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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 Friday, October 17th, 2025.
You're listening to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
On today's program, global experts are exploring the future of smart mobility at the World Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference in Beijing.
The U.S. and Russian presidents have agreed to meet in Hungary for talks on the conflict in Ukraine.
Israel and Hamas are accusing each other of violating the ceasefire agreement as humanitarian aid slowly trickles into Gaza.
In business, the advanced manufacturing phase of the 138th Canton Fair.
In sports.
Olympic organizers have announced a theme for the opening of the Milan Cortina Winter Games.
In culture and entertainment.
Cultural commissioners are sparking a revival, a rural revival in Zhajiang Province.
Now check in the day's top stories.
The 2025 World Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference is underway in Beijing, bringing together global experts to explore the future of smart mobility.
The event has drawn around 1,000 participants from home and abroad.
Under the theme Pooling Wisdom Boundless Connectivity, discussions focus on AI integration, data governance, safety standards and real-world applications in the intelligent vehicle sector.
Officials say this year's conference marks a step forward in international cooperation, with foreign ministers and diplomats visiting Chinese auto firms and holding talks with the UK and Germany.
Key outcomes include plans for a national AI pilot base, a list of top 10 vehicle road coordination scenarios and new progress in the standardization of Intelligent Connected Vehicles, or ICVs.
China's ICV industry has grown rapidly during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, which ends this year, with over 60 of new passenger vehicles now equipped with advanced driver assistance systems.
Officials say Intelligent Connected Vehicles have become a strategic focus for transforming the global auto industry, and China is now among the world leaders in autonomous driving and smart vehicle technology.
At the World Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference, the future of driving is taking shape.
From real-time risk detection to AI-powered smart cockpits that help drivers stay alert, innovations on display are redefining how humans interact with machines on the road.
Aaron Leo takes us there to see how these cutting-edge developments are steering the global auto industry toward an intelligent new era.
The future of driving is happening right here at the 2025 World Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference.
So how exactly is AI taking the wheel to make our journeys smarter and safer?
Let's go find out.
Driving assistance systems are a prime example of artificial intelligence in action.
This car is equipped with 31 sensors, including cameras and radars.
When these sensors detect risks while driving, they send signals to the central processing unit within milliseconds.
This rapid response makes driving much safer.
AI is the engine behind the massive shift, turning cars from simple transport machines into intelligent, connected spaces.
This is most visible in two areas smart cockpits and smart driving and guiding every single advancement is one unwavering principle safety as the golden standard.
This is a 3D facial recognition camera designed to combat drowsy driving.
It helps on long trips or in challenging conditions like rain, by giving you a timely reminder to greatly improve your safety.
At the exhibition, the focus isn't only on the popular autonomous driving experience, but also on smart cockpit technology.
By interacting with the driver.
The smart cockpit helps combat fatigue and makes driving more comfortable.
According to experts, the adoption of driving assistance is accelerating rapidly in China, with a 61 penetration rate in new passenger cars from January to May 2025.
These platforms aid automakers with model training and simulation testing.
For example, in Suzhou, integrated data from vehicle tests and roadside collections is used to train simulation models and support the development of autonomous driving systems.
Zhao believes AI is empowering the auto industry's transformation, with intelligent connected vehicles leading the way.
That was Erin Liu reporting.
And for more.
Joe Fung spoke with Dr Liu Xiaoshan, Director of Embodied Artificial Intelligence, Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society.
Dr. Liu, we're talking about intelligent automotive technologies.
First of all, what impacts will these technologies bring to vehicle manufacturing and consumer experience?
Well, I think vehicle manufacturing is the pinnacle of modern industry.
The tradition is that Europe, US and Japan have been leading in the field.
But in the past few decades you can see that there are a lot of dark factories appearing in China, such that we are going into full mode automation.
I think at the current stage, because China has invested a lot into formal automation, We are at the stage that we can transition traditional automotive manufacturing into an automation stage, which will greatly cut the cost of automotive manufacturing.
That will bring another level of advantage to an already thriving Chinese car industry.
At the ongoing World Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference, Chinese scholars announced that their pilot programs have identified 10 key functional scenarios for the vehicle road cloud integration system.
They include traffic incident early warning and cooperative collision avoidance for vulnerable road users.
What do you make of these achievements?
That's a very interesting question because for the past two decades or so, because of the development of autonomous driving capability, people have moved the whole car industry into an autonomous vehicle industry, starting with level two, level three and gradually into level four level autonomous driving.
But then one concern people always have is how safe this is.
So vehicle-to-cloud or vehicle-to-road connection has been a proposal in the past decade or so.
Particularly in China, the development is very fast.
I think it's an alternative to further advance the security and safety of cars, because now gradually, we are deploying more and more cars with some level of automated driving capability.
But then also we see the news safety has always been a concern and public trust as well.
I think these 10 key functional scenarios would be a very good addition for the next phase of automotive development in China.
