新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 08:00 2015/10/19

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

Coming up on the program this morning...

Chinese President Xi Jinping drawing attention to a number of key issues regarding Sino-British relations ahead of his state visit to the UK...

Chinese Premier¹ Li Keqiang presents stressing several new areas for economic reforms here in China...

And the Iran nuclear deal formally goes into effect...

In Business....China 's Alibaba lobbies to stay off the US blacklist for selling fake goods....

In Sports....Teams facing relegation² duking it out for a chance of survival in the Chinese Super League...

And in Entertainment....A Chinese science fiction author picks up a prestegous writing award...

Top NewsXi Jinping's Reuters Interview Sets a Promising³ ToneAnchorChinese President Xi Jinping's interview with the Reuters News Agency was published on Sunday ahead of his state visit to the UK. The President drew attention to a number of key issues regarding Sino-UK relations and his interview was closely followed by China experts in the UK.

CRI's London Correspondent Duan Xuelian reports.

ReporterStephen Perry, chairman of UK's 48 Group Club was among the first to read about Xi Jinping's interview with Reuters. As a pioneering figure known for his deep business ties with China, Stephen believes it's important to understand the Chinese approach to official interviews.

"When Chinese leaders speak, they speak modestly, carefully, and they don't make any promises, they don't paint fancy pictures about the future except in the most broad and general terms. But I can tell you that I'm absolutely certain that the content of China's next Five-Year Plan and the opportunities it provides for the UK will be without precedent⁵. And Britain will have better prospects⁶ for relations and trade relations with China than Germany has enjoyed for the last 25 years if we prove our desirous for business."There has been a concentrated media focus on China since the state visit by the Chinese President to the UK was announced. China's slowing down economy was one of the most debated issues in the UK. Stephen says foreign media has translated New Normal to mean 7% growth this year, but that's a very narrow view of what New Normal means.

"New Normal is about a period of transition into a managed market economy and the period of transition will last until 2021 at least. So the arrival of a growth rate about 7% may take two or three years to settle down. It maybe a little higher, a little bit lower, what President Xi was saying was that we are comfortable that we are meeting the challenges that have come along and at the moment we are comfortable with the progress we are making but we are not complacent⁸ and ready to meet bigger challenges ahead."Stephen was also impressed that the Chinese President made a point of mentioning this year being the beginning of the second decade of the China-UK comprehensive strategic partnership⁹. He believes that this visit is setting a promising tone for the future China-UK relations.

"It's not just a state visit by a President who will talk about the current trade and or relations between the two countries. He is saying these are particularly important times for strategic partnerships¹⁰. The term strategic means that both countries have matching needs and if they can find ways to make those investment opportunities happen then much bigger opportunities will develop from them."For CRI, I'm Duan Xuelian in LondonCameron on Xi's VisitAnchorBritish Prime Minister David Cameron is suggesting his forthcoming discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week in London are going to go beyond bilateral¹¹ ties between China and the UK.

CRI's Luo Wen reports.

ReporterDavid Cameron is credited with coining the term "golden" to describe the UK's current ties with China.

This is a term which has been sprinkled around liberally through the talking points on both sides in the lead-up to Xi Jinping's trip to the UK this week.

However, Cameron is suggesting he'd like to add a new buzz-word to the mix.

"Well, "Golden", I think, is one of the words I introduce. But the word I'd use today, I think, is opportunity, because I think the opportunities for Chinese investments into the United Kingdom are absolutely beneficial both to Britain and to China, I think, the opportunity for British businesses to expand and grow in China. I think the opportunities for our young people to attend universities together and learn from each other, I think, those are big opportunities. So the word I would use is "opportunity", a strong relationship."When it comes to specifics, David Cameron says he wants to take his conversation with Xi Jinping beyond bilateral ties.

"Trade is growing, investment is growing, the people-to-people contact is increasing, not least with 135,000 Chinese students studying here in Britain. I think it's an opportunity to review all of those things, but also talk about how Britain and China can work together on some of the global issues, talking about climate change, tackling poverty, making sure that the world institutions like the United Nations are working for the benefit of the world."China is Britain's fourth-largest trading partner.

The bilateral trade topped 70 billion US dollars in 2013 and is expected to hit 100 billion by the end of this year.

Trade is something Cameron says is also going to be high on his agenda during his time with the Chinese President.

"What we've seen in the last ten years is actually a quadrupling of British exports to China, as the Chinese economy has been one of the drivers of world growth, and I think that will continue. China's growth has been remarkable¹³. Obviously, there are issues at the moment that are being addressed in China. I'm sure the growth will continue. So, we can continue to have a situation that benefits both our countries."Its widely-expected the two leaders are also going to discuss the impact the newly-signed Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement is going to have on global trade.

The UK's role in the Asian Infrastructure¹⁴ Investment Bank is also likely to be one of the main economic talking-points.

