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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 Bigham with you on this Monday, March 31, 2025.
You're listening to The Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
On today's program, China's embassy and Myanmar's confirmed at least three deaths of Chinese nationals in the earthquake in Myanmar. Search and rescue is ongoing.
Washington has threatened Iran with bombs and tariffs if Tehran does not reach a new nuclear deal with the US.
Greenland's prime minister says the US is not going to be taking control of the territory.
In business, China's manufacturing picked up pace in March. In sports, a Czech teenager knocks off a tennis legend for the Miami Open title.
In culture entertainment, cultural elements at China International Fashion Week in Beijing.
Now the day's top stories.
China's embassy in Myanmar has confirmed that at least three Chinese nationals died in the 7 .9 magnitude earthquake on Friday.
The strong tremor that struck Mandalay has killed 1 ,700 people as of Monday afternoon.
Survivors have described the damage near the epicenter and in Napa Daw.
We are without power, water or phone service and even some roads have been severely damaged.
In some residential complexes, especially those with mid -rise buildings of about 4 to 6 floors, there have been casualties.
Locally, the government, community groups and various organizations have also launched donation drives, with many people actively participating.
The situation is especially serious in the northern part of Ni pi tau, where hospitals and residential complexes have suffered heavy damage.
When the earthquake struck, we were having lunch at a restaurant near the highway about 120 kms south of Mandalay.
Suddenly, the ground started shaking violently, and the tremors kept getting stronger.
I immediately realized it was an earthquake.
Right after, we lost phone and internet signals.
We assumed it was just temporary damage and continued heading toward Mandalay.
But along the way, we noticed cracks all over the highway.
Parts of the road had lifted, and stone radars had fallen.
Many pagodas and buildings along the roadside were cracked, ginging, or even collapsed.
There've been more than 30 aftershocks as of Sunday evening with the strongest measuring 7 .5.
The Myanmar program coordinator for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has described the dire need for humanitarian assistance in the quake hit regions.
Marie Manrique has said the damage roads and infrastructure have hampered deliveries.
We're looking at a situation with increased humanitarian needs and unfortunately we see that the cases of deaths and injuries will continue to grow in the next few days.
It's not just a question of getting the medical materials in country, it's really a question of the damaged infrastructure.
So the largest road that goes from the largest city in Myanmar, which is Yangon, where I'm based, all the way up to Mandeley, which is in the area of the epicenter, has been damaged, so there are parts of the road that are unable to be used.
so people are using side roads.
We also know of damaged bridges.
The bridge that is used to connect Sagine and Mandalay, which is again in the epicenter, has also been damaged.
So we're just looking at a great deal of challenges to get the humanitarian aid where it's most needed.
She said rescuers are working within the small remaining window to find the people trapped under rubble.
The UN children's fund is warned of the Myanmar earthquakes' escalating impact on children and families.
Officials say many children are facing a heightened risk of injury, trauma and separation from their families.
Tsai Han Lin Ang is the chief of the UNICEF Field Office in Mandalay, the hardest hit city.
He's called on the international community to respond with urgency to support life -saving efforts for children and families.
While we are still conducting the rapid assessment, we know this is an absolute catastrophe for children and family across Mandalay.
Many homes have been destroyed, road and bridge damage, many children and family are still missing, and traumatized.
We need urgent assistance, especially for the children, who often suffer the most in these kinds of situations." The earthquake has caused severe damage to homes, schools, hospitals and critical infrastructure.
UNICEF is mobilizing 80 metric tons of life -saving supplies, including health kits, medical supplies, tents and hygiene kits for immediate delivery to children and families in desperate need.
It's also calling for urgent funding to scale up the delivery of life -saving support including clean water, medical care, psychosocial support and more.
Chinese teams were among the first international responders to arrive in the affected areas in Myanmar. They've pulled six people from the rubble as of Monday afternoon, including a pregnant woman and a child.
China's foreign Ministry says around 400 experts, rescuers and medical professionals are providing relief assistance in Myanmar. Meanwhile China sent a shipment of essential supplies including tents, blankets and first aid kits.
Yo Young reports from Beijing Capital International Airport.
China sends the first batch of aid to earthquake hits Myanmar on Monday morning.
The China International Development Cooperation Agency says the country decided to provide 100 million yuan or about 13 .77 million US dollars worth of emergency humanitarian assistance following a request by Myanmar's government.
Earlier we spoke to the pilot of the aircraft to learn more about the mission.
The crew has developed a detailed flight plan, assessed the situation at the local airport and made sufficient preparations.
It is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation to provide comprehensive support when faced with difficulties.
As an airline carrying the Chinese national flag, Air China Cargo actively responds to the national call and resolutely completes the tasks assigned to us.
Well, we had the first rescue team dispatched by the Chinese government, also arriving in Mandalore region, one of the hardest hit areas by the quake to assist with ongoing rescue efforts.
Following the deadly earthquake, Ming Huangliang, leader of Myanmar's current military government, declared a state of emergency and made a plea for help.
So far countries including China, India, Vietnam and Thailand have sent or deployed rescue teams to the Southeast Asian nation and Beijing says China will provide further assistance in the future as needed by Myanmar. That was Yeo Yang reporting.