Now we only just get cars that are very intelligent, but on top of their intelligence we also have cars that have multiple levels of safety nets.
The first level is of course within the car itself, but then the second level is on the infrastructure.
So that will ensure China's automotive success in the next decades.
And also at the conference, China launched a pilot base for artificial intelligence in the field of automotive manufacturing.
It will focus on tackling technological bottlenecks and challenges faced by the automotive industry.
What's the significance of this?
Yeah, I think that the significance is that now we have a shared and common test bed, or test benchmarks everybody agrees on.
I think it's the first time.
My projection is that, for the very first time, there will be a Chinese standard in the automotive business.
That's a major standard suite in the sense that now you have an intelligent car and if you put the intelligent car through this testbed whether the intelligence comes from the car itself or whether the intelligence comes from the roadside infrastructure we now have a common agreement to test and verify how safe the vehicle is.
I think this is a major initiative to set the foundation for the next generation of intelligent vehicles.
That was Dr Liu Xiaoshan from the Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society, talking about the ongoing World Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference.
And coming up, the US and Russian presidents will have a face-to-face conversation about the conflict in Ukraine.
Across China, change is in motion.
How has the country's development transformed daily life, from city streets to rural homes?
Join us for a special series exploring how China's transformation is reshaping the everyday experiences of ordinary people from free trade zones to smart transportation.
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At 10 minutes past the hour, U.S.
President Donald Trump says you'll meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary for talks aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
And it follows a phone conversation between the two leaders.
I would say within two weeks or so, pretty quick.
Marco Rubio is going to be meeting with his counterpart, as you know Lavrov, and they'll be meeting pretty soon.
They're going to set up a a time and a place very shortly.
Kremlin's confirmed the upcoming meeting.
Russian presidential foreign affairs advisor, Yuri Ushakov, says the phone conversation was informative and frank.
The conversation was lengthy, lasting nearly two and a half hours.
The issue of possible supplies of long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine was also discussed.
Vladimir Putin reiterated his thesis that the Tomahawks will not change the situation on the battlefield, but will inflict significant damage to the relations between our countries, let alone the prospects for a peaceful settlement.
The phone conversation between Trump and Putin came ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the White House on Friday.
Zelensky's been seeking weapons that would allow Ukrainian forces to strike deeper into Russian territory.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says preparations are underway for the meeting between Trump and Putin.
Orban called the meeting great news for the peace-loving people of the world.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Siarto echoed Orban, calling the news fantastic.
And he said, the road to peace leads through negotiations and war cannot be solved on the battlefield.
A fierce fighting continues between Russia and Ukraine.
Russia's RIA Novosti says one of its correspondents died in a Ukrainian drone strike in the Zaporizhia region.
Emergency power outages were in place across almost all of Ukraine after Russian airstrikes on energy infrastructure.
Ukrainian officials say over 300 drones and missiles have disrupted the country's power in eight regions.
Meanwhile, the Russian Federal Security Service chief has accused the UK and Ukraine of planning to sabotage the TurkStream pipeline.
The TurkStream carries Russian gas to Turkey and countries in southeastern Europe.
And since January, it's been the only route for Russian gas supplies to Europe.
U.S.
President Donald Trump says Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to stop buying Russian oil.
However, New Delhi has not confirmed any such policy shift.
Indian officials say their energy decisions will be based on the interests of their citizens.
Meanwhile, Russia says it remains confident that its energy partnership with India will continue.
As Washington intensifies efforts to cut off Moscow's energy revenue.
Treasury Secretary Scott Besson says the US is also urging Japan to stop importing Russian energy.
Ravinder Bawa has more from New Delhi.
India said that ensuring stable energy prices and secured supplies have been the twin goals of New Delhi's energy policy.
The statement said that its import policies are guided entirely to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario.
Trump's claim has come amid ongoing talks for a trade deal.
Later this week, a team of officials from India will be visiting the US for further negotiations.
After several rounds of talks between the two sides, New Delhi has indicated a willingness to step up energy imports from the US, so it looks like energy purchases will increase in the coming days as discussions continue.
The statement said that, as far as the US is concerned, the current administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India.
Since the trade talks began, Washington has imposed 25 additional tariffs on India for purchasing oil from Russia.
So in talks later this week, these issues are likely to come up.
India's signal to increase energy purchases from the US is a strategic move.
This could actually help in thrashing out the sticking points when the two sides are across on the negotiating table.
That was Ravinder Bawa in India.
And for more, Ho Na spoke with Professor Zheng Xin from East China Normal University.
Professor Zheng.
So Putin told Trump that supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine would harm the peace process.
So what message is Putin conveying?
It seems to me that Russia is quite concerned with the possible delivery of long-range missiles such as Tomahawk from US to Ukraine.
Earlier on.
We have seen some messages from the Kremlin, from top Russian officials, that the delivery of such missiles, militarily or strategically, has no immediate impact on the battleground situation.
But now this call between Trump and Putin was actually initiated by the request from the Russian side.