"Britain is a global trading nation, the fifth largest economy in the world. We've always had trading and investment relationships right around the world including right across Asia. So, being involved in the development of this important institution, it is clearly in our national interest and, I think, will be to the benefit of the AIIB as well."Beyond the UK's role in Asia, Cameron also says his government still wants to see more Chinese investment moving the other way.

"Britain is one of those open economies in the world. We encourage overseas investment and China is investing more in Britain than other European countries. And the change we will see is obviously the investment into our infrastructure; new Chinese companies are helping¹⁵ people creating wealth and jobs."A meeting between David Cameron and Xi Jinping is scheduled for Wednesday at 10 Downing Street.

It's widely expected the two are going to oversee¹⁶ the signing of a number of new agreements connected to a new nuclear power plant in the UK, as well as China's involvement in a new high-speed rail project.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

Buckingham Palace Prepares for Chinese President Xi Jinping's State VisitAnchor:

Chinese President Xi Jinping will make his first state visit to the United Kingdom from October 19 to 23 at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II. During the visit, the Chinese President and his wife Peng Liyuan will stay at Buckingham Palace.

CRI's London Correspondent Duan Xuelian has been on a preview tour to the royal residence to hear about the preparations.

Reporter: One of the most prominent landmarks¹⁸ of London and a must-see place for numerous tourists, Buckingham Palace welcomes more than 60,000 guests to its banquets, receptions and the Garden Parties each year, but there are only two state visits received yearly by Queen Elizabeth and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh.

Laura King, senior press officer at Buckingham Palace said her majesty¹⁹ takes great personal interest in the preparation for each state visit and the State Banquet in particular.

"It's very much her home at Buckingham Palace so she's very much looking forward to welcoming the Chinese President."Laura explains that on the first day of the state visit, the Chinese President will be met by a member of the royal family and be escorted to Horse Guard Parade where a ceremonial welcome will take place followed by a carriage procession to Buckingham Palace.

The Chinese President and his wife Madame Peng Liyuan will be joining the royal family for lunch after a short break in the Blue Drawing Room of the Palace. Also, as it is with all state visits, Buckingham Palace will organize a special exhibition with items relating to China from the Royal Collection.

Another highlight of the day will be the state banquet in the evening hosted by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. In the Ballroom²⁰ of Buckingham Palace, a summer exhibition titled "A Royal Welcome" was on display, showing visitors both how luxurious²¹ and laborious²² state banquets can be.

"The royal chef will prepare a special menu. There's normally four unique courses, and the Queen will approve the menu before the state banquet. Each banquet is different and special in its own way, but all those elements are being planned at the moment."It is estimated that a banquet of about 150 guests will need over 2,000 pieces of silver-gilt cutlery and over 1,000 wine glasses.

Another thing that will need an equal if not a greater amount of preparation work is the Horse Guards Parade that will be presented as a major part of the ceremonial welcome for the Chinese President.

At the Household Cavalry²³ Mounted Regiment²⁴ near Hyde Park, Captain James Harbord has called back working horses from their "summer holiday" in Kent so that both soldiers and horses will have a six week long training period before the ceremony.

"It is a real honor for us to be able to welcome the Chinese President in this way and hopefully he will appreciate the efforts the soldiers and men will have gone to, it needs a lot of preparation that go into these events. But it is always exciting as we only get two state visits a year so this is the real highlight for everyone."Captain James said that this will also be the first time the Mounted Band has been used on state visits. And apart from the ceremony at the Horse Guard Parade, Gun Salutes²⁵ will be fired across London to announce the arrival of the Chinese President.

"So we are all looking forward to hearing the Chinese national anthem²⁶ being played on Horse Guard Parade. Also it would be a wonderful sight to see London with all the Union Jack²⁷ flags flying alongside the Chinese National Flags. All the soldiers and members of the public will certainly get a real sense of the occasion when they see those flying colors."For CRI, I'm Duan Xuelian in LondonChina, Britain must fully⁴ tap potential in trade: commerce ministerChina's Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng says China and Britain should fully tap their potential in bilateral trade, particularly of high value-added and hi-tech products, and in service trade and infrastructure projects.

He made the remarks a day before President Xi Jinping's upcoming state visit to Britain.

Gao also urges the two sides to enhance cooperation in bilateral service trade such as technological²⁹ innovation, e-commerce, financial and legal services, medical care and creative industries.

He says China hopes Britain will play a positive role in promoting the export of European high-tech³⁰ products to China.

Britain is China's second largest trading partner within the European Union, while China is Britain's fourth-largest trading partner.

Xi's visit to build momentum³¹ in China-UK innovative³² co-opMinister of Science and Technology Wan¹² Gang has pinned high hopes on technological cooperation between China and the UK during President Xi's visit.

