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This is the Beijing Hour.
Examining the events that impact and shape China and the rest of the world.
This is the Beijing Hour, one hour of news and information brought to you every weekday.
Now, here's your host Shane Begum with you on this Monday, May 25th, 2026.
You're listening to the Beijing Hour coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
On today's program, the Chinese presidents met with the Serbian president and the Pakistani prime minister in Beijing.
The Shenzhou, 23 astronauts, including one from Hong Kong, have boarded China's Tiangong space station.
And the White House says Washington and Tehran have a preliminary understanding for a peace deal.
In business, China's cold chain logistics are maintaining their stable growth trend.
In sports, China's Wang Xinyu has advanced at the French Open.
In culture and entertainment, a Chinese band has earned a spot at the UK's top music festival.
Now the day's top stories.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is on talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Beijing following a welcome ceremony.
On Monday morning, Vucic visited Tiananmen Square and laid a wreath at the Monument to the People's Heroes.
He was at the Great Wall on Sunday.
The president expressed his admiration for the historical site. magnificent place.
The people actually that built, that constructed this great wall are invincible people.
This speaks a lot about Chinese people, your persistence, your desire to defend your country, your borders, your sovereignty independence, but also it presents diligence and dedication of Chinese people, which I admire very much.
This is Vucic's first state visit to China.
Serbia is the first country in Europe to work with China on building a community with a shared future in the new era.
The president held the close ties and invited more Chinese people to visit his country.
Very happy to be here for the first time.
We appreciate our ironclad friendship, that we like Chinese people, that we want to see more Chinese tourists, more Chinese investors, more Chinese people coming to our country, and that we are profoundly grateful to China for being with us during difficult times.
Friend in need is a friend indeed.
And speaking about ironclad friendship, that's not just a saying, that's really true.
Come to Serbia and enjoy our hospitality.
Vucic watched a performance of traditional Serbian folk dances and songs at the Great Wall and browsed cultural and creative products at a gift shop.
Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Li Ming says President Vucic's visit is historic.
He expects political mutual trust and economic and trade cooperation to reach new heights.
The ambassador also looks ahead to more areas with cooperation potential.
Head of state diplomacy has always played a pivotal, strategically leading role in China-Serbia relations.
In May 2024, President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Serbia and announced the building of a community with a shared future in the new era.
Over the past two years, this partnership has advanced smoothly and yielded fruitful outcomes.
Moving forward.
I believe our bilateral cooperation can advance along two parallel tracks infrastructure development as well as innovative technology biomedicine, artificial intelligence, robotics and other high-tech sectors.
The Serbian people hold distinct national traits, always prioritizing national sovereignty, independence and dignity amid external aggression and pressure.
China and Serbia share the same core values in this regard.
The ambassador said the Serbian president's statement on the Taiwan question that it's solely the Chinese people's right to achieve reunification by any means at any time reflects Serbia's firm support for China's core interests in national sovereignty.
To get some Serbian perspectives.
Gasturi Manikam spoke with the advisor to the speaker at the National Assembly.
Nikola Stojanovic says bilateral cooperation is a fine example for international collaboration.
Serbia has managed to have good relations with both China and Europe.
How does Serbia navigate these different partnerships and what does it look for when developing relations with other countries?
Serbia is a military neutral country, but a country which is on the European path but, at the same time, not at the expense of cooperating with other partners throughout the globe.
So the key factor or the key driver of the both domestic and foreign policy decision making of Serbian leadership is the benefits of Serbian people.
And if a partnership is going to bring concrete, tangible economic improvement to the lives of our citizens, we will always go for it.
Being principled in a way where you are really focused on the interests of your own people is the key to the formula of Serbia's, I would say, success in navigating this complex global environment.
So far, our cooperation with China has indeed brought a lot of tangible economic benefits.
And in that sense we were able really to justify to our citizens why this kind of cooperation is really a model how countries can work together in current international landscape.
How do you see China's global governance initiative and how do you think China and Serbia can collaborate to support multilateralism and international cooperation?
At this point, I think we can all agree that there is a deficit of global governance, that the institutions and mechanisms which were set up to really address the emerging global issues are not as nearly as efficient as their founders wanted them to be.
So, in that sense, this initiative focused on global governance has so far received support from Serbia because, both Serbia and China, we truly adhere to the principles of multilateralism.
We both consider the Charter of the United Nations as the founding pillar of how the relations between countries on a global scale should work.
And in that sense, Serbia has so far always supported these initiatives stemming from China.
I'll just illustrate it by one example.
China has so far been a very stern supporter of Serbia's territorial integrity, one of the key pillars of the international law.
In the same way, Serbia has, throughout throughout previous period, consistently supported Chinese core interests.
So this is just one example how principled positioning and international affairs is contributing to a more efficient global governance mechanism.
But of course, there is much more to be done.
Serbia is a small country, but if nothing else, we can observe China-Serbia relations as a model example of how a big country, big power and a smaller, mid-sized country can work to mutual benefit.
That was the advisor to the Serbian National Assembly.
Speaker on China and Serbia advancing global governance.
As economic ties between China and Serbia continue to grow, more Serbian students are heading to China.
They're earning degrees, building careers, and expanding cooperation between the two countries.
For many, learning Chinese is opening doors for them.
Zhao Ying reports.