And then President Putin's message to his U.S. counterpart is also very clear.
And he actually bothered to directly mention the Tom Holt delivery.
Those messages seem to counter what we have received from the kremlin up until very recently.
In the end it looks like the russian side is actually very concerned with such a delivery and also that indicate Any similar further delivery of weaponry military hardware of a similar nature may have some impact on not only the military side of the conflict but also the potential political side of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but as well as between the US and Russia.
On a bigger picture, Professor John.
The European Commission unveiled its 19th package of sanctions against Russia.
But divisions remain as Serbia, Hungary and Slovakia oppose the move.
So how will this impact the Russia-Ukraine peace talks?
That kind of division has been in place for a long time.
I would say even before the current round of Russia-Ukraine full-scale conflict has started.
And now I think all the major parties involved, uh european uh countries russia ukraine, uh united states as well are all very clear those kinds of divisions are going to be there for the foreseeable future.
So uh, that kind of division within europe, particularly among some of the central eastern european countries, are now taken as, i would say, a constant in any political solutions or political negotiations among these parties.
So it's not a fundamentally important new element in the political calculation of all major parties.
That was Professor Zhengxin from East China Normal University, talking about the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
And coming up, Israel and Hamas accuse each other of violating the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
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All right, 18 past the hour.
Hamas and Israel have traded accusations over truce violations.
Hamas says Israel has killed at least 24 people.
Israel has demanded Hamas return the bodies of 19 Israeli hostages that it's not handed over.
The Palestinian group has returned 10 bodies, but Israel says one was not that of a hostage.
Hamas says it remains committed to the Gaza agreement and handing over all of the remaining bodies, but it may take time, as some are buried under the rubble.
Jonathan Regev reports from Tel Aviv.
Israel says loud and clear nine hostage bodies, which is what Hamas delivered so far, is far, far less than what Israel was expecting.
Yes, perhaps Israel was not expecting 28, but certainly more than nine.
10 of the 19 hostage bodies which have not been delivered yet.
And Israel says that the only reason that Hamas is not doing this is not the lack of machinery or intelligence, as the other side is claiming, but due to some kind of a psychological warfare that Hamas is conducting.
And therefore, Israel is growing impatient at this time.
There's a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some top security officials wondering how to respond to what Israel sees as a breach by Hamas, what kind of sanctions Israel should impose on Hamas and what steps, which are written on the paper of the agreement Israel will currently not implement as to how many hostage bodies can be located.
It seems that a trust between the two sides is virtually impossible to create at this time.
That was Jonathan Regev reporting.
Israel has returned dozens more Palestinian bodies.
Gaza's health ministry says the remains of more than 30 Palestinians were handed over on Thursday, bringing the total to 120 this week.
The exchange is part of the ceasefire deal, under which Israel returns 15 Palestinian remains for every deceased Israeli hostage.
Health officials in Gaza say some of the bodies show signs of abuse.
Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Mustafa, has announced a five-year 67 billion plan to help rebuild Gaza and support its long-term recovery.
The program focuses on housing, infrastructure and social services and is divided into three phases.
It starts with a six-month emergency phase to address immediate needs, followed by a three-year reconstruction period, and concludes with a long-term rebuilding phase to restore Gaza for the future.
The Venezuelan ambassador to the UN's condemned U.S. military operations in Caribbean waters.
On Thursday, a U.S. strike on a small boat killed six people.
Ambassador Samuel Moncada called on the U.N.
Security Council to investigate what he called massacres, noting that there have been five lethal attacks and 27 reported deaths since the strikes began in September.
U.S. officials say the military is targeting suspected drug traffickers.
Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum denounced U.S. interference in Latin American affairs.
Bolivian President Luis Arce has condemned the US anti-narcotics operations as a cover for violating Venezuela's sovereignty.
He warned that escalating military actions could endanger peace and stability in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The U.S.
Senate's failed to advance a Republican bill to extend funding and end the government shutdown.
That means the ongoing political impasse will likely drag on into next week.
Jim Spellman reports from Washington.
There are 45.
Three-fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted in the affirmative.
The motion is not agreed to.
On Thursday, the U.S.
Senate voted for the 10th time on a Republican measure to open the federal government through November 21st, and for the 10th time, the measure failed.
After that vote, Senate Republicans put forth a defense funding bill to try to get Democrats on the record voting against funding the US military.
That measure also failed.
The issues remain the same.
Democrats want to negotiate over health care subsidies for millions of Americans before reopening the government.
And Republicans want Democrats to vote to reopen the government before negotiations take place.
We still have not heard crickets out of any negotiation with Johnson or with Thune.
The Republicans are on the defensive.
They keep changing their stories and changing their arguments.
But we are on the side of the American people.
John Thune, the Republican majority leader in the Senate, says he's offered to hold a vote on those subsidies if Democrats go along with reopening the government.
But he says he can't assure what the outcome will be.
And Democrats say that's not good enough.
