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This is the Beijing Hour, Examining the events that impact and shape China and the rest of the world.
This is the Beijing Hour, one hour of news and information brought to you every weekday.
Now here's your host.
Shane Begum with you on this Thursday, October 30th, 2025.
You're listening to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
On today's program.
The Chinese and US presidents have met in South Korea and agreed that better relations will benefit both countries and the world.
China is targeting Friday for the launch of the Shenzhou 21 mission to the Tiangong space station, and Hurricane Melissa has killed at least 25 people in Haiti as it carved a path of destruction on the island.
In business.
The annual Financial Street Forum in Beijing has released its research findings and achievements.
In sports, League Cup results for European football.
In culture and entertainment, immersive entertainment at the Wujian Theatre Festival.
Now the day's top stories.
Chinese President Xi Jinping says dialogue is better than confrontation, and China and the United States should be partners and friends.
President Xi has held talks with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump in South Korea.
The Chinese president said.
As heads of state, both leaders should stay on the right course and ensure the steady advancement of relations.
He pledged to work with President Trump to solidify the foundation of bilateral ties and create a good environment for the two countries' development.
I'm very happy to meet with President Trump.
Since your re-election, we've spoken on the phone three times and exchanged messages many times.
Under our guidance, China-US relations have largely remained stable.
A few days ago, trade delegations from our two countries held a new round of consultations in Kuala Lumpur and reached consensus on resolving issues of concern.
It also set up conditions for our meeting today.
China and the US have different national conditions, so it's common to have some differences.
As the world's two largest economies, it's normal to have some frictions from time to time.
In the face of challenges, I and Mr President standing at the helm, should lead the direction and steer the overall situation for the Chinese ship of China-EU relations to sail steadily.
Xi Jinping said China's been improving itself and sharing opportunities with the world and never intended to challenge or replace any other country.
He reaffirmed China's further deepening of reforms and opening up, which will make bigger room for China-US cooperation.
President Xi urged trade teams to turn consensus from recent consultations into results to bring stability to the economy.
He said trade should be an accelerator of China-US relations and both sides should look to the future for cooperation benefits.
The Chinese leader said the two countries can shoulder major country responsibilities and work together for outcomes that will benefit the world.
President Donald Trump said China-US relations will become better and expressed belief that the two countries will achieve more results through cooperation.
Very, very distinguished and respected.
President of China, and we will be having some discussions.
We've already agreed to a lot of things, and we'll agree to some more right now.
But President Xi is a great leader, a great country and I think we're going to have a fantastic relationship, for The US president said he looks forward to visiting China early next year and invited President Xi Jinping to the United States.
In his opening remarks, President Xi said China's development and revitalization works with President Donald Trump's vision to make America great again.
We asked Associate Professor Wang Shinsong at the School of Government at Beijing Normal University about his understanding and how China's growth relates to America.
You rightly pointed out that many of the issues behind the MAGA movement are domestic social, political and economic issues.
Economically, you do have many corners of the American society and some of the American states and local counties having problems of being more engaged in globalization and global trade.
But that's exactly where collaboration between China and the US is helpful, because China has a very large market that can accommodate many of the exports from the American both manufacturing and agricultural sectors.
And, as you can tell, over the past few months the issue of purchasing American agricultural products like soybean has been a controversial issue.
Behind that obviously, China is a very large market.
That can be very helpful to American farmers, who are an important part of the support for the MAGA movement.
But overall, I think what President Xi Jinping refers to the fact that China is is helpful of the President Trump's MAGA movement is that both countries have their own unique problems.
And I think both country governments need to respect each other's solutions, measures and ways of going out of those challenges.
That was Professor Wang Shinsong on the benefits of good China-U.S. ties.
China's Commerce Ministry says agreements reached with the US delegation from recent trade talks in Malaysia include tariffs, export controls and the 301 investigation.
The United States will remove the 10 fentanyl tariff and pause the 24 duties on Chinese imports for a year, and China will adjust its countermeasures accordingly.
Both countries will suspend recently announced export controls for one year.
Washington will also halt the implementation of measures under the Section 301 investigation targeting China's maritime logistics and shipbuilding industries, and China will suspend its countermeasures.
Negotiation teams also reached consensus on cooperation on the crackdown on drug crimes and expanding agricultural trade.
China's Commerce Ministry said the positive outcomes from Kuala Lumpur shows that the two countries can find solutions through dialogue.
China said it hopes to work with the United States to implement the agreements.
The world is watching closely as the world's two largest economies try to navigate their differences and rebuild consensus.
American Chamber of Commerce and China President Michael Hart has cited APEC's role in strengthening dialogue and reaffirmed his confidence in the Chinese market.
We talked to our members.
They do continue to see opportunity in China because of the size of the market, because of the innovation.
It's a competitive market, but it's an interesting market.
There's a lot of innovation going on here.
And so our members are committed to being in China because they see the opportunity.
One from everything from manufacturing, but also to deliver to their customers and to collaborate with partners.
We continue to believe that there is an opportunity for American companies here.
We continue to believe that trade and business is a very important balance to the relationship.
And so we're going to continue to be here with our companies and be committed, as long as the opportunity exists, to trade and work in China, appreciate the ability to sit down with Chinese regulators.
For example, fairly regular meetings with MOFCOM, Ministry of Finance.
It's important to have those conversations to make sure that number one, we do understand the rules and the openings, and then also to give feedback, sometimes when the system's not working.
