a start.

"Under the umbrella of the United Nations to help Libya make the most of its rebuilding and stability and the fight against terrorism and extremism and also the fight of illegal immigration, we have to rebuild the Libyan State. Today, we started. This government has a life span of one year. This government should prepare the country to have a referendum on the constitution."The country has been deeply fractured for four years since Muammar Gaddafi's fall, with a self-declared government in Tripoli and an internationally recognized one in the east.

No Terror Attack in US over Holidays: President ObamaUS President Barack Obama has given a second public speech concerning terrorism this week.

Obama says there is no information suggesting a potential terror attack against the US during the upcoming holidays, but warns the country to be vigilant.

"As I indicated in my address to the nation last week, we are in a new phase of terrorism, including lone actors and small groups of terrorists, like those in San Bernardino. Because they are smaller, often self-initiating, self-motivating, they're harder to detect and that makes it harder to prevent."He made the comment during a visit to the National Counter-terrorism Centre in Virginia.

His remarks came amid heightened fears of terrorist threats on U.S. soil, prompted by the attack in San Bernardino, California earlier this month that killed 14 people and injured 21 others.

A new Gallup poll found that Americans' confidence in the federal government's ability to protect its citizens from future acts of terrorism has dropped to a record low.

US, Cuba to resume scheduled commercial airline serviceThe United States and Cuba have agreed to restore scheduled commercial airline services between the two countries.

The move came on Thursday, the first anniversary of the Cold War foes' announcement to normalize relations, after 18 months of secret negotiations.

"Right now both countries are finalizing logistical details of logistical nature in order to begin flights carrying direct mail between Cuba and the United States."The latest step to restore U.S.-Cuba ties after more than half a century of hostility will not go into effect immediately but should eventually increase tourism and business on the island.

It will allow U.S. airlines to sell tickets on their websites for flights to Cuba. However, the move does not lift the U.S. ban on general tourism to the Caribbean island.

U.S. travelers still must meet at least one of 12 criteria to visit, such as being Cuban-American or partaking in educational tours or journalistic activity.

EU's refugee relocation progress "shameful": EP presidentThe president of the European Parliament says the progress of the refugee relocation plan within the European Union is shameful, with fewer than 200 people actually resettled.

Martin Schulz made the comment while addressing leaders of the 28 EU member states.

According to an implementation report released on Wednesday, 14 EU countries have made available fewer than 34-hundred spaces for refugees so far.

As of December 16th, only 184 people have been placed, out of a total of 160-thousand.

Schulz says the European Parliament is working on its own "comprehensive, long-term approach" to the refugee crisis and proposals will be presented on January 18th.

Argentina Relaxes Foreign Exchange RestrictionsArgentina on Wednesday lifted its unpopular restrictions on buying US dollars.

The measure was a campaign promise of newly elected President Mauricio Macri.

Argentine Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay explained the new move.

"Since the inception of the currency exchange controls in Argentina, there has been a devaluation of 230 percent, meaning, the peso is worth one fourth of what it was worth in 2011. The Central Bank's reserves fell by half. The entire economy practically came to a standstill. Job growth stalled and almost everyone of the regional economies of the country drowned. That is the reason for our campaign promise to lift the restrictions as quickly as possible."The previous administration, under President Cristina Fernandez, implemented the restrictions in order to shore up foreign currency reserves. Regular citizens could only buy a few hundred dollars a month.

The limitations gave birth to a booming black market and severely affected businesses trading in dollars.

The Finance Minister said the government has been working towards financing the new policies.

"We would say that we needed some additional ten billion dollars to have the confidence that we needed to effectively lift the exchange restrictions. We are working, as you know because as has been reported by a number of media outlets, in various ways of financing at the same time, we are speaking to foreign banks, we are speaking to grain exporters - and we have come to agreements in many cases."While expected to be welcomed by international investors and many in the country, the new measures have also caused fears of sharp devaluations of the peso.