Jovanovic Bojan, arrived in China in 2018 for work.
Believing technology could handle almost everything.
Apps helped him order food.
Online tools translated the news.
But after years of living in China, the Serbian marketing professional realized something was still missing.
Okay, technology helps.
Like at the time when I was here, I didn't need much of the Chinese.
I order everything with the phone.
Any news, anything I have to read, I just share it in the dictionary, translate in English.
Okay, technology helps, but it's not real.
Now at the age of 42.
After nearly two decades in tourism, cultural exchange and international business, Boyan has returned to school, studying Chinese at Beijing Language and Culture University.
Well, I believe that, living in another country and not knowing the language, we cannot really be involved in that society and we cannot understand the culture of that place.
As ties between China and Serbia deepen, Boyan says opportunities are growing quickly.
Chinese companies are already active in Serbia's infrastructure, mining and manufacturing sectors, but he believes cooperation could expand even further.
Right now there are many Chinese companies in Serbia.
I believe it's not enough, as it can be, because my point of view about my country is to develop more of the agriculture.
That's the biggest potential that we have.
On the other hand, China is a big nation.
If Chinese companies invest in agriculture and so on, there will be many high quality products that can be traded back here in China.
That kind of cross-cultural understanding is exactly what some Chinese companies are now looking for.
Zhengdan Cable has already delivered projects in Serbia.
Senior executive Wu Gangying says the company is thinking long-term.
Our strategy in Serbia is definitely not limited to short-term product exports.
In the long run, we hope to bring not only products, but also our engineering capabilities, services and even production capacity to Serbia.
Last year, the company partnered with Beijing Language and Culture University to launch training programs combining language study, case simulations and internships.
Some trainees have already joined the company for overseas business.
International students are far more efficient than simply sending Chinese employees overseas.
They already understand local culture and customer communication.
I think international students are a targeted talent pool for us.
For Boyan, that growing demand gives studying Chinese a deeper meaning.
He no longer sees himself simply as a student, but as someone who can help connect two countries increasingly tied together through business and culture.
For the Beijing Hour, this is Xiaoying.
President Xi Jinping also met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in Beijing.
Sharif began an official visit in Hangzhou over the weekend.
The Prime Minister attended a series of events promoting business and technological cooperation.
Pakistani Prime Minister, Shabez Sharif, began his visit in Hangzhou, eastern China's technology hub, on Saturday.
On Sunday, he attended a high-profile business-to-business investment conference.
Our friendship goes back to the days of...
Silk Road, when goods were transported through mules and camels and donkeys.
And today, here we are.
Everything is now being operated through digitization.
And China excels in this field more than any other country in the world.
And Pakistan is a great partner.
Centered on AI technology, the digital economy and e-commerce.
The event provided a platform for entrepreneurs to strengthen cooperation and explore new investment opportunities.
We have done in Beijing a big conference where MOUs of more than 8 billion dollars were signed.
This time we have selected the four major sectors, including agriculture IT battery, energy storage system and the computer, mobile manufacturing laptop, etc.
Beijing has been a major investor in Pakistan through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
The MOU signed by Chinese and Pakistani Enterprises and Investment Conference reinforced the upgraded China-Pakistan Economic Corridor 20 and further strengthened the all-weather strategic partnership between the two countries.
By doing partnership, the business people can not only see opportunities in China and in Pakistan, but they can see opportunities in the other regions also.
So if the Chinese partners and the Pakistani partners join hands together with technology, with know-how, with skill, I think so they can go forward a lot.
China and Pakistan have pledged to further expand cooperation in key sectors such as energy infrastructure telecommunications, IT and wholesale and retail industries.
From what we've seen in practice, Pakistan is really going all in on AI and the IT industry, and the government is placing a very strong emphasis on these sectors.
So for Chinese companies, Beyond the traditional areas like energy, mining and agriculture, there are going to be huge opportunities in information technology and AI in Pakistan in the years ahead.
Economic ties between China and Pakistan are reaching a new high.
The China-Pakistan economic corridor moves to its 2.0 phase.
Now the focus is on turning the infrastructure development into a real engine for the industrial upgrading.
That was Bi Ren reporting from Hangzhou.
Coming up, China's Shenzhou 23 astronauts have boarded the country's space station.
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The Shenzhou-23 astronauts have entered the Tiangong space station after a successful launch from northwest China.
The three-member crew includes a member from Hong Kong.
One of them will stay in orbit for a year, the longest in China's manned space missions to date.
The space station now has six astronauts, with the Shenzhou 21 crew preparing for a handover in return.
Zhang Yibing reports.
Here at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, we witnessed the successful fast, roundable and docking of China's Shenzhou 23 spacecraft with the Tiangong space station.
This marks the eighth... in-orbit space meet of Chinese taikonauts.
All the Shenzhou 21 crew members onboard the space station gave the warm welcome to the newcomers.
They embraced each other and waved together, two people on Earth all smiling.
Both crews will stay together for the short Hanover period.
And after that, the Shenzhou 21 crew, having spent for more than 200 days in space, will conclude their mission and head back to Earth, while the Shenzhou 23 crew members will take the Baton and in to set the new record.
We've confirmed that around 200 science and application programs will be carried out by the Shenzhou 23 crew members.