And so today marks yet another day of American families feeling the very real personal and economic strain, this reckless decision that our democrat colleagues keep making.
They want the united states government to remain closed and they seem not to care about the pain that it's causing.
Meantime, the white house shows no sign of negotiating an end to the crisis.
Instead, president trump says he plans to make the shutdown as difficult as possible for democrats.
His administration has already cut or frozen more than 25 billion dollars for infrastructure projects in democratically controlled areas and moved to permanently fire about 4000 federal employees, and that number could rise to 10000.
But on Wednesday a court temporarily blocked those firings, so it's not clear whether they will go through.
And that was Jim Spellman in Washington.
The U.S.
Justice Department's indicted former National Security Advisor, John Bolton, on 18 counts for allegedly mishandling classified information.
It says the charges involve sharing and keeping national defense documents.
Bolton denies wrongdoing, calling the case political payback from President Donald Trump.
Trump responded by calling Bolton a bad person.
It's the third indictment of a high-profile Trump critic in less than a month, following charges against former FBI Director, James Comey, and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Bolton served as Trump's national security advisor in 2018 and 19, but he's long been one of Trump's sharpest critics, calling him unfit to be president.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu survived two confidence motions days after appointing his new government.
The votes followed Lecornu's decision to suspend a controversial pension reform, making a key political concession to stay in power.
Sarah Coates has more from Paris.
Prime Minister Sebastian Lacourneau has survived another day in his job, but to do that he had to make some pretty serious concessions, one of those being the pension reform plan.
He's put that on hold until at least the 2027 presidential election.
Now, what we need to remember about this pension reform plan that would raise the age of retirement from 62 to 64 is that it was a key policy of President Emmanuel Macron, a policy he was very proud of and a policy he says is absolutely necessary.
Now, this rollback, this freeze on the pension reform plan was a key demand of the Socialist Party to actually give Sebastian Le Corneau the support that he needed to get through, and he got it, not without a lot of backlash from opposition parties.
We heard the far left come out to criticize not just the socialists but also, of course, Le Corneau himself.
They said that he's on borrowed time, as is Emmanuel Macron, while the far right they said that it's a very sad day for our country that the working French people And pensioners will be fleeced so that a few deputies can cling onto their seat.
Huge challenges.
The number one task for Sebastian Le Corneau now.
He said he's got to get back to work and that is to focus on the 2026 budget.
It is very important that the next 70 days is used for members of parliament to look at this draft budget that's already been put forward, to debate this budget amended and then pass it before the end of the year.
We're going to be watching on extremely closely over the next couple of months to see what kind of compromises are made and just how this new government will get on, but it certainly uh, i do suspect will be a fairly rocky road.
That was sarah coates.
On the political crisis in france The United Nations has condemned Madagascar's military takeover, calling for a swift return to constitutional order.
Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged all parties to tackle the roots of instability.
Here is UN spokesperson Stefan Dujeric.
The Secretary General condemns the unconstitutional change of government power in Madagascar and calls for the return to constitutional order and the rule of law.
Madagascar's military leader says the recent power shift was not a coup, claiming that the nation's top court approved his appointment.
Colonel Michael Randrian-Narania has been sworn in as a transitional president and pledged elections within two years and a return to civil rule.
OUSA President, Andrei Radulina, has fled the country, reportedly traveling from the French island of Reunion to Dubai.
Business and daily life in Madagascar is showing signs of returning to normal, despite the recent political upheaval.
Markets are bustling and commerce is steadily rebounding.
Daniel Aratmoy has more from the capital.
A sense of cautious normalcy is returning to the streets and markets here in Madagascar, after weeks of protest brought commerce to a near standstill.
Shops are reopening and the vital flow of goods is resuming.
But this return to business comes with a significant new reality.
The military is now in charge.
Colonel Michael Randianirira, who took power, has moved quickly to assure citizens that stability is his primary goal.
I encourage ffkm to continue consultations with all the stakeholders so that we secure our country.
My actions will be based on the outcome of the consultations, for the good of our country and for many business owners exhausted by the protest in uncertainty, the calm is a welcome relief.
Yes, it's good we can work again, and I think that the protest was an eye-opener to the government to think more about the citizens and better their livelihoods.
But now, with basic stability returning, the conversation is quickly shifting from relief to expectations.
I want our interim president to create more jobs for us.
I am 73 years old and I need a good way to earn a living.
But look at me, old and still struggling.
While the immediate crisis has passed, there are questions about the military leadership and what it means for the future of the country's democracy and economy.
That was Daniel Aratmoy reporting.
We're at 29 past the hour now.
Beijing will be cloudy with a low of plus 4 Friday evening.
Saturday is cloudy and 11 degrees.
Jiukou will see downpours and 13 overnight, followed by overcast conditions and 17.
Shenyang will see heavy rainfall and 14 this evening, then overcast conditions and 15.
Nanchang is cloudy overnight, 22 degrees, followed by overcast skies and 25.