Wan says the two sides are expected to establish a regular high-level innovation cooperation dialogue.

He adds that the two countries are also expected to set up joint³³ labs and research centers, and further cooperation on industrial capacity building.

Wan reveals that the two sides have confirmed that they will hold discussions on cooperation in antimicrobial resistance, rail transit⁷ technology, climate change and low-carbon technology.

Aeronautics³⁴, radio telescopes, astronomy and high-performance computing³⁵ are also on the table.

Premier Stresses Financial Reform to Better Serve Real EconomyChinese Premier Li Keqiang has urged reform and innovation in the financial sector³⁶ as a means to better serve the development of China's real economy.

Speaking at a symposium³⁷ on the situation of financial institutions and enterprises, the premier says China is still maintaining a prudent³⁸ monetary³⁹ policy.

"We have continued to adhere to the prudent monetary policy since the beginning of this year. Some economic indicators⁴⁰ fluctuated, but it didn't prevent us from sticking to proactive fiscal⁴¹ policy and prudent monetary policy. On the whole, the financial industry goes smoothly⁴² and the risks are within our control."Li also says the banking⁴³ system should ensure appropriate and sufficient money supply, moderately increase the amount of credit and loans, and reduce service charges to strengthen support for key economic fields and small and micro enterprises.

"Financial institutions and enterprises should give stronger credit support to investment in upgrading of traditional industries. More financial services should be offered to projects of shanty⁴⁴ town renovation⁴⁵, water resources and railway construction in less developed central and western regions. Also, we should set up the concept that we ought to enhance innovation, encourage business startups and support small and micro enterprises."Meanwhile, Premier Li says market access to the industry should be expanded, especially for medium and small financial institutions and privately-owned banks.

As to the opening-up of the financial industry, the premier says China will enhance measures to lower the market entry threshold for foreign capital and to make good use of free trade zones.

China's environment authorities to screen chemical hazardsChina will launch an environment safety inspection⁴⁶ over industries involving chemicals and other dangerous substances.

The inspection lasts from late October to early November.

It will cover ports and industries such as petrochemical, chemical, and nonferrous metal industries in 16 provincial⁴⁷ localities.

Inspectors⁴⁸ will look into whether chemical industry parks and ports have undergone environment assessment⁴⁹, and whether new environmental hazards emerge.

They will also examine the management and disposal of dangerous waste.

On Aug. 12, two blasts ripped through a warehouse⁵⁰ in Tianjin Port, where large amounts of toxic⁵¹ chemicals were stored. Death toll⁵² from the blasts exceed 160.

Local authorities say construction on a 24-hectare park on the site of the explosions will start in November.

It is expected to be completed in July of next year.

Iran Nuclear Deal Goes into EffectTop officials from Iran and the EU have jointly⁵³ announced the implementation⁵⁴ of the nuclear deal reached between Iran and the six world powers in July.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action went into effect on October 18th, or the so-called "Adoption⁵⁵ Day", which comes in 90 days after the UN endorsed⁵⁶ the deal.

Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation⁵⁷ Ali Akbar Salehi said his country is ready to take practical steps in compliance⁵⁸ with the terms of the historic deal.

"Our practical action begins as President Rouhani issues an order. We are ready for that now. We should take very extensive steps and in order to do that, we had to make necessary preparations and we have made them so we are ahead of schedule. Only action on the ground remains⁵⁹ to be taken now, which is dismantling⁶⁰ a number of centrifuges as we agreed in the nuclear deal."In the meantime, the International Atomic Energy Agency said it will provisionally apply the Additional Protocol⁶¹ to its Safeguards Agreement when the nuclear deal comes into effect.

The Additional Protocol is a voluntary agreement that grants the IAEA expanded rights of access to information on nuclear and nuclear-related activities.

The EU has adopted the legislative⁶² framework for lifting all of its nuclear-related economic and financial sanctions against Iran.

US President Barack Obama also ordered his administration to take steps to lift the sanctions.

However, the sanction relief will not take place until the IAEA verifies that Iran has fully complied with the terms of the agreement.

On July 14th, Iran reached a landmark¹⁷ nuclear deal with six world powers, namely China, the US, the UK, France, Russia and Germany, after more than 18 months of marathon talks.

Under the deal, all of the nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran will be gradually lifted over the next 10 years.

China welcomes implementation of comprehensive Iran nuclear agreementChina has welcomed the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal. .

Chinese Foreign Ministry⁶³ spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that all parties should cherish the hard-won deal and push forward preparations for full implementation.

Hua also said China hopes that all parties will maintain their political will and properly handle disputes to promote smooth implementation of the agreement.

Iran preparing for a "tsunami⁶⁴ of tourists": Vice²⁸ PresidentIran's vice president says the country is preparing for a "tsunami of tourists" as the nuclear deal has officially gone into effect on Sunday.