A rescue team from Hong Kong has also arrived in Myanmar and rushed to Mandalay overnight.
The team of 51 people includes medics and firefighters.
I am from the Hospital Authority of Hong Kong.
The Hospital Authority has sent two doctors and two nurses.
We have prepared for possible sudden situations, and have stocked up many medical drugs and medical equipment such as ventilators and blood pressure monitors.
When we received news of the disaster we made immediate preparations.
It is said that the first 72 hours are the golden period.
But in fact, we prepared to set off very soon this time." Well they're working with the team from the Chinese mainland to aid local efforts.
Myanmar Chinese Chamber of Commerce President Lin Wenmeng says the Chinese communities raised $48 ,000 to support earthquake relief efforts.
I see Chinese volunteers come to help us in Myanmar every day.
Regarding communications, it's very inconvenient in Mandalay.
In Yangon, it's still okay but sometimes during communication there are issues with coordinating responses in a timely manner.
Generally speaking there have been quite some casualties everyone is engaged in the rescue efforts.
Today when rescue teams went in to help in some areas aftershocks occurred making it quite dangerous.
Everyone is helping as much as they can, trying their best to rescue people.
Of course medical supplies will be needed going forward and we need to pay attention to some important sanitation issues during the next step.
We have now raised nearly one billion Myanmar kia, with everyone enthusiastically helping.
Lin said they plan to use the money to follow up and offer full support wherever it's needed.
Myanmar's disaster relief authorities have expressed appreciation for China's timely support in sending experienced rescue teams. Director -General Min Min -ten from the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement says the immediate response demonstrates the friendship between the two countries.
The first Indonesian arrival is China rescue team, and them follow the other teams, so such kind of experience team, and also experience equipment are coming together, expressing the friendship between China and Myanmar. At the time, we also had some kind of damage in some of the hospitals, So it is a very chaotic condition at this moment.
The official added that they're setting up emergency shelters and providing food and water assistance to help the displaced.
International aid poured into Myanmar since the disaster last week.
Russia's third plane of rescuers and medical staff has arrived.
India sent aid, including hygiene kits, blankets and food parcels, along with rescue and medical teams. U .S. President Donald Trump described the earthquake as terrible and offered to assist. The European Union says it'll provide 2 .5 million euros in initial emergency aid and will assess the needs to mobilize additional assistance.
Other countries including the UK, Ireland and Malaysia have also contributed to relief efforts.
It's been over 72 hours since the disaster.
Power outages, blocked roads and communication blackouts are making it difficult to assess the full impact.
Damage to sanitation and water infrastructure has also led to concerns about potential disease outbreaks.
the epicenter is experiencing dry weather and high temperatures that could reach 40 degrees Celsius.
We spoke with Dr. Liu Junzhe at the School of National Safety and Emergency Management at Beijing Normal University in Zhuhai about how the climate could potentially affect rescue efforts.
About 100 ,000 mosquito -9s have been distributed in Manali and only 30 % of the 3 million displaced have access to basic disease prevention supplies.
But Myanmar's healthcare system is overwhelmed.
The priority now is to transport critical cases to functioning hospitals or some of the mobile field units before it's too late.
And particularly the temperature now in Myanmar is a big issue because it's turning this disaster into an even bigger net mire, we can imagine that working in the 40 -degree heat wearing the heavy gear, sweating out 1 .5 liters of flood every hour, that's what the rescue team are dealing with right now.
So our crews have cooling wires and as generators, but local volunteers, without that kind of gear, are collapsing from the heat stroke with about 30 % more often.
And when you're exhausted you know that mistakes always happen, like mischarging the unstable rubble and accidentally causing another collapse.
So it's also a big problem.
For survivors, it's just as bad.
If you're trapped under the debris, dehydration and heat stroke set in fast. So even after being rescued substance is packed into mixture of shelters with no shade.
And a little water and awful smell of the decay hanging in the air.
Den and cholera are also spreading.
Heat is running, ruining the medical supplies too.
The antibiotic loose strains.
The blood supply is spoiled and often the open air surgeries now have a 50 % infection risk.
So even small cars can turn deadly without proper care.
The associate professor also pointed out a few main challenges facing rescuers going forward. He said, secondary disasters, a shortage in medical supplies and disruptions in transportation are all possibilities.
The threat of aftershocks and secondary disasters, we observe that within the 72 hours after the main shock, there will be 12 aftershocks of magnitude five all above.
So it will lead to the secondary collapse of the damaged buildings.
The medical system also has completed a collapse like I shared previously.
A large number of hospitals have been suspended, and the remaining hospitals are overloaded right now.
International aid must be prioritized, providing some of the modular field hospitals emergency medical training, otherwise a large number of women will die due to lack of treatment.
But concerning the traffic paralysis, it leads to the last -mile problem.
The runway at Manly Airport has broken.
It prevents large transport lanes from landing.
And the highway from Yonggong to Manly has broken at 13 locations, attending the travel time for trucks from 3 .5 hours to 12 hours.
I was Professor Liu Junzhi on the challenges in rescue work after the earthquake in Myanmar. China's ambassador to Myanmar also said that aftershocks and disruptions in communications are the biggest challenges.