Elsewhere in Asia, Islamabad 16 this evening.
Saturday will be sunny in 31.
Vientiane will see a light rainfall in 24 degrees and then a light rain in 32.
Phnom Penh's heavy rainfall overnight, 26 degrees, followed by a light rain in 32.
In Africa, Nairobi is getting some rainfall in 26 on Saturday.
Kampala is getting moderate rains in 19 overnight, followed by a light rain in 26.
Juba will see moderate rainfall in 21 this evening, followed by a light rain in 32.
It's time for a short break.
So far this hour, global experts are exploring the future of smart mobility at the World Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference in Beijing.
The U.S. and Russian presidents have agreed to meet in Hungary for talks on the conflict in Ukraine.
Israel and Hamas are accusing each other of violating the ceasefire agreement as humanitarian aid slowly trickles into Gaza.
Shane Bigham with you.
Stay with us here on The Beijing Hour.
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What if those other heartbeats were to stop?
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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 Friday.
Still to come, in business, the advanced manufacturing phase of the 138th Canton Fair.
In sports.
Olympic organizers have announced a theme for the opening of the Milan Cortina Winter Games.
In culture and entertainment.
Cultural commissioners are sparking a rural revival in Zhejiang province.
To contact us, you can email radio at cgtn.com or follow our ex-account at cgtnradio.
But now checking the day's headlines, here's Tianlu.
Thank you, Shane.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has congratulated David Ardern on his re-election as president of Nauru.
President Xi highlighted the strong growth in China-Nauru relations since the two countries resumed diplomatic ties, noting that cooperation across multiple sectors has benefited both peoples.
He praised Ardern for upholding the one-China principle and expressed his commitment to working together to advance bilateral ties and bring further benefits to both nations.
Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi has met his Canadian counterpart in Beijing as the two countries mark 55 years of diplomatic ties.
Wang called for rebuilding trust and expanding cooperation in trade, investment and cultural exchanges.
Anita Anand reaffirmed Canada's support for the One China policy and stressed working with China on global governance.
Both sides agreed to use the anniversary to strengthen their strategic partnership and push China-Canada relations toward a stable, sustainable future.
China has expressed its readiness to implement a visa-free travel policy for Swedish nationals to further promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi made remarks during a meeting with his Swedish counterpart, Maria Molmer-Stenegaard, in Beijing.
He suggested the two countries uphold their positioning as partners rather than rivals, and adhere to the principles of cooperation.
Stenegard said she is pleased to be the first Swedish foreign minister to visit China in 16 years, saying Sweden attaches great importance to its relations with China.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama has passed away at the age of 101.
Murayama, who led Japan from 1994 to 1996, was best known for the landmark Murayama Statement, issued on the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.
In that statement he expressed deep remorse and heartfelt apology for Japan's wartime aggression and colonial rule.
After retiring from politics in 2000, Murayama continued to advocate for peace and reconciliation.
China has expressed deep condolences over the passing of Tomiichi Murayama, calling him a longtime friend of the Chinese people.
The country praised Murayama for his efforts to promote China-Japan friendship.
Beijing says the Murayama statement remains a solemn pledge that should be honored and upheld.
It is urging Japan to face history, follow a path of peace and work with China toward a stable, constructive relationship.
U.S.
President Donald Trump has said he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary for talks with the aim of ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
It came after a phone call between the two leaders.
Trump said they discussed the bilateral trade after the end of the conflict.
Meanwhile, a Kremlin aide described the phone call as extremely candid.
Yuri Yushakov said the Ukraine crisis was a key focus of the call, with Putin emphasizing Russia's commitment to resolving the crisis through political and diplomatic means.
He also said representatives from Russia and the US will begin to prepare for the summit between the two presidents.
Media reports say Afghanistan and Pakistan may hold talks in Doha.
Sources say an Afghan delegation is expected to travel to the Qatari capital in the near future to hold talks with the Pakistani side.
The discussions will reportedly include topics such as the possible extension of the current ceasefire agreement.
On Wednesday, Pakistan and Afghanistan issued separate statements announcing a truce after days of deadly cross-border clashes.
An International Monetary Fund official has urged Asian economies to boost growth by pivoting more toward domestic demand-driven growth and enhancing regional integration.
The director of IMF's Asia and Pacific Department said the region is highly dependent on external trade.
Krishna Srinivasan said there is always a silver lining, despite the downside risks stemming from trade uncertainty, debt-related vulnerabilities and other factors.
Thank you very much.
That's Tian Liu with Headlines.
Coming up in business, the advanced manufacturing phase of the 138th Canton Fair.
The Beijing Hour, your window on China and the rest of the world.
36 pass, and with business now, here's Wang Zihang.
Thank you, Shane.
Stock markets on the Chinese mainland closed lower on Friday.
The Shanghai Composite Index lost almost 2%, while the Shenzhen component plunged 3%.