Masoud Soltanifar, who is also Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization chief, said the country will unveil an investment package of 1,300 projects in the coming days to attract foreign investment and boost the badly-hit tourism industry.

Iran is home to 19 UNESCO-registered sites.

The number of foreigners visiting Iran has grown 12 percent in each of the past two years even before the sanctions are lifted.

Iran hosted 5 million tourists in 2014.

Soltanifar said their target is to attract 20 million tourists a year by 2025.

"Last year we hosted 5 million tourists and earned about 7 to 7.5 billion US dollars. The target we are planning to reach until 2025, as set in the country's 20-year prospective⁶⁵ plan, is 20 million tourists a year with 25 to 30 billion US dollars of income."Soltanifar also noted⁶⁶ that officials are trying to simplify the visa approval process for tourists, including issuing visas on arrival at the airport in Tehran for nationals of 190 countries.

Indian police arrest two teenagers over child rapeIndia police say they have arrested two teenagers over rape⁶⁷ of a toddler in New Delhi, the latest sexual assault on a child in the Indian capital.

The two 17-year-old boys were arrested late on Saturday, said police official Dependra Pathak.

'Delhi police has solved, by apprehending⁶⁸ two juveniles⁶⁹, the much-talked-about yesterday incident of the rape of a two-and-a-half-year-old child in the West Delhi.'

Police said they questioned more than 250 suspects before arresting the juveniles over the attack on the two-year-old girl, who was found bleeding in a park near her New Delhi home on Friday night.

Mr Pathak said the two 17-year-olds arrested would be further investigated.

"The juveniles have been apprehended⁷⁰ and further investigation⁷¹ is on. All the concerned evidences are being collected."A series of recent attacks has renewed public anger over sexual violence against women and girls in India.

Typhoon Koppu Leaves 2 Dead, 16,000 Displaced in PhilippinesSuper Typhoon Koppu have weakened after blowing ashore⁷² with fierce winds in the northeastern Philippines on Sunday, leaving at least two people dead, displacing 16,000 villagers, and knocking out power in entire provinces, officials said.

Army troops and police were deployed⁷³ to rescue residents trapped in flooded villages in the hard-hit provinces of Aurora⁷⁴, where the typhoon made landfall early on Sunday.

Three fishermen who had gone missing at sea were rescued off northern Bataan province, and three other missing people were found in an evacuation camp in Aurora's Baler town.

While weather conditions had begun to improve in some towns, and villagers had started to clear roads of fallen trees and debris⁷⁵, Koppu still packed a ferocity that could set off landslides⁷⁶ and flash floods.

Slovenia Opens Migrant Passage Way to AustriaSlovenia has opened a passage way to allow migrants to enter Austria. The move was meant to limit the influx⁷⁷ to its other neighboring countries.

On Friday, Hungary shut its southern border with Croatia, sending around 3,000 migrants westward⁷⁸ into Slovenia on Saturday alone.

State Secretary at the Slovenian Interior Ministry Bostjan Sefic on Sunday described the country's dilemma⁷⁹.

"Croatia asked us to process 5,000 migrants per day and, of course, on the other hand we have a request from Austria, regarding their situation and capacity, which says they cannot possibly accept more than 1,500."The official expects that Slovenia would have 35,000 refugees within the next ten days, a number he called "unacceptable".

Croatia and Slovenia both said they would allow migrants to pass through as long as Austria and Germany would keep their borders open.

The EU has devised a plan to allocate⁸⁰ 120,000 refugees among its members.

However, that is only a portion of the 700,000 migrants expected to reach Europe this year. So far more than half a million have already arrived.

Germany and Turkey Achieve "Better Approach" on Migrant CrisisGerman and Turkish leaders met on Sunday to discuss the ongoing⁸¹ European migrant crisis.

German Chancellor⁸² Angele Merkel met with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

Both sides said a better understanding was achieved between the EU and Turkey.

The Turkish Prime Minister called for a more active engagement by the EU to distribute the refugee influx.

"The figures involved are secondary; what's most important is that we share the burden of this crisis in a way that's fair. Unfortunately over the last four years Turkey has been left on its own by the international community in the face of this crisis, this human tragedy. We have borne the costs and the consequences alone."Turkey has hosted around 2 million refugees. It has asked for increased financial help and an acceleration⁸³ of its bid to enter the EU.

Merkel expressed empathy for Turkey over the issues on Sunday.

"I understand the Turkish position on the problem of paying for refugee camps. The money promised in the process to join the EU has been used to help migrants, and that is understandable. We must discuss a new amount of supplementary⁸⁴ funding, for which the details still have to be negotiated."Merkel promised more financial help from Germany, and said talks for a final plan regarding refugees between the EU and Turkey are making progress.

Israeli police admit mistakenly shooting an innocent foreignerIsraeli police have admitted to mistakenly shooting at a foreigner in the aftermath of an attack on a bus station in Beersheba.