Headline NewsChinese defense ministry opposes U.S. arms sale to TaiwanThe Chinese Defense Ministry has expressed strong opposition to U.S. government's authorization of a billion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan.

Defense Ministry spokesperson Yang Yujun urged the U.S. to revoke the sale in a press release on Thursday, saying U.S.'s wrongdoing will inevitably harm China- U.S. military relations.

Yang pointed out that the U.S. has violated the three China-U.S. joint communiques, under which the U.S. promised to gradually reduce and eventually stop the arm sales to Taiwan.

China's Foreign Ministry said earlier that Beijing will issue counter measures including sanctions to the US companies involved in the arm deal.

UN Security Council adopts resolution to cut off Islamic State fundingThe UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution to cut off funds for the Islamic State group, in a firmer move by the international community to fight terrorism.

The council voted 15-0 to adopt the new resolution, jointly drafted by the United States and Russia.

Measures such as an asset freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo will be taken against the terrorist group that controls large swaths of Syria and Iraq, including oil and gas fields.

The resolution was adopted by the 15-nation UN body at an open meeting chaired by U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, whose country holds the rotating council presidency for December.

Warring Factions in Libya Sign Deal to Form Unified GovernmentA U.N.-brokered agreement has been signed by delegates from Libya's warring factions aiming to form a national unity government.

Under the deal, a nine-member presidential council will form a government with the current, eastern-based House of Representatives as the main legislature and a State Council as a second consultative chamber.

The country has been deeply fractured for four years since Muammar Gaddafi's fall, with a self-declared government in Tripoli and an internationally recognized one in the east.

Putin says Russian economy passes crisis peak (updated)Russian President Vladimir Putin says that the country's economic crisis peak has passed, with signs of stability already shown in the second quarter of this year.

This comes as President Putin opened his annual year-end news conference on Thursday.

During the press conference, Putin called the downing of the Russian jet last month by Turkey a "hostile act", saying that he saw "no prospect" of ties improve with Turkey as of now.

When it comes to the Syrian crisis, Putin stresses that country's position on future of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has not changed.

Biz ReportsAnchor:

Turning to business news, starting with a quick look at the closing numbers across North America and Europe.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday, as investors assessed the impacts of the U.S. Federal Reserve's first rate hike in nearly a decade.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange also fell on Thursday.

The most active gold contract for February delivery decreased 2.5 percent.

The U.S. dollar surged against other major currencies.

Central banks in Japan and Europe are expected to unleash further stimulus.

Oil prices continued to fall as global supplies exceed demand.

At the closing bell,The Dow Jones and the Nasdaq each dipped 1.4 percent.

S&P 500 lost 1.5 percent.

In Europe, equities closed higher on Thursday.

UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.7 percent.

Germany's DAX increased 2.6 percent.

France's CAC 40 moved up 1.1 percent.

China's export of general trade and retail sales increasedOfficial statistics show that China's export volume for general trade reached over 1 trillion US dollars in the first 11 months, up by 1.1 percent as compared with the same period last year.

The Ministry of Commerce has announced that the volume of exports of general trade accounted for 54 percent of total exports, a year-on-year increase of 2 percent.

The export volume of private enterprises rose to 920 billion US dollars in the first 11 months.

At the same time, Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Shen Danyang says China's retail sales have remained stable this year, with increases recorded in the last four months.

"China's consumer retail sales grew 10.6 percent cumulatively from January to November, 0.1 percent growth compared to the first three quarters. It's expected that China's retail sales in this year will probably grow by around 10.7 percent."The spokesperson adds that online shopping continued to expand in November.

The housing sector has continued to rebound thanks to a warming property market.

China - S. Korea, China-Australia FTAs to take effect on Dec. 20The Free Trade Agreements that China signed with South Korea and Australia are set to take effect on Sunday.

Under the agreements, the countries will implement the first tariff cuts on December 20, and the second cuts on January 1.