One notable plan is one crew member, whose identity has not been disclosed, will stay inside the space station for one full year, marking the single longest space flight by Chinese taikonauts to date.
It will help verify the house support for future deep space exploration, including the lunar missions.
And in the highlight, the payload specialist Li Jiaying from the Hong Kong SCR will do the experiments proposed by universities from Hong Kong and Macau.
And what impressed me most during the whole process of the launch and the fast round of docking is the constant and calm response from the Shenzhou 23 crew members to every status check.
It's a clear sign of their confidence to this mission.
That was Zheng Yibing reporting.
Those from the tech industry in Hong Kong are excited that an astronaut from the Special Administrative Region is part of the Shenzhou-23 mission.
Sun Ye spoke to some of them at the launch site.
The Shenzhou-23 crew includes mission commander and flight engineer Zhu Yangzhu, pilot and first-time space flyer Zhang Zhiyuan and payload specialist Li Jiayin.
The first taikonaut from Hong Kong SAR.
Thousands of people from across China gathered to cheer on the crew as they embarked on their journey into space.
It is a historic moment that, for the first time, a payload specialist from Hong Kong has taken part in the national space mission.
This achievement makes the whole Hong Kong very proud.
I think when I saw the rocket going up I was very touched.
I was very grateful for being part of this and also I think this gives us a lot of confidence that now as scientists, we can dream bigger, because some of what we dreamed before now we can see it getting realized.
The shenzhou 23 mission comes as preparation is also underway to send a pakistani astronaut on board china space station for a short-term stay in the role of a payload specialist.
That was Sun Ye on China's space station welcoming more visitors.
China's upgraded the windows on the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft.
Last year, space debris struck the Shenzhou-20 craft, leaving visible cracks.
Diao Weihe at China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation introduces the progress they've made.
The window of the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft was struck by space debris and developed a crack.
After this happened, we immediately optimized the window structure design and carried out thorough ground testing and verification.
We implemented this optimized window structure on the very first spacecraft after the emergency mission.
It is like adding a layer of armor, giving it stronger resistance to debris impacts.
In addition, we have designed some internal facilities in the cabin to provide double redundant protection for the window, giving it a stronger capability to withstand future risks.
The upgrade also marked the first window replacement on an assembled spacecraft in China's manned space history.
I'll be asking astronomy professor Zhang Fen at Beijing Norman University about the challenges of a one-year orbital stay.
When you stay in space, you suffer something such as the bone mass loss, and then you suffer muscle atrophy.
Especially your heart gets weakened.
So, essentially because the human body is a very efficient organism, It does away with things you think is unnecessary.
For example, when you don't have a strong gravity, everything weakens.
And for an extended stay, the yield effect doesn't accumulate just linearly.
It may go up exponentially.
That's that the challenge is precisely what they're trying to study.
This is in preparation for developing life force systems that goes to further distances, like going to Mars, where you have to stay just because the travel time.
You have to stay in space for a long time.
And then also going to the moon.
You don't want to go there back and forth and back and forth because it's dangerous and expensive.
You want to stay for a bit longer.
So that's what they're trying to study with this.
Shenzhou 23.
Science and application projects focus on frontier fields in life sciences, microgravity and new space technologies.
The professor has observed a shift in the direction and shared his opinions.
There seems to be a refocusing of the experimental extent to focus on learning how to stay in space more effectively.
Beyond the human testing, learning the astronauts, physiology there's also biological studies studying whole life cycle embryos, exposing them to the most extreme space environment, such as radiation and obviously microgravity.
Learning how vertebrates and all sorts of organisms evolve during this whole process, to learn how human bodies eventually or, if you want to do some sort of a livestock keeping in this space.
Also there's the more sort of technical part of things like solar panels, testing new generations of solar panels to do things more efficiently in space.
So basically, The Chinese side is learning how to utilize space in a more permanent manner now.
That was Professor Zheng Fan on China's Shenzhou 23 manned space mission.
Coming up.
The White House says there's a preliminary understanding for ending the conflict with Iran.
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The White House says Washington and Tehran have reached a preliminary understanding to end the war, though negotiations are still underway.
Under the proposed framework, the United States will ease sanctions, while Iran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow commercial shipping to resume.
The two sides are also expected to continue talks on Iran's nuclear program during a 60-day negotiation period.
Jim Spellman reports from Washington, D.C.
The White House says the US and Iran have agreed in principle on a deal to end the war, but that the agreement has not yet been finalized.
On social media, US President Donald Trump posted in part The negotiations are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner, and I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal in that time is on our side.
The agreement could change or fall apart, but at this point the White House says it's in the form of a memorandum of understanding that would last 60 days and could be extended.
The deal would include the US easing sanctions, releasing some frozen assets and lifting its blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran would open the Strait of Hormuz and clear any mines which may have been laid in the strategic waterway.
In what is perhaps an encouraging sign.
Iran's military says at least 33 ships have transited the Strait in the last day or so.
While in India, U.S.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented on the negotiations.
So we've made some progress over the last 48 hours, working with our partners in the Gulf region on an outline that could ultimately, if it succeeds, leave us not just with a completely open straits and I mean open straits without tolls and with addressing some of the key things that underpin what has been Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions in the past.
Once signed, the two sides would then use the 60-day window to negotiate issues around Iran's nuclear program, including the status of the country's stockpile of enriched uranium.