Police commander Yoram Halevy said officers at the bus station opened fire on a foreigner during the attack on Sunday, apparently⁸⁵ thinking he was an assailant.

The man, an Eritrean national, was wounded.

Investigation is underway.

Halevy said the attacker entered the bus station with a gun and a knife and then snatched another gun from one of his victims.

The attacker was later killed.

One Israeli soldier was also killed, 11 others were wounded.

The attack came as Israel further tightened⁸⁶ security around the country, highlighted by the construction of a barrier separating Jewish and Arab neighbourhoods in east Jerusalem.

China eyes UNESCO listing for Confucius family cuisineChinese authorities are now said to be working on getting UNESCO to add Confucius family cuisine⁸⁷ to its intangible cultural heritage list.

A committee has been formed to detail how the lavish⁸⁸ meals are prepared and ordered.

It's expected to take around 3-years to compile all the data and submit it to the United Nations for consideration.

Confucius cuisine is actually a series of dishes which are prepared in a certain style, and in a certain order.

It is said to have developed over the years as dignitaries, including emperors, would make the pilgrimage to the Chinese scholar's home in Shandong.

The most lavish Confucius dinner includes 196 separate dishes.

Chefs at the Confucius Mansion⁸⁹ would only pass on their cooking skills and recipes to descendants or apprentices⁹⁰, making the banquets and food extremely unique.

WeatherBeijing will be sunny with a high of 21 degrees Celsius⁹¹.

Overnight temperatures should drop down to 12.

Shanghai will be cloudy with a high of 25 and a low of 19.

In Chongqing, it will see showers with during the daytime with a high of 25 and lows of 20.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad will have slight rain with a high of 23.

Kabul will see slight rain with a high of 18.

Over to North America,New York will be sunny with a high of 9 degrees.

Washington, sunny with a high of 13 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 28.

Toronto will be cloudy with a high of 13 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will have moderate rain with a high of 18.

And Rio de Janeiro will see slight rain with a high of 24 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsXi Jinping talks with Reuters ahead of UK tripChinese President Xi Jinping has sat down for a one-on-one interview with the Reuters News Agency ahead of his forthcoming trip to the UK.

As part of the interview, the Chinese President has stood firm on the issue of Chinese sovereignty over the South China Sea.

But in addressing questions about it, Xi Jinping also says the Chinese side will manage disputes in the region through talks, and will always ensure freedom of navigation through the vital waterway.

At the same time, Xi Jinping also says the slowdown of the Chinese economy is a concern, but says steps are being taken to address the issue.

On a lighter⁹² note, Xi Jinping, a football fan, has talked excitedly about his impending⁹³ trip to Manchester later this week, where he's going to tour Man City's football headquarters.

Britain Sees Record Number of Chinese TouristsA record number of Chinese tourists visited Britain in the first half of 2015.

According to official tourism data, more than 90,000 Chinese visited Britain during the first six months of the year, a 28% rise from the same period last year.

Officials expect that Britain will host more than 200,000 Chinese visitors for 2015.

The data also showed that Britain attracted a significant increase of visitors from the Middle East Gulf⁹⁵ states this year. Tourism officials have attributed the growth to successful regional campaigns and commercial partnerships.

Tourism in the first half of the year added 15 billion USD to the British economy.

Head-on collision kills 7 in east ChinaA car and a coach collided head-on in east China's Anhui Province on Sunday noon, killing⁹⁶ seven people and injuring two others on the car.

The accident occurred in the county of Nanling where the overloaded⁹⁷ sedan crashed into the coach.

The injured are not in critical condition.

Turkish court orders arrests of suspects linked to twin bombingsA Turkish court has arrested four suspects related to the twin bombings earlier this month.

So far, 12 people were placed under detention⁹⁸, some in relation to messages they wrote on Twitter about the attack.

Six people appeared in court on Sunday after prosecutors⁹⁹ asked them to be arrested pending⁹⁴ trial.

The court arrested four suspects, while the remaining two people were released.

Two bombs exploded seconds apart outside Ankara's main train station on October 10, targeting a rally of pro-Kurdish activists¹⁰⁰ and civic¹⁰¹ groups.

The bombings happened just three weeks ahead of a general election.

The Ankara bombings are the worst attack of their kind in Turkish history.

Biz Reportsmarket previewAnchorTurning onto business news. First let's get a preview of what we can expect on the markets this week.

Here in China, the country is expected to release the real GDP data for the third quarter on Monday.

Figures of industrial production and retail¹⁰² sales are also to be announced.

On Tuesday, Pepsi-Cola's first smartphone Pepsi P1 is scheduled to be launched in the Chinese market.

In the United States, this week's economic calendar will mostly be dominated by housing figures, along with data on manufacturing sector growth.