Ma Jie expressed confidence in the Chinese rescue teams to accomplish their mission.
She said the embassy will try to deliver more supplies to the affected population.
Myanmar's declared a seven -day period of national mourning from Monday.
All flags across the country will fly to have staff to warn the victims of the earthquake.
The strong tremor also left 18 people dead in Thailand.
Authorities say the situations under control and the risk of aftershocks has decreased.
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigations downgraded the disaster response level.
Friday's quake affected northern and central Thailand including Bangkok in Chiang Mai.
Chaurat Yongji Renan has more.
At the command center that has been officially set up by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration And this is a room full of volunteers, both civilians and also experts, including engineers.
In the light of things, despite the fact that we've seen a lot of hospitals being affected, one very good news is that at a hospital where they were evacuating pregnant women, A woman had successfully given birth in just 11 minutes when she was being rescued to a healthy baby girl weighing at 2 .9 kilograms and the mother and the baby are both safe.
The main concern for the local government here in this big city of Bangkok is to making sure that transportation is okay.
There are still going to be some areas that are going to be shut down but they're doing all there can to make sure that people are able to go to work safely.
As for some good news here, assistance from the Chinese Embassy, the Ambassador to Thailand from China, has met with the Interior Ministry to give assistance and knowledge, as China has a wealth of knowledge in dealing with earthquakes such as this.
And also, the Thai government has met up with the ASEAN group as well, talking about what we need and also how we can help and contribute assistance to Myanmar, our neighboring country.
That was Chow Rat Yongji Ranon in Bangkok.
Coming up, the US president threatens Iran with bombs and tariffs.
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17 past the hour. US President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Iran and impose secondary tariffs if Tehran does not reach a nuclear deal with Washington.
Trump says he's willing to wait a couple of weeks before deciding whether he'll impose the tariffs on other countries for buying Iranian goods.
Iran's rejected direct negotiations with the U .S. but Washington issues threats.
But President Masoud Bezeshkin said indirect talks can still continue.
Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the U .S. will receive a strong blow if it acts on President Donald Trump's bombing threat.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeated a demand for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza.
Hamas says it's agreed to a ceasefire proposal for mediators Egypt and Qatar, but the group has refused to lay down arms, calling that a red line.
Jonathan Magev has more from Tel Aviv.
A lot of criticism on the Prime Minister for the way he's dealing the crisis with the hostages, and what the Prime Minister has been saying is that his policy over military pressure is the right one.
One would be the complete disarmament of Hamas, the other would be sending to exile all of the Hamas leadership.
A third one, quite important, Israel will be the one maintaining security in Gaza.
Netanyahu did not go as far as saying that Israel will control Gaza.
But did say that Israel will be the one in charge of security.
How do you do that without controlling the area?
Not exactly clear. here.
The fourth and final point is that Israel will work to facilitate Trump s plan which would see Gazans who wish to leave, living to another country.
Many people, including hostages who came back, are saying that the military pressure is not only not helping the hostages but doing exactly the opposite.
As Jonathan Regev reporting, Gaza residents are having a muted Eid al -Fitr after the Muslim hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are once again at risk of acute hunger and malnutrition.
Food supplies have run out as Israel continues to block the entry of aid into the territory.
Nadra Al -Thibi spoke to some of the displaced in Gaza city.
In Gaza, the usual joy of Eid has been replaced by sorrow and hardship.
In the displacement camps, thousands of families are living in total tents surrounded by waste.
With border crossing under Israeli blockade and food supplies is critically low inside the territory celebrating Eid has become an untenable luxury even for children whose joy has been stolen by war.
This Eid is nothing like the previous ones.
There's no joy as we struggle to provide for our children.
Eid is no longer reaching us and we are left to survive on the ground with no one paying attention to our suffering.
Dearly and displaced Amina Subah was forced to flee once again after her home was destroyed.
She now lives in dire conditions with her orphaned, grand children and tall CGTM that her grief and hunger dominate their lives.
We are not happy about celebrating Eid.
Poverty and hunger are burning our hearts.
We cannot even afford new clothes for our children.
Half of our loved ones are in prison and the other half have been killed.
How can we celebrate?
Amid the suffering, a group of Palestinian artists has launched an initiative to paint murals reflecting giant hope to bring some happiness to children in Gaza City.
We painted murals to send a message to children in our community that hope still exists.
Through colours and artistic expression, we try to bring joy and positivity despite the hardship.
The Commissioner General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refuges, Faleb Lezareini has warned that Israel's blockade of humanitarian aid is pushing Gaza close to famine, causing diseases to separate and deepening deprivation for its population.
The joy of Eid is overshadowed by the ongoing war and pain of hunger, as Gazans struggle to secure their daily food and survive with Israel staging a blockade on humanitarian aid, a severe hunger crisis is pushing the Palestinian enclave to the brink.
That was Nadra Al -Tibi on how Gazans spend Eid amid dire situations.
US President Donald Trump says he may impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil if he believes Russia's at fault for not reaching a ceasefire with Ukraine.
Trump said he was angry when Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the credibility of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's leadership.
