The Beijing HourEvening EditionBob Jones with you on this Saturday December 19th 2015.

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

Coming up on the program this evening...

China describes the flight of two US bombers near the Nansha Islands as a serious military provocation.

Heavy and chemical industries blamed for North China's Air PollutionOptimism as the United Nations passes a resolution agreeing a way forward for the Syria peace process.

We'll have our weekly review of what's been taking place in the business world this past weekIn sports...Guangzhou Evergrande gearing up for a third-place play-off against Hiroshima ...

And in entertainment... An iconic Beijing museum gets ready to open its digital doors...

Top NewsU.S. flight near islands "serious military provocation": Chinese defense ministryChina on Saturday has described the flight of two B-52 strategic bombers over the area near the Nansha Islands as a serious military provocation.

China's Ministry of National Defense said the two U.S. bombers flew into the airspace near an island and reef off the Nansha Islands on December 10.

Military personnel on the island and reef warned the aircraft to leave.

The ministry said the United States, by continuously sending military ships and planes, have severely threatened the safety of Chinese personnel and facilities, as well as the peace and stability of the region.

China also demanded the United States immediately adopt measures to prevent such dangerous actions in order to prevent damaging relations between the two militaries and countries.

The ministry announced the Chinese armed forces would take whatever measures necessary to safeguard China's national sovereignty and security as well as the peace and stability of the region.

Heavy and chemical industries main Contributors to Smog in North ChinaChina's weather observatory on Saturday issued a yellow alert for smog in the country's north that will linger until Wednesday.

The major pollutant will be PM2.5 -- harmful microscopic particles that can penetrate deep into lungs.

During the investigation into the smog last week, officials found that heavy and chemical industries were the main contributors to the heavy air pollution in north China.

CRI's Qian Shanming has more.

Chen Guoqi at the Ministry of Environmental Protection is in charge of air quality monitoring in north China.

He said the industrial layout of the region is problematic and the adjustment process is slow.

"So severe problems have emerged in north China. For example, steel-making factories conquer Hebei's Tangshan and Handan, while coal mines are everywhere in Shanxi's Jinzhong and Yangquan, Inner Mongolia's Wuhai, and Henan's Pingdingshan."Apart from Beijing and Tianjin, coal-burning accounts for 90 percent of energy consumption in north China, much higher than the national average.

Chen Guoqi said bulk coal burning is another contributor to the poor air quality.

"About 22.2 percent bulk coal burnt in Beijing is below national quality standards; in Tianjin the figure is 26.7 percent; in Tangshan, Cangzhou, Langfang and Baoding, as much as 37.5 percent of the bulk coal is of low quality."Ahead of the latest severe air pollution forecast to hit China, the Ministry of Environmental Protection sent 14 inspection teams to different parts of the country.

They checked the implementation of emergency measures taken by local governments in response to the heavy air pollution.

Chen pointed out many local governments are not aware of the importance of environmental protection facilities and the implementation of related regulations is very poor.

"The Hebei provincial government has worked out some measures to reduce coal-burning and steel production, but there are too many empty words in the document and we don't think these measures are feasible. Zhengzhou city issued 14 plans on air pollution control, but there is no one in charge of the implementation. And the air pollution control project by Nanyang government is also impractical."Experts urged local governments to set a deadline for the emission cut by 50 percent in an attempt to get air quality in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei to acceptable levels by 2030.

Beijing has issued its second red alert for air pollution this month. The red alert, the most serious level, will last from 7 a.m. Saturday to the end of Tuesday, limiting vehicles on roads according to their odd-even license plate numbers and banning fireworks and outdoor barbecue.

For CRI, I'm Qian Shanming.

China Welcomes U.S. Ratification of IMF Quota & Governance ReformsChina's central bank has welcomed the ratification of the 2010 quota and governance reforms of the International Monetary Fund by the U.S. Congress.

Such approval means that the 2010 reforms, after protracted delay, are expected to take effect soon.

The People's Bank of China says the move will enhance the representativeness and voice of emerging market economies at the international lender.

It will double the IMF quotas and reallocated quota and voting shares in IMF away from advanced economies to their growing emerging counterparts.

China will have the third largest IMF quota and voting share after the United States and Japan.

Lei Sihai, CRI's special commentator, believes that the reforms will improve China's right of discourse in global financial circles, but will not affect domestic financial reforms much.