The Hong Kong stock market closed lower, with the Hang Seng Index down by 2.5%.
Meantime, the Nikkei in Japan also fell by 1.4%.
The 138th Canton Fair is underway in the southern city of Guangzhou.
The first phase of the event is dedicated to advanced manufacturing, showcasing innovations across five key sectors, including electronics, home appliances and industrial manufacturing.
Zheng Sunwu visits the Hall of Service Robots and has this story.
As a premier platform for global trade.
The Canton Fair this year brings together more than 32000 enterprises.
Among their products, professional surface robots from the 46 high-tech enterprises were the most popular.
These surface robots can be used for cleaning tasks, medical care, coffee making, emergency missions and rehabilitation training, among other applications.
Global buyers were keen on a model offering massage surface.
It was an intelligent device that integrates AI with physical therapy techniques in traditional Chinese medicine, providing users with facial conditioning surface.
Very, very good, very good product.
It was very, very comfortable.
So I advise everyone who wants to buy it, it's a good, good product.
Thank you.
Yeah, very good, very good.
My son is a doctor in physiotherapy.
Uh, about this machine i want uh, very good yeah, thank you for you.
Yeah yeah, i think i think i want my one for my son.
The robot has been used in traditional chinese medicine clinics, health preservation centers and rehabilitation training centers.
Exoskeletons that help people to walk or climb mountains also attracted global buyers.
In the hall and i give it a shot too.
I feel like I'm having springs pushing me forward and I'm lifting 10 kilograms of water and I still feel easy to walk, to move around.
This exoskeleton weighs 2.4 kilograms and helps people save 35% in labor efficiency when used.
Its full battery usually lasts for four hours.
There are sensors and motors inside.
The sensors can detect the tiny electrical signals from your muscles.
So the signals can transfer to the PCB and the PCB controls the motors to give you a lift.
China has been the world's largest robot marketer for 12 consecutive years and is also the world's largest producer of robots.
As of now, there are over 930,000 robots related enterprises in the country.
In the first half of 2025, its production of service robots increased by 25 year-on-year, showcasing its vibrant industrial upgrading and development.
That was Zheng Sunwu at the ongoing Canton Fair in Guangzhou.
Moving to Beijing, where innovators from around the world are gathering for this year's Haiku Global Entrepreneurs Summit.
The three-day event promotes technological innovation, global collaboration and youth empowerment.
Chris Sun is the Labour and Welfare Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Clearly Haiku will be a great event for talent from all over the world.
As you can see from the participants in this great event, there is a very close collaboration between Hong Kong and Beijing.
Last year we held the first international global talent summit in Hong Kong, where we received a very warm support from Beijing.
We believe with the huge talent pool here in Beijing and also all the policy support, plus the one country, two systems advantage of Hong Kong, we're going to create a much greater synergy through closer collaboration between Hong Kong and Beijing.
So we look forward to a lot more achievement in the years to come.
Nobel laureate Barry J. Marshall is a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Beijing's business environment is very impressive and complete for the Haiku conference, especially to show this.
But we have been looking with our group BVI Labs at the Dashing area, the new Dashing Science Park.
There's not just labs, but the people there and supportive people.
So administrators, intellectual property business, people who can help raise funding for new projects.
So that's what I love to see.
The summit will launch a number of initiatives, including the International Advanced Laser Alliance, which organisers say is expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors, more than 1000 investment institutions and over 500 high-tech firms.
The Chinese capital is set to host the annual Financial Street Forum later this month.
The event focuses on global financial development and international economic cooperation.
Youyang previews the event.
Under the theme of global financial development in the era of innovation, transformation and restructuring, this financial street forum is expected to attract more than 400 international guests from 30 countries and regions when it gets underway, October 27th.
This year's forum will include a main forum, parallel forums, FinTech conference and other activities.
The main and parallel forums will feature 27 thematic events and six investment and financing matchmaking sessions, while the FinTech conference will host 11 events.
Overseas event sub-vanues will be set up in South America, Europe, the Middle East and beyond.
The financial street forum has been adhering to one idea that the event is not only a Chinese forum, but also a world gathering.
To uphold this idea, we have kept promoting the influence of the forum on the global stage.
In fact, we have been setting up overseas subvenues since 2021.
After years of development, we've seen the expansion of our overseas subvenues to more areas.
Founded in 2012, the forum is seen as a barometer of China's financial industry.
It's jointly organized by the Beijing Municipal People's Government, the People's Bank of China and other financial regulators.
I'm a reporter with CGTN.
My question is for the People's Bank of China.
What work has the bank done to strengthen Beijing as a national financial management center and to support the high-quality developments of Beijing's economy and finance?
The People's Bank of China has put efforts in three areas.
Those include providing financial supports to Beijing's technology enterprises and improving financial services for the development of the real economy.
As Beijing harbors many multinational enterprises, the People's Bank of China also works with other organizations to optimize financial services for these multinational corporations.