Meantime, China will step up cooperation with neighboring countries to expand its FTA network.

China has signed 14 free trade agreements involving 22 countries and regions, including the ASEAN bloc, Singapore, and New Zealand.

DisneyLife & BonaAnchor:

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

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibab and Walt Disney have announced a licensing agreement for a device that will deliver Disney and Pixar movies and games here in China.

The Mickey Mouse-themed system, called DisneyLife, has been selling on Alibaba's online shopping site Tmall.com for 125 US dollars.

Terms of the deal have not been disclosed at this point.

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.

Talking Points:

Q1: Alibaba has also purchased newspapers and video streaming service Youku Tudou. What is the bigger picture that's shaping up with these purchases?

Q2:For Walt Disney, why does it choose Alibaba as its partner?

Bona Film Group has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Mountain Tiger International.

Under the agreement, Mountain Tiger will acquire Bona for the equivalent of 27.4 US dollars per ordinary share.

The merger is expected to close in the second quarter of 2016.

Bona Film is a leading film distributor here in China and also has reach in Korea, Southeast Asia, the United States and Europe.

Talking Points:

Q1: The deal is part of a wave of corporate privatizations in recent days. Why is Bona taking this routeQ2:It's being reported that Alibaba Pictures and Tencent have joined the group bidding to pull Bona off the Nasdaq stock exchange. It seems to be a growing trend in the rivalry between the two companies. Why are Alibaba and Tencent doing this?

Back Anchor:

That was Doug Young, associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief at Reuters.

Sinopec acquires 10 percent share of Russia's SiburChina's largest oil refiner Sinopec has completed a deal to acquire a 10 percent share of Russia's largest gas processing company Sibur.

Under the deal, Sinopec will have the right to nominate a representative to Sibur's board of directors as a strategic investor.

The completion of the deal came after Sinopec and Sibur signed a strategic partnership agreement in September.

The two companies will discuss the possibility of widening the scope of collaboration.

Sinopec is also expected to participate in the Amur Gas Chemical Complex construction project as a strategic partner with Sibur.

Chinese airline buys over 100 jets from BoeingChina Southern Airlines is buying more than 100 Boeing-737 jets in a deal worth about 10 billion US dollars.

The airline and its Xiamen Airlines unit will buy 30 737-Next Generation jets and 80 737-Max aircraft.

The order comes after Boeing signed an agreement with state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China to build its first finishing plant in China for 737 aircraft.

China grants 50 bln yuan RQFII quota to ThailandChina has granted a 50 billion yuan, or nearly 8 billion U.S. dollars, investment quota to Thailand under the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor pilot program.

The decision is set to offer diversified investment products for Thailand's investors, and to facilitate bilateral trade and investment while pushing China's capital market to open wider.

The program allows qualified investors to invest yuan-based funds in the Chinese mainland securities market within a permitted quota.

The announcement makes the total quota China has granted under the pilot program over 1.1 trillion yuan.

Coastal express railway opens in northeast ChinaThe first coastal express railway in northeast China has been officially put into use.

The 300-km railway links the coastal cities of Dandong and Dalian in Liaoning Province.

Trains can run at speeds of 200 km per hour, cutting travel time between the two cities in half.

The railway is the first link between the two important port cities.

Dandong is the key hub for trade, investment and tourism between China and North Korea.

SportsBarcelona beats Guangzhou Evergrande in CWCAnd in football news:

It seems Guangzhou Evergrande's winning streak has been put to rest after Thursdays game against Barcelona, where the Spanish giants beat the Asian champs 3-0.

It was tough game for Evergrande even though Barcelona's star players Lionel Messi and Neymar were out of the game.

In the 39th minute, the Spanish team scored its first point when a shot by Ivan Rakitic was rebounded by teammate Luiz Suarez past the control of Li Shuai.

Guangzhou came close to equalizing the score before the half time break, but Barcelona's experienced goal keeper, Claudio Bravo, kept them from doing so.