"The reforms will improve China's strength and status in the global financial market, and will bring positive effects to China's domestic financial reform to some extent, but there'll be no significant influence, since domestic reform depends on our own policies and measures mostly."The People's Bank of China said China will work closely with other member countries to support the IMF to continuously improve its quota and governance structure, so as to ensure that the Fund remains a quota-based and adequately resourced institution.

Microsoft and CETG Form Joint Venture in ChinaMicrosoft and the China Electronics Technology Group, or CETG, have announced a new joint venture. The new company is provisionally named C&M Information Technologies, and will provide Windows 10 related services to Chinese government organs and state owned enterprises.

CETG's Chairman Xiong Qunli expressed his willingness for international cooperation.

"We hope the international society, be it academia, enterprises or nations, will embrace an open attitude for cooperation. For us, as a Chinese company, we have our own core technology and equipment, and we are willing and open to international cooperation. Along with our partners, we can build a safe and trustworthy cyber environment. "The new venture is still subject to regulatory approval and has a registered capital of 40 million US dollars. Microsoft will hold a 49% stake in the venture, while CETG will hold 51%.

The development is an improvement in the American company's relationship with the Chinese authorities. In 2014, it was the target of anti-monopoly probe. A government procurement agency had also previously banned PCs with the Windows 8 software.

Microsoft has previously signed deals with other Chinese tech giants such as Baidu, Tencent and Xiaomi.

Rhodes Looking for all-round talentsAn official from Rhodes House has said they are looking for all-round talented students to receive an award of 50 thousand pounds.

The Rhodes Scholarship, established in 1902, is an international post-graduate award for selected non-British students to study at Oxford University.

Over 40 state leaders, more than 70 chairmen or CEOs of enterprises, and over 10 Nobel Prize winners have been the recipients of the scholarship in the past.

Charles Conn is the warden of Rhodes House at the University of Oxford.

"Unlike most scholarships which focus only on academic ability, the Rhodes Scholarships focus also on your service to others, your extracurricular activities, and most importantly, your potential for leadership. Have they been willing to go to volunteer in rural education? Do they work, have they worked in hospitals? Have they started student organizations? Do they find time to participate in sports, music, dance, debate? We're looking for people who are all-around talented students, not just pure academics."Earlier this month, four Chinese students were awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship - marking a first for students from non-western, non-British-Commonwealth-of-Nations and non-English-speaking countries.

So far students from over 30 countries have received the Rhodes Scholarship.

China-Australia FTA to Take EffectAfter a decade of negotiations, China and Australia will begin to implement a Free Trade Agreement on Sunday. Significant benefits to both economies are expected.

CRI's Victor Ning reports.

Under the Free Trade Agreement, or FTA, nearly 86 percent of the two countries' export products will see a tariff reduction to zero on Sunday. Starting January 1 next year, a second round of tariff reduction will take effect.

Member of Australia's House of Representatives David Coleman quite enthusiastically welcomed the FTA.

"It's actually very hard to say what's the No. 1 benefit, because there are so many benefits right across the Australian economy. It also means a close relationship and friendship with China, and that's really important too. It's incredibly important that we have a very strong friendship and a strong and mutually beneficial relationship. So the free trade agreement is great news for Australia. And certainly, [I'm] very pleased that it is now coming into force."Analysts say the FTA will make Australian products more competitive in winning Chinese markets. Australian former foreign minister Bob Carr said it will help Australia gain benefit from the growth of the Chinese economy.

"It's very very important, a milestone in the relationship between Australia and China. It points to more economic integration between Australia and China. This is Australia having a stake in the nearly emerging, mature, modern, global Chinese economy."Australians also expect more benefits in boosting its agriculture. According to official data, Australia's agricultural exports to China reached nearly 48 billion yuan, or around 7.5 billion USD, in the last fiscal year. China has become the largest export market for Australian agricultural products.

With the FTA taking effect, about 30 percent of tariffs on Australian agricultural exports will be exempted, worth nearly 1.5 billion yuan, or 230 million USD. The move is expected to significantly benefit Australian agricultural and animal husbandry companies.

China's Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Shen Danyang says the FTA is welcomed with equal anticipation by the Chinese side.

"The agreement taking effect will further expand trade and investment between China and Australia, promote trade facilitation, boost the free flow of goods, capital and people between the two countries, and bring benefits to the enterprises and peoples of the countries. The agreement will help maintain close bilateral trade relationship, push forward economic growth of the two countries, and provide important content to enrich all-round strategic partnership between China and Australia."The China-Australia FTA talks began in April 2005, and the agreement was officially signed in June 2015.

For CRI, I'm Victor Ning.