On Tuesday, housing starts and building permits for September are expected to show a gain from the previous readings.

On Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association is due to release its index on mortgage application.

Data is expected to show that existing home sales increased to an annual rate of nearly 5.4 million units in September on Thursday.

Meanwhile, financial data firm Markit will release its preliminary Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index on Friday, which is expected to decline to 52.8 in October from 53.1 in September.

In Europe, the euro zone is set to hold the European Central Bank's monetary policy meeting and report its October consumer confidence on Thursday.

On the corporate¹⁰³ front, there are still some companies to set report their third-quarter results this week:

On Tuesday, Morgan Stanley is expected to report a sharp decline profit as stormy markets and uncertainty¹⁰⁴ around a U.S. interest rate hike battered¹⁰⁵ trade revenue.

On Wednesday, General Motors, American Express, Boeing and Coca-Cola are set to release their figures.

E-commerce giant Amazon is expected to report its third-quarter revenue above analyst¹⁰⁶ estimates on Thursday, helped by higher sales in North America and growth in its web services business.

Huawei to invest in graphene for scientific collaboration¹⁰⁷ between China, UKChinese telecommunications equipment giant Huawei is expected to unveil an investment in graphene this week in a deal to deepen scientific collaboration between China and Britain.

Huawei is reportedly set to invest millions of pounds into a research project led by The University of Manchester's National Graphene Institute.

The research project aims to examine prospective applications of graphene to the information and communications technology sectors¹⁰⁸.

The deal might be among a series of partnerships signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Britain this week.

Huawei is one of emerging Chinese companies which have become genuine challengers to established Western rivals.

It is now the second-largest telecoms equipment manufacturer in the world.

Alibaba lobbies to stay off U.S. blacklist list for fakesChinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is lobbying hard to stay off the US government's list of "Notorious Markets" for counterfeit¹⁰⁹ goods.

It's being reported that Alibaba's new government affairs chief, Eric Pelletier, has met with an inter-agency working group coordinated¹¹⁰ by the US Trade Representative to discuss Alibaba's efforts in fighting counterfeits¹¹¹.

This comes after the American Apparel and Footwear Association filed a formal complaint earlier this month to the US Trade Representative, accusing Alibaba's online marketplace Taobao of selling fake goods.

Taobao was first added to the US government's "Notorious Markets" list in 2011, but removed a year later after the company worked with trademark¹¹² owners to clean up the site.

Earlier this year, French luxury product producer Kering filed a law suit in New York against Alibaba, accusing it of profiting from the sale of fake goods.

Alibaba has defended itself against the accusations¹¹³ and stressed that the company has made great efforts to curb¹¹⁴ counterfeit goods on its platform.

For more on this topic, we are now joined on the line by Mike Bastin, director of the China Business Center based in London.

-----------------------Questions:

Q1: If Taobao were put back on the list, how much damage will it do to Alibaba?

Q2: As we mentioned, fakes have long been a problem for Alibaba. Why is this still an issue for Alibaba? What does Alibaba need to do more to resolve that?

Q3: E-commerce is developing rapidly in China. What do you think the government needs to do in order reduce the sale of fake goods in online marketplaces?

Q4: The annual sales event "double eleven" is approaching here in China. Do you think very much can be done at all to curb Chinese shoppers appetite for cheap, counterfit goods online?

Back Anchor:

Mike Bastin, director of China Business Center based in London.

Electric car rental¹¹⁵ service available in ShanghaiA new scheme for an electric car rental service has been launched in Shanghai.

Under the scheme, people can book an electric car via a smartphone app, after signing up for the service with a driver's license¹¹⁶.

The rental fee costs 15 yuan, or around 2.5 U.S. dollars, for the first 30 minutes of every trip, then 0.5 yuan for each extra minute.

The maximum daily charge is 180 yuan.

One local citizen gives his reaction to the trail run.

"Renting the car is cheaper than calling a taxi. Also, sometimes it's very hard to find a taxi in downtown, but I can easily book one electric car via the app, and the car will be ready for me. It's really convenient."Currently, the service is already available in Shanghai's downtown and several suburban¹¹⁷ districts to attract more users.

So far, 200 outlets¹¹⁸ have been set up in Shanghai and offering 220 electric cars for use.

The service provider says the number will be doubled by the end of this year.

Chinese bank offers Zambia $30 m loan to develop SMEsChina Development Bank has offered 30 million US dollars loan to support small and medium enterprises in Zambia.

The money will be lent to small and medium enterprises in the agricultural manufacturing and mining sectors.

At least 50 projects are expected to be benefit from the loan.

The loan, with concessional terms, will be paid back at an annual interest rate of 5.5 percent.

China, Russia eye bond connectChina and Russia are set to launch a cross-border settlement infrastructure to allow direct investment of government bonds between them next year.