In an interview, Iran's president stressed that his country is not pursuing nuclear weapons.
We are prepared to in negotiations, as we stated during the time of our martyred Imam.
We are ready to assure the world that we are not seeking nuclear weapons.
We are not seeking instability in the region.
Any deal would likely need sign-off from Iran's supreme leader, which the White House anticipates could take several days.
That was Jim Spellman on a possible end of the war in Iran.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that 10 countries on the continent, including South Sudan, Rwanda and Kenya, are at high risk from the Ebola outbreak.
The World Health Organization has reported more than 900 suspected cases, including 101 confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Health experts say cuts to international aid have undermined the response.
Robert Nagila has more.
It's the nightmare scenario health experts warned about.
After donor funding freezes last year crippled health care programs across Africa.
Medical professionals cautioned that deep cuts would weaken disease surveillance treatment, research and outbreak response systems across the continent.
The 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC appears to be exposing those fears.
Experts believe the virus spread undetected for weeks because of weakened surveillance systems.
Many health facilities in affected areas locked the capacity to quickly detect cases, isolate patients and put preventive measures in place.
What happened with this case was that it took almost two weeks for everyone in the lab to do the diagnosis, because the reagents they required for this species of Ebola was not available.
Global agencies are now scrambling to fill the funding gap.
The UN says it has deployed staff and emergency resources as more countries put together emergency support packages.
The funding cuts has had some negative impacts on many of the health programs we have in the African region.
Unfortunately, many of the African countries have not actually put back the money lost through the aid and therefore all sorts of situations concerning surveillance, even the treatment of cases drugs, have become under very severe strain.
What is now causing even greater concern is that the latest heartbreak is linked to the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no specific treatment or approved vaccine.
The trajectory will depend heavily on how quickly we can scale up case detection isolation, community engagement as I said earlier and infection prevention measures.
The World Health Organization chief warned on Friday that the outbreak is spreading rapidly and upgraded the national risk level in the DRC to very high.
That was Robert Nagila on vigilance against the Ebola outbreak.
Nine people are dead and 11 missing as of Monday afternoon in flooding in southwest China.
Record-breaking torrential rain battered Yongchuan District in Chongqing from late Saturday to Sunday, triggering flash floods, landslides and mudslides.
Authorities are relocating residents as emergency relief supplies arrive.
The aid includes food and water, foldable beds, and flashlights.
Chinese authorities issued a top-level alert for flash floods amid torrential rains across central and eastern regions.
In Hubei, water levels at Lingjiao Lake have surged because of persistent rainfall.
Rescue teams are carrying out hazard inspections and reinforcing dikes and dams.
In Hunan, rescuers launched an emergency operation to evacuate occupants of a truck trapped in floodwaters.
Anhui province is also preparing for its heaviest rainfall since the start of the flood season.
The city of Huangshan has activated a level 4 emergency response and relocated residents to safer areas.
Researchers have found that powerful storms and drier air are speeding up the natural biomass turnover in the Amazon rainforest, potentially reducing its ability to store carbon for long periods of time.
Tropical forests hold more than 60 of the world's plant biomass, making them critical players in regulating the global climate, but their role as carbon storage depends on how long carbon stays locked in trees and other vegetation before being released back into the air.
Scientists call this the carbon residence time.
We're at 29 past the hour.
Beijing, a light rain through tomorrow with a low of 17 this evening.
It's up to 25 on Tuesday.
Shanghai will have moderate rainfall tonight and tomorrow, low of 23 and a high of 29.
Chongqing will be cloudy tonight and tomorrow, a low of 25, a high of 32.
Nanchang is cloudy tonight in 27, giving way to thundershowers and 33 degrees.
Lasset will be cloudy overnight and through tomorrow, a low of 10 and a high of 22.
Elsewhere in Asia, Islamabad is down to 22 this evening, a light rainfall in 37 for Tuesday.
Vientiane will see a light rainfall and a low of 26, a high of 35.
Phnom Penh gets a light rainfall through tomorrow, a low of 27, a high of 37.
It's time for a short break.
So far this hour.
The Chinese presidents met with the Serbian president and the Pakistani prime minister in Beijing.
The Shenzhou, 23 astronauts, including one from Hong Kong, have boarded China's Tiangong space station.
And the White House says Washington and Tehran have a preliminary understanding for a peace deal.
Shane Begum with you.
Stay with us here on The Beijing Hour.
Listen up.
Can you hear the heartbeat of our world?
It's vibrant and pulsating with the essence of life itself.
From the stem of trees to the gurgle of rivers.
From the silent strength of mountains to the icy whispers of glaciers.
Even the solid ground beneath our feet, Right there in the midst of all, beats the heart of humanity.
What if those other heartbeats were to stop?
Would ours keep on ticking?
Ever wondered what's actually going on in Africa through the perspective of an African?
How are things really going between China and Africa?
What's the narrative of this relationship?
Well, get a perspective with China Africa Talk.
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We'll see you there, examining the events that impact and shape china and the rest of the world.
This is the beijing hour one hour of news and information brought to you every weekday.
Now here's your host, shane begum, with you on this monday.
Still to come in business, china's cold chain logistics are maintaining their stable growth trend.
In sports, china's wang shen news advanced at the french open.