NYC Syria TalksThe United Nations has passed a resolution agreeing a way forward for the Syria peace process.

But differences of opinion between the United States and Russia almost scuppered the agreement as CRI's Nick Harper reports from New York.

The Syrian conflict has raged for nearly five years, killing around a quarter of a million people.

Throughout the path to peace has been cracked and cratered by the differing opinions of other countries.

Now, a new agreement, aimed at paving the way to peace talks next year.

The United Nations Security Council unanimously voted on a draft resolution that calls on the UN to bring the Syria government and the opposition to the negotiating table by the end of January.

Here's UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

But this agreement almost didn't happen. Ahead of the Council meeting, the foreign ministers of 17 countries met to try and agree the wording of the resolution. Haggling ensued.

Among the issues of contention - what to do with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.

Russia has long held the view he should stay. The US wants him gone.

But meetings between the two countries in Moscow earlier this week saw a further softening of stance.

Russia and America seeming to agree he can remain for a transitional period before stepping aside.

US Secretary of State John Kerry.

Another issue that needed resolving - who to invite to the peace talks.

Each country had differing views, some feeling that certain opposition members should be label "terrorists" and excluded for January's discussions.

But a agreement was reached that allowed for this UN resolution which calls for peace talks along with a nationwide ceasefire - something China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said must go together.

Wang Yi: "The two most important issues are the launch of a political negotiation and a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities. They are the most pressing issues and they are interrelated. We cannot have a peace process without a ceasefire; and without a ceasefire peace talks cannot continue to produce results."Now, the two-year road map begins, with peace talks, a unity government and eventual elections.

And the hope that the Syrian government and opposition groups to work together to jointly defeat the other crisis facing their country: the Islamic State.

For CRI, I'm Nick Harper in New York.

Obama Ends 2015 on High NoteThe U.S. President Barack Obama has praised Congress for ending 2015 on a high note, after the legislative body handed him a 1.8 trillion-dollar-budget bill that would ensure the operation of government services for the first nine months of next year.

The move is seen as a great step forward in governance in the United States. But observers are saying that the latest terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, in California, have overshadowed some of the other achievements made by the President in the last twelve months.

Here is CRI's Washington chief correspondent Xiaohong with the story.

2015 has indeed been a great year for President Obama. In addition to the long-awaited budget bill, the Supreme Court knocked down the last major challenge to his health-care law, consolidating it as the law of the land for many years to come. Same-sex marriage was also legalized nationwide by the High court.

The U.S. economy continues recovery with some tangible results.

"Our early actions to rescue the economy set the stage for the longest streak of private sector job growth on record with 13.7 million new jobs in that time. The unemployment rate has been cut in half, down to 5%. And most importantly wages grew faster than any time since the recovery began."On the diplomatic front, President Obama also has a stellar list including the Paris Climate Accord, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement, the Iran nuclear treaty and the normalization of relations with Cuba.

However, the latest terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, have overshadowed that high note. Across America, people are questioning his ability when it comes to homeland security.

President Obama acknowledged that it's very hard to deal with the new situation since self-radicalized terrorists are now targeting vulnerable citizens at casual locations.

"It is very difficult for us to detect lone wolf plots because despite the incredible vigilance and professionalism of our law enforcement from Homeland Security etc. It's not that different from us trying to detect the next mass shooter."But he reassured the nation that the law enforcement agencies had found no specific and credible threat against the U.S. at this moment, urging people not to bow to terror.

"And all of us can do our part by staying vigilant, by saying something if we see something that is suspicious, by refusing to be terrified, and by standing united as one American family."President Obama also says he has never been more optimistic than he is now and has pledged to continue the second half of, what he calls, a wonderful fourth quarter that is full of promise.

Xiaohong ,CRI, Washington DC.

British astronaut says he has a spectacular life up in spaceThe first Briton on board the International Space Station, Tim Peake, has been giving his initial impressions of space during a news conference. He arrived on the space station just three days ago with two other astronauts, one from Russia and another from America.

CRI's Fei Fei with more.

Struggling to conquer weightlessness, British astronaut Tim Peake described his "spectacular life" in space during a live video-link with journalists gathered in Cologne in Germany.

He says his first impressions of space go way beyond his expectations.

"The most unexpected thing, I think, was the blackness of space. Because we always talk about seeing the view of planet Earth and how beautiful it is and so you come to expect that. But what people don't mention that much is just when you look the opposite direction and you see how dark space is - I mean it's the blackest black and you realise just how small the Earth is in that blackness."Peake is employed by the European Space Agency and is scheduled to spend almost six months on board the ISS. The former helicopter pilot is excited by his mission, saying they have a very busy half-year ahead.