In the 50th minute, Luiz Suarez would score again for the Spanish powerhouse.

And from there on, it was downhill for Evergrande as Barcelona's third goal came soon after the 2nd.

After the match, Guangzhou Evergrande's head coach Luiz Scolari spoke a few words about his opponents.

"Neymar and (Lionel) Messi were not on the pitch tonight, they're the two top players in the world right now, but still Barcelona is a team of very high quality and their playing style is like a school system and this can be maintained even without their top players. We tried to do something against them but Barcelona is a wonderful team and there were some younger players who were very good as well. So, we lost against a very good team that we've seen on television and having played against them tonight, we can learn a lot."With their win Barcelona will move on to the FIFA Club World Cup final on Sunday, where they will play Argentina's River Plate.

Hangzhou Greentown announces new head coachAnd in some different football news:

Chinese Super League team Hangzhou Greentown officially announced that Korean Hong Myung-Bo will be the team's new coach.

The South Korean legend has accepted a two-year contract with Greentown and will be replacing fill-in coach Yang Ji.

Hong has played in 4 consecutive world cup games, bringing home the Bronze ball in 2002.

He was also mentioned as one of FIFA's top 100 players when he retired at the age of 35.

For coaching, Hong guided the South Korean Olympic team to its first football bronze medal in the 2012 London games.

This would also be the second time an Asian country was on podium for Olympic football, the first being Japan's bronze in the 1986 games.

Hongs move to Greentown comes after coaching for the South Korean National team.

London club Chelsea to select new managerIn some English football news:

File pictures for the main contenders looking to fill the now-vacant Chelsea manager position have been released as of Thursday.

The London club is looking to fill the spot left after Jose Mourinho parted ways with the team.

This has been a shock to some fans as Mourinho was the most successful manager in Chelsea history.

Owner Roman Abramovich has had tension with fans before after filling positions for the team with unpopular candidates.

Some of the big names in the running for the position are former Tottenham boss Juande Ramos, Bayern's Pep Guadiola and Diego Simeone.

With Chelsea facing the worst defense of a Premier League title, the danger of relegation is real.

Surfer Mick Fanning advances into Hawaii's "Pipe Masters" quarter finalsIn some surfing news:

Mick Fanning advanced to the quarter-finals of the World Surfing League's "Pipe Masters" in Hawaii.

This win was especially tough for the surfing pro after finding out a couple hours earlier that his older brother had died.

The three-time former WSL Champion had decided to compete even after learning the news of his brother.

After advancing to the next round, Fanning spoke about how he was feeling.

"Yeah, it's been a huge day. Yeah, just got some personal stuff going on at home and, just yeah, it's sort of heavy to talk about right now, but.... yeah, I don't know, I'm just sort of.... just cruising and just, yeah just trying, trying to live."It has been a year of ups and downs for the surfing pro, who has won two WSL events and survived a shark attack.

Despite his misfortune, Fanning is currently competing for his 4th world title.

Former El Salvador football president detained by policeAnd in some news from South America:

El Salvador's former soccer federation president Reynaldo Vasquez has been detained by Police as of Wednesday.

The former president is wanted in the United States for alleged corruption in football and earlier this month, El Salvador's Supreme court approved the extradition of the 59-year-old soccer boss.

Specifically Vasquez is being charged with five cases of alleged bribery, linked to commercial deals for broadcasting the qualifiers for the 2014 and 2018 world cups.

Vasquez has stated to media outlets that he is not worried of the charges and that he is innocent.

"Of course, come here and testify. We finished late resolving the problem of bribery. It's a special case but given how relaxed I am I will insist that in time with these incidents that I was not part of any decision at this level."In previous interviews with local media, Vasquez would describe these charges as absurd.

And however absurd they may be, the former boss is ready to testify his innocenceEntertainmentDonnie Yen introduces new 'Ip Man' movie, talks about shooting Star Wars movieHong Kong actor Donnie Yen is back with the latest installment of the "Ip Man" franchise.