In culture and entertainment, a Chinese brand has earned a spot at the UK's top music festival.
To contact us, you can email radio at cgtn.com or follow our ex-account at CGTN Radio.
First of all, a check of the day's headlines.
Chinese President Xi Jinping says strategic mutual trust and cooperation between China and Pakistan have promoted development in both countries.
He met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif as the two countries mark 75 years of diplomatic ties.
President Xi said, no matter how the international situation changes, China's always placed ties with Pakistan at the priority of its neighborhood diplomacy.
He said China appreciates Pakistan's mediation efforts in restoring peace in the Middle East and called on the two countries to promote an orderly and equal multipolar world.
Fire officials in Southern California say a damaged chemical tank may have developed a crack that's helping release pressure and potentially reducing the risk of a major explosion.
The pressurized tank overheated on Thursday and began venting vapors at a company site in Garden Grove, more than 60 kilometers south of downtown Los Angeles.
Orange County Fire Authority Interim Chief TJ McGovern says overnight inspections have provided encouraging signs, though officials are still verifying the findings.
We know you're out of your homes.
We want to get you back, but we cannot do that until it's deemed safe.
But I want to reiterate last night, this operation that we did gave us positive Intel to make educated decisions today in the positive light.
We're not there yet, but this was a step in a right direction and there's going to be a lot more coming shortly.
Evacuation orders remain in place for around 50000 residents, with authorities saying it's still too early to determine when people can safely return home.
The M23 rebel group in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has imposed a mandatory 21-day quarantine for travelers from Bunia and Duturi as part of measures to contain the Ebola outbreak.
North Kivu Health Director Bia Nkizinkiko says screening checkpoints have been reinforced, with all arrivals required to pass through a quarantine site before entering Goma.
The Cagnarucina site will be operational from tomorrow and, as it is operational even if the checkpoints have been closed, cases in Ituri, Beni and Bonilla.
If they arrive at our customs posts, there are healthcare workers who must screen these cases and send them to the quarantine sites.
Health authorities have reported over 900 suspected cases and 119 suspected deaths since the outbreak began weeks ago.
Officials say the government and rebel groups are communicating through mediators to coordinate the response.
Authorities also confirm one death from a probable Ebola case in South Kivu, with several contacts placed under surveillance.
One has since tested positive for the virus.
Thousands of people have rallied in central Madrid against soaring housing costs, as many Spaniards struggle to afford homes and rising rents.
Housing prices continue to climb, especially in major cities and coastal areas, driven by market pressure and property speculation.
Spain's government recently unveiled a 7 billion euro housing plan aimed at expanding public housing and supporting young renters and first-time buyers.
Protesters are also calling for tighter controls on short-term tourist rentals, which many blame for worsening the housing shortage.
Official data shows housing costs rose nearly 13 at the end of 2025, while the Bank of Spain estimates the country faces a shortage of 700000 homes.
Around 16 million Muslims have gathered in Mecca for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, one of the world's largest religious gatherings.
The pilgrimage comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East following recent conflict and a fragile ceasefire that's raised concerns over regional stability.
Pilgrims are also enduring extreme heat of up to 48 degrees Celsius as they carry out outdoor rituals.
Authorities have warned of serious health risks, reporting more than 1300 deaths during last year's pilgrimage under similar conditions.
You're listening to the Beijing Hour.
Coming up in business, China's cold chain logistics are maintaining their stable growth trend.
The Beijing Hour, your window on China and the rest of the world.
Stock markets on the Chinese mainland closed higher on Monday.
The Shanghai composite was up nearly 1%.
The Shenzhen component gained almost 1.7%.
Semiconductor and telecommunications equipment shares were among the top gainers.
Timothy Pope has more.
The Chinese mainland markets rose.
We saw the Shanghai composite index up by almost 1% and the Shenzhen component by 1.7%.
Huawei was really helping keep up the momentum for chip makers after its announcement of a breakthrough in chip design.
It says it expects that it'll be able to make chips which are equivalent to a transistor density of 14 nanometers within five years.
For those of us who are experts on chips, that would put it close to the global market leaders.
It has a new principle for making chips faster that doesn't just rely on making them smaller and smaller, which has been the sort of more traditional approach.
The markets found that all quite exciting, and an index tracking Chinese semiconductor shares gained 71, while the Star 50 index rose almost 6.
There was also cautionary news on the AI front though, with Bloomberg reporting on Friday that the regulators here in China and the stock exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen are seeking some more disclosure from companies and funds about their use of and exposure to AI.
The stock market in Hong Kong was closed due to a public holiday.
Japan's Nikkei increased over 2.8%.
China's cold chain logistics maintained a stable operation trend in the first quarter.
According to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, the demand for services reached nearly 87 million metric tons, a yearly increase of almost 45.
The total revenue of cold chain service enterprises stood at over 141 billion yuan, that's 208 billion US dollars and a yearly increase of almost 38.
Qin Yuming is the Secretary General of the Cold Chain Logistics Committee of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.
The driving effect of consumption on cold chain logistics continues to be evident.
Together with the government's package of pro-consumption policies and sustained investment in cold chain infrastructure, These factors have collectively filled the continuous growth of cold chain logistics.
Orders increasingly concentrated among industry leaders in the first quarter, with these key players leading the sector's growth.