"We've got a very busy schedule. Both with the science programme, the visiting vehicles as well, we currently have a sickness vehicle docked which we are unpacking. That is taking a lot of time to unpack that. Preparations for potential space walks are ongoing. And of course with the future space X-vehicle that come up, there will be even more science onboard that, too. So, plenty of work to do over the next 6 months."He also said he expected to get the chance to watch the new Star Wars film next week with his colleagues up in the space.

"We are very excited about the Star Wars movie. I think we're all fans up here and I believe that on the 21st we may get to see that up here on the Space Station, so a little bit later than everybody else but hey what a spectacular place to watch Star Wars."Peake blasted off for the ISS on a Soyuz spacecraft on Tuesday with his two fellow astronauts.

43 year old Peake is a former army major, and the first astronaut representing the British government to wear a Union Jack flag on his arm.

The first Briton in space was Helen Sharman, who travelled on a Soviet spacecraft for eight days back in 1991.

For CRI, this is Fei Fei.

Lakes Faces Threat Affecting Their Ecosystem: ExpertsExperts have discovered that many of the lakes in the world are facing a variety of threats brought about by different factors such as rising temperatures and algal blooms.

CRI's Xie Cheng has more.

A new study by NASA and the National Science Foundation has revealed that lakes around the world are rapidly being warmed due to climate change.

Based on temperature data from 235 lakes and analysis on temperature changes over 25 years, the study found that they are warming at an average of 0.34 degrees Celsius each decade.

Sam Hook, the Science Division Manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and co-author of the study, believes that the temperature changes have resulted from many factors.

"It could be a reflection of there being less cloud cover; it could be a consequence of more glacial melt water coming into the lake. All these different processes taking place and they integrate them and they warm more gradually but the consequences of that warming can be very serious."Increase in lake temperatures can damage the ecosystems around the lakes, making it harder for fish to survive and for people to make use of the bodies of water.

One of the negative consequences is that the rising temperature could lead to algal blooms, which sometimes contain harmful toxins and therefore lower the water quality.

Meanwhile, Russian experts have discovered that endemic species in Lake Baikal in Siberia are facing a threat brought about by different toxic algae.

According to results tested from samples of water and flora from 4 meters deep, endemic sponge, a natural water purifier, is declining significantly.

Lyubov Chernogor, a researcher at the Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry, says such sponges play an important role in keeping the lake water clean.

"Sponge is a multicellular purifier organism. According to the different scientific datas, sponge is purifying around 20 liters of water per day. Can you imagine how much water it can clean? In other words sponge is banishing through itself and filtering all the water that is in the Baikal."She added that it's impossible to find any visually healthy sponges, which they used to be able to find 6 years ago.

For his part, Igor Hanna, Team Leader of Diving and Underwater monitoring, says an up-to-date purification plans is required to alleviate the lake's situation, since none of existing purification plants are effective.

"After diving into the different parts of Lake Baikal I can say that we are seeing that the situation is deteriorating. Negative events that only exist in some parts of Baikal before we were witnessing is now spreading to the entire water area of Baikal."Lake Baikal is listed as World Heritage Site and covers 20,000 square miles, holding a fifth of all the fresh water in the world.

For CRI, I'm Xie ChengUganda Markets its Tourism to China using golden monkeysUganda is hoping to attract more Chinese tourists with its new campaign to track golden monkeys.

2016 is China's Year of The Monkey, and Uganda wants to tap into this potential to boost its tourist numbers.

Uganda has seen a steady increase of Chinese visitors, from 5000 in 2010 to 14,000 in 2014.

CRI's Isabel Nakirya reports.

Golden monkeys are a rare species found at the Mgahinga National park in western Uganda.

With Uganda tapping into new Asian markets, the country's Wildlife Authority expects to make gains from an increase in Chinese tourists as China celebrates the year of the monkey in 2016.

Chinese are discovering Uganda as a new tourism destination, that's why they are coming in big numbers for the traditional markets especially seasonal. They come when its winter in their time. But the Chinese have been helping us out especially peak season- June to September."The East African country has seen a steady growth of Chinese tourists.

The numbers have increased three fold in the last five years.

"The only obstacle has been the language barrier but we are making efforts along with Uganda tourism board to even start training our guides in Chinese language. But they usually come with one who understands English to interpret what our guides are telling them."Uganda is now seeking to capitalize on the celebration of the monkey.