The forum runs for four days and the organisers say the event aims to safeguard free trade, promotes a stable, fair international economic and financial order, while injecting new impetus into the development of the world's economy.
That was Youyang on the upcoming Financial Street Forum in Beijing.
This year's World Internet Conference, the Wuzhen Summit, will run from November 6 to 9 in Zhejiang Province.
Organisers announced the theme on Friday Building a Shared Future in Cyberspace, with a focus on openness inclusiveness, security and smart technologies.
The summit will feature Hangzhou's leading AI firms, referred to as the Six AI Dragon Companies, such as DeepSeek and Unitree, who will share their vision for advancing artificial intelligence.
Beyond AI, key topics will include the future of e-commerce and the digitalization of cultural heritage.
The US Chamber of Commerce has filed a lawsuit against US President Donald Trump's new 100000 fee on H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers.
The chamber, which represents 300000 businesses, says the fee announced in September is beyond the president's authority and could drive many companies away from the visa program.
This marks the chamber's first legal challenge since Trump began his second term in January.
And finally, gold prices have extended their record-breaking rally, surpassing 4300 per ounce on Friday.
The precious metal is set for its strongest weekly gain since the year 2008, as geopolitical tensions push investors towards safe haven assets.
Analysts say the momentum reflects investors' fear of prolonged global instability and a weaker dollar outlook.
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47 passed in turning to sports.
Here's Yang Guang.
Thank you, Shane.
The organizers of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics have unveiled concepts for the game's opening ceremony.
Producer Marco Balic says Armonia, meaning harmony in Italian, will serve as the guiding theme of the show.
The opening ceremony stems from a simple word harmony, from the Greek harmonia, which means to bring together.
To bring together different elements and consonants referring to musical terms.
It perfectly captures the spirit of this ceremony. but also of this edition of the games in general.
Why?
Because, first of all, there are two territories, Milan and Cortina, hence city and mountains.
So extending the metaphor.
It becomes a dialogue between man and nature, the harmony between man and nature which is ultimately the recipe for the survival of this continent.
Organisers say the concept will weave together imagination and beauty, inspired by inventors including Leonardo da Vinci, along with Italian design, music and elegance.
The event will highlight Italian talent in all its forms.
Organisers have also revealed some other details of the opening ceremony.
Hermione Kitzen reports from Rome.
With less than four months until the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games, organisers have revealed details about the opening ceremony.
The main venue on February 6th will be Milan's historic San Siro Stadium, and the theme of the event will be harmony.
The director of ceremony says it will explore Italy's sporting and cultural heritage.
This story must guarantee the pride of Italians in watching it.
We will have to ensure that we recount our territories, recount the value of sport, the value of Italy.
The CEO of the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation says the opening ceremony will reflect the concept of diffusion, where events will be held across multiple regions.
For the first time in history, we have decided to hold ceremonies into locations.
What does this mean?
It means, first of all, that for the first time, the name of our games includes two cities.
Milan and Cortina.
This automatically gives us a moral obligation to hold the most significant ceremonial events twice.
But of course there are many events to look forward to before the opening ceremony.
The Olympic torch will officially arrive here in Rome on the 4th of December, and the torch relay will commence on the 6th of December.
The symbolic flame will travel 12,000 kilometers and stop in 60 different cities.
It will arrive in Cortina on January 26th, exactly 70 years after the opening ceremony of Italy's first ever Winter Olympics in 1956.
The torch will then complete its journey in Milan.
And when the Games are complete.
The closing ceremony will be held at the Ancient Arena in Verona on February 22.
So the event will showcase a lot of Italy, and there is still a lot to organise, but final preparations are underway.
That was Hermione Kitson reporting.
The opening ceremony is set for February 6th at the San Siro Stadium in Milan.
There will be two Olympic quadrants for the first time, one in Milan and the other in Cortina.
The games run until February 22nd.
Greek water polo player, Elina Zenaki, will serve as the final torchbearer on Greek soil for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
She will carry the flame at the closing stage of the handover ceremony on December 4th.
Senaki will deliver the flame before it is passed to the Italian organizers of the Games.
Greek alpine skier Alexandros Ginis will begin the torch relay following the flame lighting ceremony on November 26 in Ancient Olympia.
The Olympic torch relay will span 2200 kilometers across Greece before concluding at the Panathenaic Stadium.
In tennis, Ekaterina Aleksandrova has east-passed Yuan Yue in street sets in the round of 16 at the WTA Ningbo Open in East China.
She will next face McCartney Kessler in the quarterfinals.
Yuan has reflected on her poor form.
In the past two to three months, I didn't get the points I had expected.
But I'm really proud of my consistent performance during this period of time.
So I hope I can be more objective with myself.
I know I keep telling myself to ignore the results, but it's very difficult for me to not feel stressed.
But I hope I can be more objective and deal with my merits and weaknesses with a more positive mindset.
In another match, Ilina Rybakina reached the quarterfinals with a victory over Diana Jastrzemska.