Their business volume growth generally outpaced the industry average by two to five points.
Facing the dual pressures of rising fuel costs and declining freight rates, key enterprises have effectively mitigated the majority of incremental costs through measures such as route optimization and the replacement of conventional vehicles with new energy alternatives.
Huawei has unveiled the Tao Scaling Law, marking the first time China has proposed a new principle to guide industrial development in the global semiconductor sector.
The company made the announcement at an international symposium on circuits and systems underway in Shanghai.
The Tao Scaling Law proposes replacing geometric scaling with time scaling.
The law seeks to continuously compress signal propagation delays through innovative technologies such as logic folding.
This can steadily increase transistor density, while enabling the sustained evolution of semiconductors and electronic systems.
Based on the law.
Huawei has successfully designed and mass-produced over 380 chips over the past six years.
The just concluded Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade in Chongqing attracted nearly 1400 enterprises and institutions from 50 countries and regions.
Domestic and international participants took part in negotiations and signings.
Organizers released the inaugural Invest in Chongqing Opportunity List.
Presenting over 270 high-quality projects to the global market, with a total investment of nearly 580 billion yuan, or around 855 billion US dollars.
The list covers five major sectors, including advanced manufacturing, technological innovation and new energy.
Breakthroughs were made in attracting foreign investment, landing five projects from Fortune Global 500 companies.
The fair also upgraded the global procurement matchmaking event, adding six industry-specific sessions and introducing matchmaking with emerging markets such as Ghana and Kyrgyzstan.
It also connected over 100 overseas enterprises from more than 20 countries worldwide to establish cross-border procurement channels.
The United States is preparing for the first formal round of negotiations to remake a six-year-old trade agreement with its largest commercial partner, Mexico.
Officials on both sides say high-level trade talks will start in the coming week.
Frank Contreras explains the key issues on the table.
This will be the first revision of the Mexico-Canada-United States trade agreement since it took effect in July 2020.
Now, experts in all three North American nations expect the forthcoming round of negotiations, set to begin this week, to bring sweeping changes to commerce in North America.
Mexican President, Claudia Sheinbaum, last week signed a sweeping trade agreement with the European Union.
During the ceremony, Sheinbaum mentioned Mexico's trade talks with the United States.
We are holding dialogues with the United States about commercial trade.
This coming week, a delegation representing the US will come to Mexico to start formal trade negotiations for our trade pact.
Mexico has also been discussing trade with the economies belonging to APEC, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum.
Trade experts believe the era of relatively stable free trade rules might be giving way to a more fluid system in which trade conditions are continually renegotiated according to strategic industries.
For example, new rules pertaining only to the automobile sector.
Mexican economy minister Marcelo Ebrard is expected to lead Mexico's negotiating team.
He reminded investors at this moment Mexico is the United States' top trading partner.
No one buys more from them than Mexico.
That conditions the entire treaty review and the entire relationship with the United States.
This asset gives Mexico a very important standing.
This is a very, very hard time.
Investment analyst Sebastian Miralles expects big changes in North American commerce.
Free trade as we knew it for the past 30 years is gone.
We're entering a new regime, regionalization.
With the Trump administration seeking concessions from Mexico.
Experts say that talks that were expected to be routine will likely become high-stakes negotiations of trade between the United States and Mexico.
That was Frank Contreras reporting.
The artificial intelligence boom is creating staggering new wealth, but critics have warned that the rewards are flowing to a small group of tech giants, while the costs ripple across the broader economy.
From trillion-dollar valuations to massive energy demand and fears over job losses and market competition.
The AI race is rapidly reshaping the global business landscape.
Edis Tienchen reports.
The AI gold rush is concentrating enormous wealth among a handful of tech giants controlling the chips, cloud systems and data centers, powering the industry.
As companies like Nvidia, Microsoft and Alphabet spend billions expanding AI infrastructure, some investors are beginning to question whether the boom is sustainable.
The four big guys are spending over $700 billion this year in CapEx.
A lot of that going to companies like NVIDIA, Oracle, right?
These companies are taking on debt and their stocks are selling off.
Amazon says they're going to have negative free cash flow this year.
Google's cash flow is going to be down big.
Meta's cash flow down big.
Okay, they're making these big investments in AI, they believe in it, but is this sustainable?
The cost of competition creates massive barriers to entry.
AI systems depend on expensive chips, enormous computing power and energy-hungry data centers controlled by a handful of tech giants.
That requires a huge amount of computation and it requires you know these very, very large data centers.
That you hear about open AI building, that you hear about XAI building, Google and Amazon and others are building such data centers.
Supporters say AI could drive productivity and create new industries, but critics warn the rewards will be disproportionately benefit industry executives, while workers face uncertainty over automation and layoffs.
Meanwhile, policymakers are wary of a shrinking competition in the AI economy.
So we need to keep competitive markets.
Competitive markets means that these big companies will be threatened by younger, enthusiastic companies with brilliant ideas that enter
So we need to keep this innovation flow in the age of AI.
As governments race to regulate artificial intelligence and companies compete for dominance, the AI boom is increasingly turning into a debate over who controls the future economy and whether the benefits of this technological revolution will be widely shared or concentrated in the hands of a powerful few.
That was Edis Tianshen reporting.
You're listening to the Beijing Hour.
Coming up in sports, China's Wang Shenyu is advanced at the French Open.