About 5000 golden monkeys exist in the wild.

Tour operators now want to explore ways of making them more tame so visitors can get a closer look.

Uganda's tourist numbers had drastically decreased at the beginning of year.

The tourism board attributes this to the terror scares and the Ebola outbreak in West Africa which affected the whole continent.

But tour operators hope numbers will go up with the new campaign in golden monkey tracking.

Isabel Nakirya, CRI in KampalaHeadline NewsThailand, China launch railway projectThailand and China launched a railway project Saturday, marking the beginning of bilateral cooperation to develop Thailand's first standard-gauge double-track railway line.

A launching ceremony was held at Chiang Rak Noi Station in central Thailand's Ayutthaya province.

The two sides are collaborating in building a medium-speed railway line, with trains operating at top speeds of 160-180 kilometers per hour.

The 845-kilometer line will link the Thai capital Bangkok with the northeastern city of Nong Khai near the border with Laos.

Donor heart beats 7 hours after removal in ChinaHere in China, a heart was successfully transplanted to a patient seven hours after it was removed from the donor.

Doctors said it is rare to use a heart that has already stopped beating for six hours and more, but the transplant succeeded because the donor was very young and had a strong heart.

The patient in southeast China's city of Fuzhou needed a heart transplant due to a worsening blood clot around his heart.

Luckily, a matching donor was located a three-hour drive away. The donor had been pronounced brain dead from a brain tumor.

The transplant cost up to 2 hundred thousand yuan or more than 30 thousand U.S. dollars.

China has around 3 million patients waiting for heart transplants, but only 250 at most are able to undergo the operation each year.

Wanda to build 3.5-bln-yuan shopping complex in XinjiangThe Wanda Group is to build a shopping complex in downtown Urumqi, capital of west China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The shopping complex, with an investment of 3.5 billion yuan, is expected to open for business in 2017.

The complex will feature a shopping mall, IMAX cinemas and restaurants.

More than 50 international retailers including Uniqlo, Watsons, Starbucks and McDonald's will have a presence in the new development.

Last year Wanda invested 10 billion yuan to create a complex of hotels, shopping malls and other entertainment venues in Urumqi.

Chinese-led team publishes "Flora of the Pan-Himalayas"Three volumes of a compilation focusing on plants in the Pan-Himalayan region have been published jointly by China's Science Press and Cambridge University Press.

The "Flora of the Pan-Himalayas" aims to provide scientific guidance for protecting the local environment and bio-diversity as well as for using plant resources.

The project started in 2010 and was led by Chinese scientists as well as botanists from other countries including Britain, the U.S. and Nepal.

The team has collected 60 thousand plant specimens, more than 20 thousand DNA samples and 50 thousand photos of plants over the past five years.

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

This week saw the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to raise its benchmark interest rate, ending a seven-year period of near-zero borrowing rates.

We'll also check in with some of the key economic indicators as the year end approaches.

All of that and more with CRI's Wenjie.

++++++The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in seven years, by 25 basis points.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen says the decision reflects the committee's confidence that the economy will continue to strengthen.

"The Federal Open Market Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate by one-quarter percentage point, bring it to one-quarter to one-half percent. This action marks the end of an extraordinary seven year period during which the federal funds rate was held near zero to support the recovery of the economy from the worst financial crisis and recession since the Great Depression."But the Fed's statement suggested that rates would remain historically low well into the future, saying it expects "only gradual increases."China's Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Shen Danyang later said that the Fed's decision will have some impact on China's trade but the level of that impact is not yet known.

"As for how much of the impact 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 Hong Kong Monetary Authority also increased its base rate for the first time in 7 years by 25 basis points to 0.75 percent, following the increase in US rates by the Federal Reserve.

++++++China's central bank projected its baseline forecast for 2016 growth at 6.8 percent.

The rate is slightly lower than the central bank's forecast of 6.9-percent expansion for this year.

The People's Bank of China released a working paper saying it expects positive factors such as the recovery of real estate sales and the lagged impact of government policies to bolster growth.

But China's economy still faces problems including overcapacity, profit deceleration and rising ratios of non-performing loans.

++++++++Recent official stats show that the Chinese mainland made over 100 billion U.S. dollars in non-financial investment in overseas markets in the first 11 months of 2015, up 16 percent year on year.

Zhou Liujun from the Ministry of Commerce explains where the money went.