The planned bond link will be the first common project between Russia's National Settlement Depository and China Central Depository and Clearing Company.

The project is expected to be comparable to Euroclear Bank SA's bond, stock and currency-settlement services, which offers Russian issuers direct access to the Chinese mainland bond market.

Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergey Storchak said earlier that the country is considering the issuance of yuan-denominated government bonds in the coming year.

This could be the first sale of Chinese yuan bond by a foreign government.

China blacklists 10 travel agenciesChina has blacklisted 10 travel agencies across the country.

Agencies, which are based in provinces of Yunnan, Hainan and Shandong, have been blacklisted, effective for two years, due to "irregularities".

The names of these travel companies have not yet been uneviled.

Among the ten companies, five of them have been revoked¹¹⁹ licenses¹²⁰ and the remaining faced heavy fines.

Seven tourist guides have also been blacklisted and punished.

The behavior of blacklisted companies and individuals are set to be closely watched by tourism authorities.

SportsChinese football leagues recapBeginning with some football action here in China,Teams facing relegation battled it out for a chance of survival in the Chinese Super League.

Chongqing Lifan beat bottom-of-the league Shanghai Shenxin 2-0 to jump clear of the danger zone and remain in the Chinese Super League next season.

Shanghai Shenxin had earlier become the first team to be relegated¹²¹.

Hangzhou Greentown and Liaoning Hongyun played to a goalless draw and are both still in danger.

One team among Hangzhou, Liaoning, Guangzhou R&F, Tianjin Teda, and Guizhou Renhe will be relegated.

They will have to wait and find out their fate with two more rounds to go.

Taking Shanghai Shenxin's place are FC Yanbian, which have secured their place in the Chinese Super League next season after a goalless draw with Wuhan Zall.

Yanbian is making it back to China's top flight football league after 15 years in the second-tier China League.

There is one more place for promotion¹²² up for grabs for hopefuls Hebei China Fortune, Dalian Harbin and Beijing Beikong.

Djokovic wins third title in ShanghaiAnchorTurning over to tennis, Sunday was finals day at the Shanghai Rolex Masters.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic clinched¹²³ his third title in Shanghai, defeating France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets to add 1000 ATP points to his world rankings.

CRI's Sophie Williams has more from the courts in Shanghai.

ReporterAfter a phenomenal match on Saturday against Rafael Nadal, Jo Wilfried Tsonga set up a final against world number one Novak Djokovic who outplayed Britain's Andy Murray in his semifinal meet up.

It was never going to be an easy match for the frenchman, with Djokovic playing some of the best tennis of his career so far. The Serbian has played in every tournament final he has entered since the Qatar Open in January.

The first set was fairly easy for Djokovic with Tsonga having trouble with his serve. But in the second set the frenchman came alive giving Djokovic a real challenge and making him work hard for the points. However the world number one wasn't going allow Tsonga to take the set fighting back to win the match 6-2, 6-4.

Tsonga says despite the loss he's happy with how he played during the tournament.

Act 1 Tsonga"For me what is important today is to play good tennis, I’m really happy with the week I did. Of course I wanted to do better against Novak but I’m really happy about this week. "Djokovic is also happy with his performance at the Shanghai Masters. He says the past two weeks in China have been the best of his career.

Act 2 Djokovic"The two tournaments back to back weeks, this has been the best two weeks of my life. Energy wise was great, didn't get tired, always had plenty of energy and concentration. I had high performance level from the first match in Beijing to today's match."As he accepted the trophy¹²⁴, Djokovic thanked the crowd in Mandarin¹²⁵ for their support and his amazing life.

With his win, the Serbian's lead at the top of the ATP World Rankings has now been extended to over 7 thousand points. Britain's Andy Murray sits behind him in second place followed by Switzerland's Roger Federer.

The ATP World Tour culminates¹²⁶ with the finals at London's 02 Arena¹²⁷ next month.

For CRI, I'm Sophie Williams in Shanghai.

Ma Long wins table tennis world cupIn table tennis,World number one Ma Long completed a clean sweep against Fan Zhendong in an all-Chinese final to win the title at the Men's World Cup in Sweden.

Ma brushed off Fan in four straight sets.

It is Ma's second world cup title in singles. He had also won the event at the world championships in May.

Badminton Denmark Open resultsBadminton's world number one also won the men's singles at the Denmark Open.

China's Chen Long downed Tommy Sugiarto from Indonesia in straight sets 21-12, 21-12.

Chen has now played in seven finals this year and won all seven.

China's defending champion in women's singles Li Xuerui held on to her Danish title.

She bagged the gold medal in straight sets 21-19, 21-12 against India's Pusarla Venkata Sindhu.

Chinese players suffered defeats in doubles action though. The men's, women's and mixed doubles titles all went to South Korea.