Sideline Story brings you all things sports related.
The hottest topics, latest events, juiciest stories, all with a very personal take.
Subscribe to Sideline Story podcast for heated sports discussions covering events that are happening in China and around the world.
Now turning to sports.
In tennis from the French Open, China's Wang Xinyu has battled past Lee Taeger in three sets to reach the second round.
The 24-year-old overcame a slow start and a strong comeback effort from the 18-year-old junior champion.
Wang's aggressive play and experience made the difference.
It was really a heartfelt game.
The whole match felt like a roller coaster ride from start to finish.
I'm glad I felt hard to secure the win.
The biggest reason is that at every moment throughout the game, I stuck to my strategy of playing proactively and taking charge of the whole contest.
The victory marks her 20th Grand Slam main draw win, and she'll next face Tamara Korpach.
Wang Xiyu also stormed into the second round with a stray sets win.
The victory marks Wang's second career main draw win at the Clay Court Grand Slam, repeating her success from 2024.
Three-time French Open champion, Novak Djokovic, has advanced to the second round after a four-sets win over Giovanni Impecchi-Paracard.
He is playing at Roland Garros for the 22nd straight year.
The victory marked Djokovic's 102nd career win at the French Open and his 403rd overall in the Grand Slams.
Yeah, I was not aware of the amount of appearances.
It's nice.
When it comes to the match, it was very challenging, obviously mentally, and you know for me to hold my nerves in the important moments.
It hasn't happened first set but then after It was great because I was able to read his serve a bit more, anticipate better.
First set, zero chance really on his serve.
It's one of the most tremendous serves in terms of precision and speed that I have ever faced in my career.
Djokovic is now bidding for a record 25th Grand Slam title and will next face Valentin Royer.
Second seed, Alexander Zever of Dispest, Benjamin Bonzi, in three sets to book a place in the second round.
You'll take on Thomas Mahoch next.
American seventh seed Taylor Fritz suffered a shock exit.
Tottenham avoided relegation at the expense of London rivals West Ham on the final day of the Premier League season.
West Ham beat Leeds 3-0, but it wasn't enough as Tottenham secured a 1-0 home win over Everton.
Tottenham has won three of its last five games.
Head coach, Robert De Zerbe, said the team fully earned the win through strong play in recent performances.
And we deserve this day, we deserve this game, we deserve this win, we deserve everything of today.
I think we deserve to stay up because we made 11 points in seven games.
The Europa League champions will now extend their top flight run to 49 straight seasons, finishing just above the relegation zone for the second year in a row.
Arsenal finally lifted the Premier League trophy after a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.
The club claimed its first English title since 2004.
Following three straight runner-up finishes, manager Michael Arteta showed satisfaction.
Obviously, throughout this journey, we have made some massive steps, you know, and we have accomplished a lot of things that, in my opinion, have a lot of value.
But at the end of the day, we are here to win major trophies.
That was the ultimate goal and we were very close.
And in three occasions, we fell short at the end and that was very painful.
But I think that's what has driven all of us to find new ways to show what we are made of.
The season could get even better, as Arsenal faces Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final this weekend, as their first appearance there since 2006.
Over.
In Italy, AC Milan ended the Serie A season with disappointment, losing 2-1 at home to Cagliari.
Despite an early goal from Alexis Selemaker, Milan fell to fifth place and all settled for Europa League football next season.
Cagliari equalized before halftime and scored the winner in the 57th minute.
Milan's late efforts, including substitutions of Christian Pulisic and Luka Modric, failed to turn the game around.
Aroma and Como secured Champions League spots, finishing third and fourth.
Qingdao West Coast has come from behind to beat Yunnan Yukun 3-2 in the Chinese Super League.
Angolan forward Nelson Liu scored two goals in the victory.
Beijing Guoyan lost at home to Henan FC 2-1 after leading early.
Elsewhere, Shanghai Port Drew won all with Tianjin Jinmen Tiger.
Dalining Bo beat Chengdu Rongcheng 2-0. and Shenzhen Peng City defeated Shanghai Shenhua 2-1.
Liaoning TRN cruised past Zhejiang 5-0.
China's first regional urban football league, the Northeast Super, has kicked off across four cities Shenyang Chongqing, Harbin and Hoa.
The eight-team amateur competition spans three northeastern provinces and Inner Mongolia.
On-site attendance exceeded 100,000, with tickets selling out days in advance.
Video technologies assisting referees to ensure fair play.
The event aims to boost sports culture, tourism and drive local spending and help the regional economy.
The enthusiasm follows the recent surge in popularity of various local amateur leagues across China.
In the NBA, Victor Wemenyama scored 33 points as the Spurs beat the Thunder 103-82 in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.
The series now tied at two games apiece.
Wemenyama also added eight rebounds, five assists, and three blocks.
He said the team simply did what was needed to respond to their first playoff deficit.
We didn't do anything unexpected.
But the truth is that we had never been in this kind of situation before.
It was our first deficit in a playoff series.
And we just responded.
It was nothing amazing.
It wasn't magic.
We just did what we needed to do.
And the series is far from over.
We've got six more wins before we can rest.
Game five will be in Oklahoma City.
You're listening to The Beijing Hour.
Coming up in culture and entertainment.
A Chinese band has earned a spot at the UK's top music festival.