"Fruitful investments were made in the construction of economic and trade cooperation zones, infrastructure, and overseas contracted projects. There was significant growth in direct investment overseas in large-scale projects and in the manufacturing sector."Meanwhile, Chinese companies have built 75 economic and trade cooperation zones in over 30 countries, which have generated 18 billion U.S. dollars of ODI.

Factory output growth last month picked up to stand at a five-month high, up an annual 6.2 percent, quickening from October's 5.6 percent.

Growth in China's fixed-asset investment, one of the main drivers of the economy, also rose 10.2 percent in the first 11 months.

Retail sales grew an annual 11.2 percent in November, the strongest expansion this year.

At a regular press conference, the spokesperson from the Ministry of Commerce Shen Danyang expects the year-round number to grow by some 11 percent.

"China's social 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 added that online shopping continued to expand last month.

Spending on entertainment surged with box office sales across the country up nearly 50 percent during the first eleven months of the year.

++++++++The National Bureau of Statistics said that, last month, among 70 large and medium-sized cities surveyed, new home prices climbed month on month in 33 cities, up from 27 in October.

Meanwhile, 27 reported monthly price declines, down from 33 cities in October.

South China's Shenzhen saw the biggest gain in new home prices last month, surging some 45 percent.

The NBS attributed the warming signs to the government's stimulus measures.

The central bank had cut benchmark interest rates five times since last November and lowered banks' reserve requirement ratio three times since February.

The country also lowered down payment requirements for second-home purchases and some local governments have rolled back restrictions on home purchases.

+++++++China will suspend the price adjustment of domestic refined oil products in a bid to combat air pollution.

The country's top economic planner says giving full play to the leverage effect of refined oil prices is an important way to promote energy conservation and tackle air pollution.

Right now, prices for refined oil products are adjusted when international crude oil prices translate into a change of more than 50 yuan per ton for gasoline and diesel within a period of 10 working days.

However, according to the new plan, when international oil prices are low, domestic prices for refined oil products will remain steady.

Chinese authorities plan to solicit public opinion about the new rules before they go into effect.

+++++In a bid to support public-private partnership projects, China will provide rewards instead of subsidies in a pilot scheme starting from next year.

The Ministry of Finance said private partners in the PPP demonstration projects will be offered three-tier rewards based on investment scale.

The ministry also encouraged uncompleted locally-funded public service projects to transform into PPP model projects, rewarding then with 2 percent debt reduction.

The reward program will be trialed for three years, as the central government phases out the old subsidy scheme.

On Wednesday, China's top economic planner said that the country has a total of over 2,100 potential PPP projects valued at 3.5 trillion yuan, or 540 billion U.S. dollars.

++++++Apple has partnered with China UnionPay to bring its payment service Apple Pay to China, along with 15 banks in the country.

UnionPay cardholders will be able to use their bank cards on Apple devices for daily shopping at the beginning of next year.

The move is considered to add leverage for the two companies to compete against Alibaba's Alipay and Tencent's WeChat wallet.

UnionPay said it also planned to tie up with the Samsung payment system, Samsung Pay, which was launched earlier this year.

China Unionpay is the country's only domestic bank card issuer. The number of UnionPay cards issued both at home and abroad has exceeded 5 billion.

++++++Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba 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.

The deal came after Alibaba agreed to acquire the South China Morning Post and other media assets of SCMP Group for 266 million U.S. dollars.

SCMP Group says it expects to record a gain of around 1.4 billion Hong Kong dollars from the asset sale.

Alibaba has acquired or invested in a growing portfolio of media and content companies in recent years.

In June, the company agreed to pay 194 million U.S dollars for an undisclosed stake in the domestic financial media firm China Business News.

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

SportsGuangzhou Evergrande gearing up for third-place play-off against HiroshimaBeginning with football action from China,Guangzhou Evergrande are looking for a breakthrough at the Club World Cup.

The Chinese and Asian champions are gearing up for their game against Japanese outfit Sanfrecce Hiroshima where the teams will be playing for third place.

Evergrande will become the first Chinese team to stand on the podium of the tournament if they come away with a win.

Captain Zheng Zhi is determined to write that piece of history.

"We have learned a lot from the last match which can improve our level for the future. Moving forward, this is our last game and it's against a Japanese club which can potentially be our opponents in next year's AFC Champions League during the knockout stages. Both sides have played two matches each and both are ready for a third place finish. We have the dream and the ability to finish third. And I believe we can prove that on the pitch tomorrow against them."Evergrande manager Luis Felipe Scolari says he will try some new approaches during the game.

The third-place play-off is scheduled for 3pm tomorrow Beijing time, followed by the final between Barcelona and River Plate.