He said once the secondary tariffs are imposed, those buying oil from Russia will not be allowed to do business with the U .S. Trump added that the tariffs on Russia will come within the next month if Moscow does not sign to a ceasefire deal with Ukraine.
Recent wildfires in Los Angeles have devastated more than 17 ,000 homes and businesses as the city pushes through the reconstruction process.
It's facing new tariff -related challenges on construction materials.
This could make the recovery process longer and more costly.
It is Tian Chen has more from Los Angeles.
The Trump Administration has recently rolled out new tariffs on primary construction materials like steel, aluminum and other construction goods.
It comes at a time of higher demand for those commodities.
As the city and county of Los Angeles move aggressively to rebuild the wildfire areas in Malibu, Pacific Palisades and up in Altadena.
To build those houses, we need softwood lumber, aluminum and steel from Canada.
The tariffs are meant to make domestic production more attractive, but that will take time and until then the market will have to absorb the higher costs.
We are still handling a lot of imported steel, despite the tariffs because there's not enough American manufacturing of steel right now.
So one of the unintended consequences of the has done the wrong way is you don't have enough steel.
That impacts construction, that impacts economic growth across the board." Associated General Contractors of America said housing costs could skyrocket by almost 50 per cent.
The gap between what the fire victims may or may not be getting from their home insurance payouts and the actual cost of rebuilding their homes will certainly widen.
And it could force some owners to delay or possibly cancel their plans to to reconstruct, and that's another factor that could prolong the housing shortage Los Angeles faces.
Rising costs beyond just reconstruction are also having an impact on recovery efforts.
We need appliances from Mexico, furniture from China, and all of those prices are going up, whether anticipatory or real, as these imports are coming across our port complex. So, we've got to have some pretty detailed discussions about this, because families who to rebuild businesses who want to get back into the office are going to be impacted by these tariffs one way or another.
Economic uncertainty fueled by tariffs, a combination many businesses cannot afford. That was edis Tian Shan on US tariffs threatening reconstruction in Los Angeles.
German Chancellor Olaf Schulz says his country will continue to support free trade while opposing protectionism.
Schulz warns that free global trades at risk because of protectionism, which he says will benefit no one.
The position of the German government, but also of the European Union, on this issue is very clear.
We will continue to work in favor of free and fair world trade.
We do not consider tariffs to be a suitable instrument for the exchanges of goods and services between nations.
But we believe that the model that has existed in recent decades has brought good prosperity.
And it is particularly true that the United States of America has been an important driver of this development in recent decades.
Well, he adds that the European Union is ready to respond to U .S. trade tariffs.
Coming up, Greenland's prime minister tells Washington that the U .S. will not be taking control of the island.
ready to dive in. It's 26 past the hour.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen says the United States will not get the island.
He made the remarks in response to U .S. President Donald Trump's statements that he wants to take control of the Danish territory.
Nielsen says they will determine their own future.
During a visit to a U .S. military base on the north of Greenland, U .S. Vice President J .D.
Vance accused Denmark of not doing a good enough job of keeping the island safe.
He said the U .S. will better protect the island.
Over 900 ,000 households in the United States and Canada are facing power outages due to an ice storm.
Environment Canada issued winter storm warnings for freezing rain in Ottawa and parts of Quebec and Ontario.
Over 300 ,000 Canadians have faced power outages in Ontario on Sunday.
Electricity provider Hydro One says tree limbs and branches weighed down with ice caused the outages.
It also warned of flooding in central Ontario.
The city of Orillia has declared a state of emergency, warning of power outages, hazardous road conditions, downed trees, and damage to infrastructure.
More than a million people in the US have also received ice storm warnings.
Hundreds of thousands of households in Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin are facing power outages.
West African neighbors Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have announced a new 0 .5 % levy on on imported goods as they seek to fund a new three -state union after leaving the regional bloc, ECOWAS.
They say the duties will affect all imported goods, but it will not include humanitarian aid.
The move means an end to free trade across West Africa.
The Alliance of Sahel States began in 2023 as a security pact between the military juntas of the three countries and has grown into a union with plans for closer economic and military ties.
Insiders say China's rapid advancements in artificial intelligence are reshaping intelligent driving technology.
The advancements equip vehicles with software that recognizes 56 regional Chinese dialects.
An in -cabin camera can provide real time monitoring of the driver, issuing timely alerts to combat drowsy driving.
The AI -powered suspension system can adjust the vehicle's posture with millisecond -level precision.
He can anticipate sudden road conditions up to five seconds in advance, enhancing driver safety.
Zhang Yongwei is the secretary -general of China EV 100, a new energy vehicle industry think tank.
And he says the automotive industry is accelerating integration with AI.
Many vehicle manufacturers have already equipped their products with a large number of such advanced models.
Currently, many enterprises and automakers have proposed to build AI driven companies by transforming themselves from the foundational level.
Other companies have unveiled a full domain AI for smart vehicles system, featuring cutting edge innovations such as voice models, an AI digital chassis and intelligent cabinets.
We're at 29 past the hour.
Beijing is down to 6 degrees Monday evening.