From north to south, east to west, people in China are chasing their dreams and leaving their mark.
Want to know how they beat the odds and made a difference?
Footprints brings you the true life stories of their journeys.
In culture and entertainment.
The UK's leading festival for new music takes place each year on the south coast of the country.
Now in its 20th year, the Great Escape Festival helps fans get together, make contacts and make music.
Jeff Moody went along.
On a windswept beach in Brighton.
Fresh acts from across the globe hoping to be heard, hoping to be discovered.
There are artists from over 50 countries performing in more than 40 venues dotted right across the city.
It's a real chance for them to get their music out there to a wider audience.
But it's a chance for festival goers to hear something completely new.
New like 8 Byte.
He's just 22 and he's already making a name for himself on the Chinese music scene.
Now making waves in Brighton.
This is a chance for the Chinese artists to show their song, to show their style in the United Kingdom and make everyone know what is Chinese making and what is their styling.
Xiao Bao Jing is a music promoter.
He's brought several bands from China to Brighton.
Personally, I think the true charm of music lies in experiencing it live.
Nowadays there are many streaming platforms like TikTok, but to me they're mainly tools for promoting music.
I hope more people, whether Chinese or Western, will go to live concerts and performances, because the energy and emotions there are far more infectious.
Xiao Bao Jing's star booking, Wu Tiao Ren.
Ren Ke and Mao Tao have been performing together since 2008.
Their appearance in Brighton is the culmination of a whirlwind visit to the UK.
It must be very exciting.
Many great musicians have recorded here, so we really wanted to come and experience it ourselves.
We feel honoured to visit and record here.
If those like Wu Jiao Ren will leave our own mark here too, besides the Rolling Stones and all those great musicians.
We have learned a lot from the Western culture.
I hope they can also learn something from us.
And on a windy, brighter night, the lads from Haifeng are going down a storm.
I thought they were incredible.
I thought their performance was so professional, so polished, so atmospheric.
You don't have to understand the words.
The language comes from somewhere else.
It comes from the music itself, from the energy, from the performance.
And as Wu Xiaoren wrap up their set, they return to China knowing they've made their mark on this seaside city in Britain, a city where careers are made, where dreams come true.
That was Jeff Moody reporting.
Romanian director Christian Mangeau has won the Palme d'Or at the 79th Cannes Film Festival for the film Fjord.
The story follows a Romanian-Norwegian couple facing intense scrutiny from neighbours in a remote fjord village.
Among Joe previously won that prize in 2007.
The jury prize went to Germany's Valeska Griesbach for The Dreamed Adventure.
Virginia Alfira and Tao Okamoto tied for Best Actress.
They starred opposite each other in All of a Sudden.
Emmanuel Maquia and Valentin Compagnia share the Best Actor award for Coward.
Hong Kong and Macau pavilions have captured the spotlight at the China International Cultural Industries Fair in Shenzhen.
The Hong Kong pavilions, designed as a 3D urban blind box featuring a red taxi and a model from the film Twilight of the Warriors, walled in.
Rare traditional lion heads and over 100 creative works were also on display.
Hong Kong official, Leo Jin, says the region shares deep cultural roots with the mainland and is committed to building cultural exchange platforms.
In the meantime, the Macau Pavilion offers a unique blend of Chinese and Western cultures, showcasing intangible cultural heritage skills.
We're at 57 past the hour.
Beijing, a light rainfall through tomorrow.
The low is 17, a high of 25 on Tuesday.
Shanghai will get moderate rainfall tomorrow.
The low is 23.
It's up to 29 degrees.
Chongqing will be cloudy tonight and tomorrow, a low of 25 and a high of 32.
Nanchang's cloudy tonight and down to 27.
Thundershowers and 33 for tomorrow.
Lassa will be cloudy tonight and tomorrow.
A low of 10 and a high of 22.
And that's it for this edition of the Beijing Hour.
Making news.
Today, the Chinese presidents met with the Serbian president and the Pakistani prime minister in Beijing.
The Shenzhou, 23 astronauts, including one from Hong Kong, have boarded China's Tiangong space station.
On behalf of the staff.
This is Shane Bigham in the Chinese capital, hoping you'll join us for the next edition of the Beijing Hour and open a window to the world together.
Find The Beijing Hour at precisely 6pm Beijing time.
We meet you on podcast and on air every weekday.
The Beijing Hour, your window on China and the rest of the world.
He can't live without the Yellow River in his eyes.
The Yellow River is so noble and elegant.
Both my grandpa and dad made a living from the river.
Would you like to move away from the Yellow River?
I don't think I will.
I love it so much.
The Yellow River, the second longest river in China, is regarded as a shaping force in the history, economy and culture of northern China.
Today, about 100 million people live within its water basin, making up nearly 9 of the country's population.
How is climate change felt at its headwaters?
And what are the locals doing to cope with it?
What are the descendants of the boatmen doing?
What has kept some people from leaving their home village by the river?
And what has drawn others back?
Could the fading fishing community revive in a time of digital transformation?
From 2021 to 2024.
Our reporters visited the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, talked to the herders farmers boatmen, fishermen and eco-activists who share a close bond with the river, and present their stories in pictures, podcasts and videos.
All in our 12-part series, The Yellow River Mosaic, available only on CGTN Radio.