Shanghai Shenhua officially announce Manzano as new managerChinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua have officially announced Gregorio Manzano as their new manager for next season.

Manzano will arrive in Shanghai next Monday to start planning for the new season.

He is tasked with qualifying Shenhua for the AFC Champions League.

Fifty-nine-year-old Manzano was with Beijing Guo'an for the last two years.

He led the team to a second place finish in the Chinese Super Leauge and was voted best manager at the end of his first year in China.

Manzano and Guo'an prematurely terminated his contract by mutual consent after the team finished fourth last season and did not qualify for the AFC Champions League.

Manzano returns to the Chinese Super League by taking over Shenhua from Francis Gillot who stepped down after failing to lift them to the CFA Cup title.

European football leagues weekend previewElsewhere in football, in the Premier League,Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has apologized to his West Brom counterpart Tony Pulis ahead of the games this weekend for his angry confrontation during the team's 2-all draw.

Klopp has blamed his emotions for his action and says he respects Pulis and his work.

"I can easily say sorry for everything I said during the game because I am very very emotional. I think Tony Pulis is similar and there were a few words, we were very close together, and it was not...for me, not a big problem. But it was very intensive and after the game I wanted to go to my team and really I forgot to shake hands, that's all. If we meet today, it's for me no problem to say sorry and to shake hands and have a talk, whatever. I have big respect for his work, no doubt about this."Klopp's side don't play until tomorrow, while West Brom are hosting Bournemouth tonight.

More games coming up,Chelsea play their first game without Jose Mourinho against Sunderland,Leaders Leicester visit Everton,Manchester United take on Norwich.

Over in Germany,The Bundesliga teams are trying to give their fans a happy holiday season with a win before they take a break.

Bayern Munich which has already secured top spot going into the winter break are away against Hannover.

Second-placed Dortmund come up against Cologne,Frankfurt, Bremen both languishing near the bottom of the table battle it out for improvement.

Bundesliga action resumes on January 23.

CBA/NBA updateIn basketball action from the CBA,The Zhejiang Lions have taken over the reigns with a 128-112 win over Fujian.

The Lions moved to the top with a 17-2 record with the season halfway gone.

Former leaders Xinjiang dropped to second after going down to Liaoning 104-86.

Elsewhere,Guangdong held on to their third place despite a 93-87 loss at the hands of Shenzhen;Sichuan are locked with Guangdong at 14/5 with a 116-107 success over Beikong.

And the Beijing Ducks are over Bayi 81-74.

In the NBA,The Warriors have avenged their defeat by the Bucks which ended their 28-game winning streak.

The Warriors posted a 11-0 run in the last quarter to haul themselves back to contention for victory.

Stephen Curry's 26 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists helped them succeed 121-112.

The Spurs downed the Clippers 115-107,Indiana upset Brooklyn 104-97,Phoenix thumped New Orleans 104-88,And Detroit rallied for four overtimes to beat Chicago 147-144.

Another victory for China's men's team at Water Polo Asian Championshipsin water polo,China's men's team continue to dominate the Asian Championships currently being held in Foshan.

They beat Iran 19-6 after the rest day, to record two wins in as many games.

Next up for China are Kazakhstan and Japan.

Kazakhstan just had a sweeping 26-3 victory against Saudi Arabia on the same day.

The winners of the tournament will secure a ticket to the Rio Olympic Games.

China's women's team are already through after winning both play-offs against Japan.

One team in, one out for China at Go championshipIn the board game of Go,China's seeded team breezed past Australia 3-0 to reach the semi-finals of the World Team Championship in Guangzhou.

Ke Jie, Shi Yue, Zhou Ruiyang have won all but one of their qualifying matches in five rounds to go unchallenged to top.

The other Chinese team made up of wildcards and old Go masters are shut out of the semi-finals following an Israeli withdrawal which gave South Korea advantages to edge them out.

The semi-finals which begin tomorrow will have six players from two teams playing in one game against each other.

China's seeded team are placed against fourth-placed South Korean wildcards.

The other semi-finalists are the South Korean Seeds and the Japanese Seeds.

EntertainmentThe Palace Museum to Launch Digital Gallery on December 22The Palace Museum in Beijing, housed inside the Forbidden City, launches its new digital gallery on December 22nd.

The gallery is located at Duanmen Gate, the main entrance to the imperial palace grounds, and features screens displaying cultural relics and explaining architectural features.

The first exhibition will introduce the palace using a digital architectural model, giving visitors a chance to get closer to the museum's priceless treasures, many of which are too fragile to display physically.