It'll be sunny in 20 on Tuesday and then chunks down to eight and then sunny skies in 20 elsewhere in Asia is Loma Bads down to 12 then sunny and 35 BNT ends 21 overnight then overcast in 29 But on Penn dips to 25 degrees and then a slight rainfall in 33 tomorrow in Africa And I hope you'll get a slight rainfall and 25 degrees Celsius on Tuesday It's time for a short break so far this hour China's Embassy in Myanmar has confirmed the deaths of at least three Chinese nationals in the earthquake in Myanmar search and rescue is ongoing Washington has threatened Iran with tariffs and bombs if Tehran does
not reach a new nuclear deal with the US.
Greenland's Prime Minister says the US is not going to be taking control of the territory.
Shane Begum with you.
Stay with us here on the Beijing Hour.
Shhh, 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, be 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.
Hear from African diplomats, entrepreneurs, academics, Chinese natives, and more.
Get on our wavelength every week to find out what's real with China Africa Talk.
Find us on your favorite podcast. 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 manufacturing picked up pace in March. In sports, a Czech teenager knocks off a tennis legend for the Miami Open title.
In culture and entertainment, Cultural Elements at China International Fashion Week in Beijing.
To contact us, you can email radio at cgtn .com or follow our ex -account at CGTNradio.
Now, a check of the day's headline news.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has chaired a meeting to review the achievements of the country's Environmental Protection Program.
Officials say the inspections have addressed multiple ecological violations and resolved many critical environmental concerns.
The meeting also confirmed that enforcing official accountability has led to significant environmental progress.
It emphasized the need promote innovation and carry out reform tasks moving forward. Chinese rescuers have saved six lives across earthquake rattled Myanmar as of 8 a .m. local time on Monday.
That included a pregnant woman and a girl.
Our rescuers are racing to reach hundreds still believed to be trapped.
They've also there have also been many aftershocks.
The tremors have collapsed buildings, downed bridges and further damaged roads, hampering relief efforts.
China's Embassy in Myanmar confirm the deaths of at least three Chinese nationals and 15 others were injured in Myanmar. The Chinese diplomatic mission in Myanmar has been assisting the families of the victims. Malaysia has convened an emergency meeting in response to the powerful earthquake in Myanmar. ASEAN foreign ministers or their representatives attended the meeting.
The officials expressed their condolences for the loss of life in the earthquake and pledged solidarity and support for the affected countries.
They said the ASEAN family stands resolutely with Myanmar and Thailand in moving forward to address the impacts of the earthquake.
The China Earthquake Network center has detected a 7 .3 -magnitude earthquake in Tonga.
Local authorities did not immediately report casualties or damage.
There have been several aftershocks.
A local resident described what she experienced.
I live by the seaside and felt the strong tremor.
The cabinets were shaking and the sirens kept blaring for a long time.
It is said to be a tsunami warning.
We are now heeding the government's call to move to higher ground.
Tonga's disaster management authorities issued the tsunami warning to all coastal regions.
U .S. national meteorologists also warned of a tsunami but later lifted that alert.
A Japanese government report says the country's economy could lose up to US $1 .8 trillion in the event of a long -anticipated megaquake off the Pacific.
The expected economic damage of 270 .3 trillion yen, or nearly half of the country's total GDP, was up sharply from the previous estimate of over 214 trillion yen.
Japan sees an 80 % chance of a magnitude 8 to 9 earthquake that could kill 300 ,000 people.
The earthquake -prone country issued its first -ever mega -quake advisory last year, saying there's a relatively high chance of a quake as powerful as magnitude 9.
Nauru has opened its Embassy in Beijing.
Foreign Minister Lionel Rauen and Gumiya attended the opening ceremony and reiterated the Pacific Island countries' commitment to the One China principle.
He also expressed hope for expanding cooperation and bringing ties to new levels.
China and Nauru re -established diplomatic relations in January of last year.
The Chinese Commerce Minister stressed the country's commitment to high -quality development and high level openness.
Weng -wen Tao said China's ready to share opportunities with all nations, including South Korea and Japan.
He was speaking at the 13th China -Japan -South Korea Trilateral Economic and Trade Ministers meeting in Seoul.
The trilateral meeting focused on topics such as strengthening trade and investment collaboration and advancing regional and multilateral cooperation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that Israel is prepared to negotiate an end to the conflict in Gaza, but only if Hamas surrenders its weapons and relinquishes control of the Strip.
Netanyahu said Israel is ready to discuss a final resolution under which Hamas leaders will be allowed to leave and Israel will ensure general security in Gaza and enabled the implementation of the Trump plan for voluntary immigration." He added that military pressure on Hamas is proving effective, weakening the group's military and governance capabilities, while creating conditions for the release of Israeli hostages.
The prime minister said the security cabinet decided to escalate military pressure, adding that they are negotiating under fire.
He also said the government's working to bring the hostages back and that the combination of military and political pressure has been the only factor securing the hostages release.
A senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuri, said Netanyahu's comments were a recipe for endless escalation in Gaza.
Coming up in business, China's manufacturing picked up pace in March. The Beijing hour, your window on China and the rest of the world.
37 past the hour now, stock markets on the Chinese Mainland closed lower on Monday.
The Shanghai composite was down nearly half a percent.
The Shenzhen component lost almost one percent.
Home appliances and precious metals led the gainers.
Timothy Pope has more.