She will next face Ayla Tomljanovic in the last eight.
On the men's side, defending champion Yannick Sinha advanced to the final of this year's Six Kings Slam exhibition tennis tournament after defeating Novak Djokovic in street sets in Saudi Arabia.
Sinha will face world number one Carlos Alcaraz in the final for the second year in a row.
Playing against Novak is always so, so difficult.
Good that I had already won one match under my belt, so I knew a little bit the situation and the conditions, how they are on the court, which for sure helped me today.
But yeah, I was serving very well, especially in important moments and yeah, happy about today's performance.
The final on Saturday also marks the first meeting between Cena and Alcaraz. since this year's U.S.
Open final.
Djokovic and Telefritz will also meet on the same day in the third place playoff.
All right, thank you very much.
That's Yang Guang with sports.
Coming up in culture and entertainment.
Cultural commissioners are sparking a rural revival in Zhejiang province.
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.
53 minutes past the hour.
In culture and entertainment.
Zhejiang has been sending experts in education, art and design to villages across the province through a cultural commissioner system.
It's pioneered since May of last year.
The movie has made the eastern Chinese province a demonstration zone for prosperity in wealth and culture.
Yang Yan reports.
In Qingshan village of Hangzhou city.
Cultural commissioner Wang Hui treated the career as a TV host for village life.
He saw a gap between new residents, artists and designers, and long-time villagers.
The solution was the Qingshan Talk monthly gatherings where people share stories on nature, art and traditions.
This mode of co-creation has proved remarkably effective, as the local cultural events are more lively and engaging.
It allows newcomers to see fresh possibilities in design and creative industries.
In Jinhua City's Zhengdian Village, Cultural Commissioner Zhou Yue is helping revive Wu Opera.
Once the pride of the community, the local operatic tradition now struggles to attract young audiences.
By combining immersive role-play games with village tourism, she has breathed new life into the stage tradition.
Since I studied the literature in college, I came up with the idea of combining the opera tradition with role-playing games and tourism.
Since didn't favor the proposal.
But here it works rather well and visitors can immerse themselves in village life.
Apart from design and the theater land, Zhejiang's cultural commissioners are also delving into archaeology, photography and video production.
As culture takes root in villages, communities begin to flourish by blending tradition with creativity.
And, with the cultural commissioner initiative well on the way, Zhejiang is proving that China's rural revitalization can benefit as much from cultural heritage as it has from economic growth.
That was Yang Yan reporting.
The 12th Wujian Theatre Festival is opened.
It's attracted hundreds of thousands of theatre fans to the town and Zhejiang province.
The festival this year features 25 plays from 10 countries and regions.
It also includes dialogues, theatre workshops, reading sessions and outdoor carnivals.
The festival runs until October 26th.
Chinese dance drama Tian Gong Kai Wu, inspired by an ancient classic of the same title, will launch its global tour soon.
The drama will be at the Sydney Opera House on October 25th and in Athens from November 28th to 30th.
Tian Gong Kai Wu, or The Exploitation of the Works of Nature, is a book first published in 1637.
It offers a summary of manufacturing and farming techniques in ancient China.
The book is recognized as an encyclopedia of science and technology.
The dance drama revolves around the quest of Song Yingxing, the book's writer.
It portrays his journey to gather the techniques and tools featuring the craftsmanship of ancient Chinese people.
The drama is toured nationwide, visiting nearly 30 Chinese cities with about 100 shows and attracting over 100000 people.
An old street in South China has held a runway show blending Chinese paper cutting art with modern market trends.
The event on Qilou Old Street in Hainan aims to showcase local intangible cultural heritage to a wider audience.
The show incorporated elements of traditional paper cutting techniques into the designs of 100 outfits.
They not only featured traditional Chinese symbols such as dragons, phoenix and flowers, but also local island elements.
Designers say they hope to enable more people to witness the charm of Chinese paper cutting in everyday settings.
They also plan to organize international tours, exhibitions, and cultural exchange activities.
57 minutes past the hour.
Checking the forecast before we go on this Friday.
And Beijing will be cloudy with a low of 4 this evening.
It's cloudy and 11 on Saturday.
Zhukou will see downpours in 13 overnight, then overcast conditions in 17.
Shenyang will see heavy rainfall overnight, 14 degrees Celsius, then overcast in 15.
Nanchang's cloudy this evening in 22 degrees, followed by overcast skies in 25.
Elsa in Asia, Islamabad's down to 16 overnight, then sunny in 31 degrees on Saturday.
Vientiane will see a light rainfall in 24 tonight, then more rain in 32 degrees.
And that's it for this edition of the Beijing Hour.
Making news today, global experts are exploring the future of smart mobility at the World Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference in Beijing.
The US and Russian presidents have agreed to meet in Hungary for talks regarding the conflict in Ukraine.
On behalf of the staff, 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.
Find The Beijing Hour at precisely 6 p.m.
Beijing time.
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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 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.