Liu Cheng/Lu Kai came up short against top seed Lee Yong Dae/Yoo Yeon Seong in men's singles;Tian Qing/Zhao Yunlei finished runners-up in women's singles.

Australia, Argentina reach world cup semifinalsIn rugby,Australia edged Scotland 35-34, thanks to Bernard Foley's last-minute penalty goal, in a thrilling quarter-final match at the World Cup.

Australia coach Michael Cheika says they saw it coming and worked hard for it.

"Well, usually if you kick a goal with a minute to go to win it's usually a pretty good escape I suppose - but at the end of the day too, we were five tries... five tries we scored in a quarter-final of a World Cup, you expect to be somewhere near the winning end of the game, you know. And although we've got massive improvements (to make) in certain areas, our try-scoring was there and we went after it, like, we continued to go after it."Australia go on to meet Argentina, which knocked out an injury-hit Ireland 43-20.

The other semi-final match-up is between defending champions New Zealand and South Africa.

Teams from the southern hemisphere dominated the semi-finals at the rugby world cup for the first time in history.

EntertainmentHugo Award Winner Liu Cixin Wins Chinese Sci-fi AwardThe 2015 Xingyun Award for Global Chinese Science Fiction was announced in Chengdu on Sunday, with the best achievement prize given to Liu Cixin.

The 52-year-old writer marked as first Asian writer to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel, with his most popular work, "The Three-Body Problem."The novel series published in China from 2006 to 2010, is a trilogy consisting of "Three Body", "The Dark Forest" and "Death's End".

"The Three-body Problem" centers on governments and scientists on earth as they react to the invasion of an alien species.

Its English version was published in 2014, which has grabbed a bestselling spot on Amazon, two hours after winning the award.

At the same time, a movie adaptation of the novel is in production.

Starred by Feng Shaofeng and Zhang Jingchu, the first installment¹²⁸ of the 3D science fiction movie is set to be released next July.

In addition, this year's Xingyun Award set up a prize for sci-fi film screenplay for the first time, which went to "Mist," written by Wang Kanyu and Wu Shuang.

Regarded as the only international awards for Chinese-language sci-fi writers, over 1,000 sci-fi writers and readers from China and abroad attended the awarding ceremony this year.

Shanghai International Arts Festival Kicks offThis year's Shanghai International Arts Festival just kicked off during the past weekend, with various performances and shows scheduled to be staged across the city.

The epic¹²⁹ musical Jews in Shanghai opened the festival, which narrates¹³⁰ the story of war, peace and love between Shanghai residents and Jewish refugees during the Second World WarDirector of the musical, Xu Jun, says with the show, he hopes more people can learn about history.

"We hope more people, even the whole world, can learn about the history through our musical Jews in Shanghai."Famous violinist Vadim Repin also brought an open-air concert to people in Shanghai at the opening ceremony of the festival.

"I think it's a beautiful idea so that the people just from the street, anybody can witness classical music making process. And there are for the rehearsal¹³¹, some really good professionals that making sounds, and so it even sounds I think okay for the open-air performance. So it's for me a really great, great pleasure."More than ninety outdoor performances, including music, dancing and opera, is set to be staged during the festival over the coming month, with free access to the public.

The 17th China Shanghai International Arts Festival runs until November 16th.

Tom Hiddleston's 'I Saw the Light' Premiers¹³² in NashvilleBritish actor Tom Hiddleston surprised the guests with his singing, after a premiere of the Hank Williams biopic 'I Saw the Light'.

The 34-year-old star song a short set of Williams' classics including, "Hey Good Lookin'," "Why Don't You Love Me Like You Used To Do," and " Move It on Over" at an after-party following the premiere.

As the premiere was held in downtown Nashville, director Marc Abraham highlights the place's influence on the film.

"Without Nashville, there is no story. And without the people in Nashville that helped me, there is no story. So big deal for me to come down here and present the film to people who know a lot about this subject."The film portrays¹³³ Hank Williams' rise to fame and sudden death at the age of 29, through the stories of his personal relationships with women.

American actress Elizabeth Olsen, who stars Hank Williams' wife in the biopic, elaborates on women's lasting¹³⁴ impact on this legendary¹³⁵ country music singer's career.

"For Marc to have written such great women, which is also a testament¹³⁶ to Hank's character. He was always surrounded by really formidable women. It's lucky that all of us got to play a different variation of a woman who stands on her own two feet and can stand up to a man who is such an icon¹³⁷ like Hank."'I Saw the Light' first screened in the Special Presentations at this year's Toronto International Film Festival.

It is set to hit big screens on November 27th in the US.

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

Recapping our top stories this morning...

Chinese President Xi Jinping drawing attention to a number of key issues regarding Sino-British relations ahead of his state visit to the UK...

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang presents stressing several new areas for economic reforms here in China...

And the Iran nuclear deal formally goes into effect...

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

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