Chinese Mainland markets touched one month lows.
The Shanghai composite index was down about half of one percent and that ate further into its gains for March and that index ends the month up about half of 1 % as well.
Banking stocks did okay.
That came after several of them announced that they're going to be raising 520 billion yuan via some private share placements to recapitalize and that's really gonna enable them to lend to continue supporting government policy objectives here.
But those gains were pretty modest in comparison to the losses that we saw among some recently favored sectors like consumer and AI stocks as well.
While elsewhere in China the Hong Kong stock market ended lower with the Hang Seng index down over 1 .3%.
Meantime stocks in Japan also ended lower with the Nikkei plunging over 4%.
Official data shows the Purchasing Managers Index for China's manufacturing came in at 50 .5 % in March and that was up 0 .3 points from February.
The reading reached the highest notch since March of last year.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the manufacturing PMI's climbed for two months in a row, indicating continued improvement and industrial sentiment.
The non -manufacturing PMI rose to a 50 .8 up 0 .4 points from the previous month, while the general PMI climbed from 51 .1 to 51 .4.
And with more, Lincoln Humphrey spoke with Chu Cheng, a research fellow at Menzhu University of China.
The latest official PMI data is positive.
Can this be attributed broadly and simply to workers coming back from the spring festival holiday break?
Or is this uptick due to other broader factors?
Yes indeed, I do believe besides the factor that we have recovered or resumed our production after the long spring festival vacation, and I think some other very important factors also were to be noticed.
I think number one is our domestic market is really coming back online.
If I take a look at the TIN numbers from the manufacturing sector, and also from the non -manufacturing sectors, both numbers actually have been getting warmed up continuously for several months and I think behind that is if you take a look at the indicators of the new production of the volume and also the new orders number that both are coming back very very quickly I think behind that is number one stabilization of the domestic market especially if you take a look at the vehicle market and also the housing market the secondhand home market has been really the turnovers from coming back in major cities,
Beijing and Shanghai, Shenzhen, and also some strong second -tier cities like Suzhou and Chengdu.
So, I think the market has basically been stabilized.
So, they can be translated into the warm -up long value chain of the property market, like the raw material, like the manufacturing and et cetera.
I think, secondly, worked on, also a very strong back is the what we call the high -tech or tech -savvy market like you know, digital devices, like power devices, aerospace and aviation, you know, products, as well as for the ship making product or something like that, and also like the railway.
And also I think the gross speed is basically at nearly double digits.
So against a permanent or national backdrop, I don't think this is very useful, but I think China really made it through today by shifting gears, upgrading whole value chain in the domestic production line.
And I think thirdly is about the ordinary people's life.
what we can take a look at the consumption market, service sector consumption, and also some data consumption, like groceries has also been coming back a very, very good, the holiday tourism education market.
So I think at least three factors are propping up the PMIs in the manufacturing you know sectors and also the non -manufacturing sectors.
That was research fellow Chu Chang at Minzu University of China offering his insights on China's latest PMI figures.
Robotics top the agenda at the just -concluded annual Jonh Nguyen Soon forum with the skills of humanoid robots taking center stage.
The forum's a platform for exchanges and innovation in science and technology.
Liu Jasheen has more.
I'm not playing this piano, but that doesn't stop it from giving a performance.
No one to play chess with, join this little guy.
Can do embroidery, leave it to my buddy.
Here is a computer embroidery machine.
Its main function is to embroider words, graffiti and pictures.
It has machine vision.
This is our soft gile hand which is currently mainly used in the production and manufacturing of food and auto parts.
It can replace manual work in sorting, handling and packaging.
Highly practical and filled with universal appeal, these robots can be categorized as for fun.
But there's another category that may not be fully understood by everyone, but is highly praised by professionals.
Our international surgical robots obtained the AMPA registration certificate in China on March 21 this year.
Traditional interventional surgeons will lead codes and use their hands to feel the resistance and safety of the guide wire in human blood vessels by the catheter bed.
This process is now being digitized and standardized, enabling the system to provide corresponding visual feedback and haptic feedback, when the wire encounters vascular walls or plaques.
Since when have people become accustomed to the existence of these robots?
Coming to the Zhongguancun forum for the third year, it's clear people are no longer surprised or afraid of these metal assistants.
It's impressive, you can have a robot have a coffee and make a coffee for you.
Year after year I can see the changes, and I can see that China is really taking a leap with the technology.
It's beautiful. It's a big opportunity, seeing how far we could go, the human imagination could go to make life more simple, make life more sustainable.
Experts say the emergence of unicorn enterprises in China combined with industrial development and clear policies have contributed to the progress in robotics.
And that was Liu Jiexin reporting.
China will issue 500 billion yuan or 70 billion U .S. dollars of special treasury bonds to support large state -owned commercial banks in replenishing their core tier one capital.
According to the finance ministry they'll carry out the capital injection in line with market -oriented and law -based principles.
The ministry says the country's major state -owned commercial banks currently enjoy stable operations, sound asset quality and sufficient provisions for potential losses.
Key regulatory indicators remain within a healthy range.
The capital's support will further consolidate and enhance the bank's capacity for sound operations and deliver greater value, and long -term stable returns for investors.