The Duanmen digital gallery was completed on Friday, and will be piloted until January 17th.

Visitors can make reservations to visit the gallery for free through the Palace Museum's official website.

The gallery can also be accessed by mobile phones and on other devices.

China's Rock Icon Cui Jian Releases New Single and Micro FilmChina's "Godfather of Rock" Cui Jian released the first single from his upcoming album on Friday.

Entitled 'Waimian De Niu' in Chinese, which literally means 'girls out there', the song has come out along with a micro film of the same name.

The song is included on the singer's highly-anticipated album 'Guang Dong', which marks Cui Jian's music comeback almost 10 years after his last release.

The 54-year-old rock star says this new album is a break from his iconic style, and will stress melody and include no rap.

Cui Jian says he hope this album "can make the audience forget bondage and rumpus".

A second single from the album is set to be unveiled next Monday.

Cui Jian rose to fame in China with his 1986 performance of 'Nothing to My Name', setting off a nationwide rock craze.

His latest album 'Guang Dong' is set to be released on December 25th.

'Imagine: John Lennon 75th Birthday Concert' to Air Exclusively on AMC'Imagine: John Lennon 75th Birthday Concert' will air exclusively on AMC tomorrow morning Beijing time.

The concert event was taped at the Theater at Madison Square Garden on December 5th.

Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and Grammy Award-winner John Fogerty and Spoon joined the all-star concert event, to celebrate the music and message of the legendary icon.

Beatles remaining members, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, made special video appearances during the concert event and broadcast premier.

The event also includes a lineup of music stars, such as Eric Church, Sheryl Crow, Spoon, Peter Frampton and The Roots.

American actor Kevin Bacon is the special guest host of this all-star event.

DGA Award winner Gregg Gelfand directed the event.

Previously, the organizers announced that a portion of proceeds from the concert would be donated to New York's largest poverty-fighting organization, Robin Hood.

The organization has created and funded over 200 of the most effective programs, to help 1.8 million New Yorkers learn and earn their way out of poverty.

'Imagine: John Lennon 75th Birthday Concert' is set to air on AMC at 9 p.m Eastern Time on December 19th.

Actress Susie Abromeit Talks Her Role in Netflix's TV Drama 'Jessica Jones'

The 13-episode TV drama 'Jessica Jones', based on Marvel Comics' character of the same name, is now available for streaming on the Netflix website.

Actress Susie Abromeit is both a star and a fan-girl when it comes to her new Netflix series.

"This is probably one of the darkest, most twisted Marvel shows ever. It's pretty gory, graphic. I mean it pushes .. I want to say there's elements of like 'Breaking Bad,' which was like my favorite show for the longest time and now I get to say like I'm a part of a show that I really love watching. It's just really dark, twisted and amazing."In the series, Krysten Ritter plays the title role of Jessica Jones, who attempts to reboot her personal life and career as a hot-tempered, sardonic private detective in New York City.

Jones works for a high-powered attorney Jeri Hogarth, and Abromeit plays Hogarth's secretary and lover.

She called the series a "feminist noir," but said it's also so much more.

"You know I really feel like it's more than just being a feminist show. It's just these powerful people and they just happen to be women. I think we're kind of moving into that realm where we are no longer defined as like 'oh wow! I didn't know women can be strong!' Now it's kind of like the norm."Premiered on November 20th, the TV series is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, sharing continuity with othe films from the franchise.

Nine foreign language films advance in Oscar raceNine features will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 88th Academy Awards.

Arguably the most high profile of the shortlisted films are Mustang and Hungary's Son of Saul.

Also on the shortlist, which has been slimmed down from the 81 eligible films, Belgium's The Brand New Testament directed by Jaco Van Dormael, and Denmark's A War from Tobias Lindholm.

The outcome has left several notable films out of the equation, including Taiwan director Hsiao-Hsien Hou's film The Assassin.

The shortlist will be further trimmed down to the category's five nominees by specially invited committees in New York, Los Angeles and London.

They will spend three days in January viewing three films a day, and then casting their ballots.

The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016.

The Oscar ceremony itself will be held on Sunday, February 28.

The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

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

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

China describes the flight of two US bombers near the Nansha Islands as a serious military provocation.

Heavy and chemical industries blamed for North China's Air PollutionOptimism as the United Nations passes a resolution agreeing a way forward for the Syria peace process.

On behalf of the whole Beijing Hour team, This is Bob Jones in Beijing, hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour, to open a window to the world together.