This third installment portrays an older Ip Man, the Wing Chun master who was forced to fight against criminals when they tried to take over his town.

The success of the "Ip Man" franchise has seen Donnie Yen make his way to Hollywood.

The 52-year-old action star took a part in the sequel to Ang Lee's martial arts classic "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and just finished shooting his scenes in the next Star Wars movie "Rogue One."Yen is joined by another Chinese A list actor Jiang Wen in "Rogue One," though their characters remain secret.

But Yen says Asian fans will be pleased to see how they are presented in the film.

"This time the studio, Disney and Lucas Films, they have really paid special attention to making sure that our role, not because I'm Chinese, but because of the role itself.　They're not looking at us like we're Chinese, African American, or Hispanic American or whatever race you are.　They're not really looking at your race but rather looking at your talent and your character. ""Ip Man 3" is coming to the fans on Christmas Day.

Leonardo DiCaprio brings 'The Revenant' to LA premiereActors Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy have joined director Alejandro Inarritu to bring their latest film "The Revenant" to Los Angeles.

However, the actors were so late that they arrived just in time for the screening.

The film was shown at the TCL Chinese Theatre where the new "Star Wars" movie premiered two days ago.

"The Revenant" is based on the real story of fur trapper Hugh Glass who was mauled by a bear and left for dead during an expedition in 1823.

The film follows Glass' struggle to survive brutal winter elements and seek vengeance on those who left him to die and who murdered his young son.

Inarritu says he was compelled to tell the story because so many of its elements are relevant to today's America.

"There's a lot of themes that are very resonant today: There's an exploration of revenge. There's a father-and-son relationship -- a son that is suffering from racial prejudice. There's a lot of endurance, resilience. And it's an adventure. There are spectacular, epic, action scenes, but at the same time a lot of emotional moments of intimate things that in the context of that country, this country was living 200 years ago, there are things that still resonate today, which, I think … how we haven't learned (anything)."The director filmed the movie the hard way, shooting on location in real time and using natural light, which even led to some crewmembers quitting.

Earlier this month, "The Revenant" landed four nominations at the upcoming Golden Globe Awards, including Best Actor and Best Director.

The film will be screened in limited theatres in the US on Christmas Day.

Worldwide release will have to wait until January.

Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' becomes first album to sell 30 million in USMichael Jackson's album "Thriller" has set a record with sales of 30 million copies in the US.

It is the first album in history to cross the 30 million mark in US sales.

Released in 1982, "Thriller" features seven hit singles including "Billie Jean," "Beat It" and its title track.

The album had already scored 20 million copies in US sales two years after its initial release.

Its popularity surged in 2009 following Jackson's death.

The King of Pop is the best-selling recording artist of all time.

WeatherBeijing will be sunny today with a high of 3 degree Celsius; tonight clear with a low of -5.

Shanghai, sunny with a high of 8, cloudy tonight with a low of 3.

Chongqing, overcast with a high of 9 and a low of 8.

Lhasa, cloudy, a high of 7, overcast tonight with a low of minus 7 degrees Celsius.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad, sunny, 16.

Kabul, cloudy, a high of 5.

Over in North America,New York will be overcast today with a high of 11 degrees Celsius.

Washington DC, slight rain, 9.

Honolulu, also slight rain, a high of 28.

Toronto, overcast, 3.

In South America,Buenos Aires, cloudy with a high of 29.

And Rio de Janeiro will see a little bit rain with a high of 31 degrees Celsius.

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

Recapping our top stories this morning...

Chinese authorities urge the US to cancel its arms sale to Taiwan...

China and Russia sign 30 cooperation deals in areas like energy, investment, and finance...

And the UN Security Council passes a new resolution for cutting financing to terror groups like the Islamic State...

In Business...China's general trade exports have already hit the one trillion dollar mark for 2015...

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