The Ministry added that the move will also enable these banks to better serve the real economy, providing stronger support for the country's steady and long -term economic development.
China's four major state -owned commercial banks have announced plans to raise 520 billion yuan, or 72 billion U .S. dollars, to the issuance of A shares targeting specific investors.
Bank of China aims to raise up to 165 billion yuan and Postal Savings Bank's goal is 130 billion.
The four banks say they will use the funds to replenish core tier 1 capital.
Zhou Quan is the general manager of the Asset and Liability Department at Bank of China.
This capital replenishment will help large state owned commercial banks further consolidate their capital strength, optimize their capital structure and better play a leading role in serving the real economy and working as a ballast stone in maintaining financial stability.
The Finance ministry will participate in the fundraising with a combined intended subscription of up to 500 billion yuan.
The four banks say capital replenishment from the ministry is a crucial move to support their stable operations and development.
The Asian Development Bank says it's issued 8 .3 billion yuan or 1 .2 billion US dollars in bonds, raising capital to support development projects for sovereign and private sector borrowers.
These are the bank's largest panda bonds to date.
According to the ADB, the issuance underscores the robust demand for high -quality, sustainable investment opportunities in the Chinese bond market.
The Bank says the proceeds from this issuance will be instrumental in advancing their mission to foster economic growth and reduce poverty in the region.
The panda bonds are part the ADB's ongoing efforts to diversify its funding sources and tap into the growing pool of local currency capital in Asia and the Pacific.
The funds raised will be for a large or for other for a range of projects aimed at promoting inclusive and sustainable development for the ADB's members.
Coming up in sports, check teenager knocks off a tennis legend for the Miami open title.
It's 47 past the hour and turning to sports now.
Here is Yangguang. Thank you, Shane.
in tennis, Jacob Mencik has defeated his idol Novak Djokovic to win the Miami open.
The Czech teenager knocked off Djokovic in two sets to win his first Korea ATP title.
It's just a mess, I don't know to be honest, I don't know what to say.
It feels incredible obviously, you know.
It was probably my biggest day of my life and yeah, I did super which which I'm really glad of to show the performance and keep the nervous, you know, outside of the court before the match, so yeah I feel just super happy and I think that the feelings will come later.
Man6 victory means Djokovic has to wait for his 100th career title and a record 7th in the Miami Open.
And women's side world No. 1 Arina Sabalanka beat 4th seeded Jessica Pegula in straight sets, for her first the Miami Open title and rematch of the 2024 US Open final.
I'm super happy, it was very important win, very important title and I'm kind of like speechless right now to be honest it means a lot and it's very important one and I'm happy to finish hard court season before going to the clay on a big note.
The three -time Grand Slam champion had won the US Open over Pecula also in straight sets.
This is her second title of the season and her 19th career title.
In football action from the English FA Cup, Manchester City has come from behind to win 2 -1 at Bournemouth, and reach the semi -finals for the seventh consecutive season.
Manager Pep Guardiola emphasized heart, effort and commitment over tactics.
I said to the players guys, so our players, we cannot accept the performance in November because a lot of people come for five hours and fifteen hours, 30 minutes from Manchester to see our game.
And minimum is put our soul, our heart, our not tactics, football, people say tactics, yeah it's important but what we miss, what we miss this season it was hard, it was soul.
It was the desire that always we have done it for many, many years and this as a club, me as a manager is the most important thing to recover.
City will face Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi -final on April 26.
Elsewhere Marcus Rashford scored his first goal for Austin Villa to help his new team beat second -tier Preston 3 -0 and reached the semifinals for the first time since 2015.
Rashford has reignited his career at Villa since joining on loan from Manchester United last month.
He has just got back in the England squad starting the recent World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia.
Villa hasn't won a trophy since capturing the English League Cup in 1996.
They will face Crystal Palace in the semi -finals at Wembley Stadium.
Barcelona has re -established a three -point lead over Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish La Liga after beating Girona 4 -1.
Robert Lewandowski added to his leading tally with two second -half goals.
The Polish striker has scored nine goals in his last nine league games and has 25 goals in total in the competition, three more than Madrid's Kylian Mbappe.
He football coach Hensley Flick showed strong satisfaction.
For me, the important thing is that we win three points.
I'm happy about the match we played because you can see in the first half that she ran up and defended really well.
In the second half after the 1 -1 we came back I think the changes were good at this moment because I think also we had some players that are a little bit tired.
We changed them and it was good.
The decision was good.
and I'm really happy about how we made the goals and also the mentality we showed also.
On Saturday Real Madrid had moved the level on points with Barca with a 3 -2 victory over Leaknes at home.
Third place Atletico Madrid dropped nine points off the lead following a 1 -0 draw at Espanyol.
It was Barca's sixth win in a row in all competitions and 11th in its last 12 matches as the Felix team is yet to lose in 20 games this year with its last loss coming against the Atletico in December.
Girona is 13th place in the league standings.
And finally in the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers have defeated Los Angeles Clippers 127 -122 at home to reach 60 wins in the season for the first time since LeBron James was on the team.
Jared Allen led Cleveland with 25 points followed by Donovan Mitchell with 24 points.
Norman Powell scored the game of high 34 points for the LA Clippers.
The Cavs are 1st place in the Eastern Conference while the Clippers fall out of the top 6 in the West. The New York Knicks have clinched their 2nd consecutive victory beating the Portland Trail Blazers when 10 -93.
Mikail Bridges and OG Anonobi scored 28 points each for New York.
The Milwaukee Bucks have suffered their fourth defeat in a row losing to the Atlanta Hawks, won 45 -124.
In other action, the Golden State Warriors beat San Antonio Spurs, won 48 -106, the Houston Rockets beat the Phoenix Suns, won 48 -109.
And it's the Toronto Raptors of the Philadelphia 76ers, won 27 -109.
Alright, thank you very much. That was Yang Guang with sports.
Just ahead in culture and entertainment, cultural elements at China International Fashion Week in Beijing.
We're at 52 past the hour.
In culture and entertainment, a group of young models is taken the runway at the China International Fashion Week in Beijing, bringing tradition to the forefront, with a focus on showcasing intangible cultural heritage.
Designers reimagine traditional crafts such as meow badik and li su, garment making, seamlessly weaving age -old techniques into contemporary fashion.
Yang Ye reports. As the spotlight heats a group of young models from southwest China's Guizhou province.
Garments infused with rich elements of Intangible Cultural Heritage come to life, showcasing the beauty of Miao embroidery, Dong embroidery and Miao silver ornaments.
Through years of dedication, we have helped designers truly grasp the essence of China's intangible cultural heritage.
Their understanding of cultural heritage, traditional symbols, and raw materials has deepened significantly.
Miao Batik is a treasured, intangible cultural heritage craft in China.
Fashion creators have reimagined this technique through innovative applications of materials, patterns and colors.
For instance, they have integrated Miao bird totems into contemporary fashion structures, highlighting the elegance of traditional motifs in the modern context.
Drawing inspiration from the Lisu people's traditional garment making techniques, designers have also combined color, texture, and coloring to honor the past, while embracing the present.
This season, more than half of the participating brands and designers have incorporated elements of Chinese cultural aesthetics and intangible heritage craftsmanship into their collections, reimagining and rejuvenating these traditions.
That was Yong -Ya reporting.
Several top designers from across Africa have debuted at the 2025 Shanghai Fashion Week.
They displayed their autumn and winter collections at the event.
Wu Bin reports. More than 20 designers from 12 African countries have brought along their best collections with some exploring the deepest parts of their culture.
This designer, from Cameroon, tells us her fabrics represent a small kingdom in the country.
And I was really fortunate that I managed to get the authentic royal king's fabric from the Bamun kingdom.
It's called ndope. And it has symbols on it and every symbol tells a story.
You have the alligator that represents power.
You have the dots that represent continuity.
So very often African textiles tell stories.
Others have arrived with seemingly more modern designs.
We are hoping to potentially secure two, three, five stores, potentially to start the conversation and then obviously see like how culturally people relate to our brand.
Although this is their debut at the Shanghai Fashion Week, some of the designers have been to China before.
I've been looking forward to doing some coming back to China because I left in 2016, coming back to China and just doing something in China and just maintaining that relationship and that connection that I have with the country.
They're all very, very excited to be here and Shanghai Fashion Week being the fourth largest fashion week in the world.
We believe this is a great opportunity for them and also because China's consumer market is growing.
We are here to really help them to take advantage of this market and bring Africa to China.
That was Ubin reporting.
The China Science Fiction Convention has concluded at Shogang Park in Beijing.
The event attracted over 1 ,000 representatives from technology, science fiction, literature, film and television, and the industrial sector for more than 20 Chinese cities, along with over 60 foreign guests.
It featured over 30 activities, such as professional forums, competitions, industry promotions and public events, and the 2025 Beijing Science Fiction Carnival.
We're at 57 past the hour now, checking the forecast before we go for the day, and Beijing's down to 6 degrees Monday evening.
It'll be sunny in 20 on Tuesday.
Nansheng's at 8 overnight and then sunny in 20 elsewhere in Asia.
Islamabad's 12 overnight then sunny skies in 35 degrees.
Vientiane's at 21 this evening then overcast in 29 tomorrow.
Phnom Penh dips down to 25 and then a slight rainfall in 33 degrees.
In Africa, Nairobi is getting a slight rainfall in 25 on Tuesday.
Kampala's at 20 overnight and then a slight rain in 26 degrees.
Arjuba is down to 25 degrees and then a slight rain in 37.
Finally, to Oceania, Port Vilas 23 this evening then moderate rainfall in 31 degrees.
Apia will see moderate rain on Tuesday and 30 degrees Celsius.
That's it for this edition of The Beijing Hour, making news today.
China's embassy in Myanmar has confirmed the deaths of at least three Chinese nationals in the earthquake in Myanmar. Search and rescue is ongoing.
Washington's threatened Iran with bombs and if Tehran does not reach a new nuclear deal with the US.
On behalf of the staff this is Shane Begum 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.
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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 the 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 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 boatman 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 the time of digital transformation?
From 2021 to 2024 our reporters visited the upper middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River talk 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 or in our 12 -part series The Yellow River Mosaic available only on CGTN radio