And so certainly our companies appreciate both the size of the market but the ability to talk to the government.
I'm sure you know, each year we have a business climate survey where we share with the government.
Here's what our companies are thinking.
We also present our annual white paper where we say our companies have given feedback sector by sector.
And here's some areas that we'd like to see some adjustments or to see some opportunities or for clarifications.
And so those opportunities to talk to the government that MGM China brings to our members is critical for us and for confidence and for the opportunity to continue to grow and expand.
That was the AmCham China president.
Following the meeting with U.S.
President, Donald Trump, President Xi Jinping will attend the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Zhengzhou and pay a state visit to South Korea on Friday and Saturday.
I earlier spoke with reporter Lee Zhengzhou of the Korea Herald about the event.
What are the expectations within South Korea for the APEC meeting?
There's lots of expectations, primarily focused on trade talks and regional security, spanning especially in the political sphere.
For example, this is already finalized, but there was a very long awaited tariff agreement that got negotiated between Seoul and Washington.
The US and China summit also happened today, where they confronted a range of issues, such as export controls on advanced semiconductors, rare earth exports, as well as discussions on the unresolved US-China tariff war.
Um xi jinping and south korean president lee jamie are also scheduled to meet on saturday so that they can address issues related to north korea as well as bilateral economic cooperation.
So at the end, the Korean government is aiming to produce what they call Gyeongju Declaration to wrap up the summit.
And this will focus on digital innovation, demographic changes and supply chain resilience.
Well, please walk us through the agenda for Friday.
Friday is actually when the official meetings for APEC member states leaders are expected to take off.
The leaders of 21 Asia Pacific economies will gather and they will focus on issues related to economic challenges, including digital innovation, demographic shifts and supply chain resilience.
That was Lee Jung-joo at the Korea Herald.
Shipbuildings emerging as a new area of cooperation amid expanding trade between China and APEC economies.
ABIRAN learns about a landmark deal between China and Canada that showcases how green technology and Renminbi settlement are transforming APEC's maritime development.
Shipbuilding has become a prime example of China's leading high technology export strength, particularly across the Asia-Pacific region.
From technology upgrades to new financing models, China's state shipbuilding cooperation is helping chart the course of maritime growth across this region.
In August this year, the world's largest independent container ship owner, Canada Seas Bank Corporation, signed a contract with Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding in Shanghai for the construction of 12 9000 TEU container vessels.
The outer was designed for conventional view and completed under a cross water RMB settlement.
The 12 vessels were built at the site behind me and mark a fresh milestone in China-Canada maritime cooperation.
Amid the rising demand and environmental pressure.
C-SPAN's partnerships with more and more Chinese groups, such as CSSC, not only reflects its business strategy, but a shared commitment to Asia-Pacific prosperity and stability.
Globally.
Houdong Zhonghua has continuously pursued technological breakthroughs, such as its fifth-generation LNG carriers, which features the world's best cargo capacity ratio and are capable of transporting larger volumes of liquefied natural gas.
And its products are exported to diverse markets such as UAE Singapore, Brazil and countries across Europe.
A Singapore-based shipowner owns the vessel and has an LNG carrying capacity of about 174000 cubic meters.
Its Invar-type containment system has been successfully localized, marking a key milestone in China's domestic LNG technology development.
In fact, over the past year, CISBEN has continued to expand its cooperation with Chinese shipyards, moving from 13600 TEU vessels to 9000 TEU orders.
Our design is fully tailored to the customer's requirements, from scale and energy efficiency to environmental performance.
And the project also benefits from a preferential loan rate, reflecting strong financial support.
China's foreign trade with other APEC economies reached 1941 trillion yuan in the first three quarters of 2025.
High-tech products continue to drive this growth, with China's imports and exports of high-tech goods both exceeding 2 trillion yuan.
Economic cooperation remains a cornerstone of the China-APAC countries partnership.
That was Bi Ren reporting.
Coming up, China targets Friday for the launch of the Shenzhou 21 mission.
European carmakers are facing the risk of production stoppage as a result of the Dutch government's abrupt seizure of chip company Nexperia from its Chinese owner.
This week we dive into one of the most dramatic business clashes unfolding in Europe to find out what's behind the next period drama.
Has the Netherlands overplayed its hand?
Who ultimately stands to lose the most?
And what does it mean for Europe's industries?
Join us at the chat lounge, wherever you get your podcasts, and on CGTN Radio.
14 minutes past the hour.
China's targeting Friday night to launch the Shenzhou-21 mission to the Tiangong Space Station.
Astronauts Zhang Lu Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzheng will take off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China.
Commander Zhang Lu was part of the Shenzhou-15 mission in 2022.
After two years' time, on behalf of our motherland, we could finally march on the space journey for the Shenzhou 21 mission.
I'm truly looking forward to it.
Since the end of Shenzhou 15 mission, I've always been diving into the highly intense training as a student.
I learned aggressively, for example.
The underwater training is very important and inevitable pathway for us to enter into the space.
With the strong waves against my back, I will be reminded about to those supporters behind me.
So I insisted on there.
Here I would love to give my gratitude to all my crew members and all those staff in the space sector.
Over the years, I have shared with the children in love with space about my experience, hoping that those people would also grow up with a strong sense of mission for the space.
They aspire to enter into the space.
So the aerospace mission should be passed on for generations to come.
32-year-old Wu Fei will serve as flight engineer, while Zhang Hongzheng is the mission's payload expert.
I was ready to respond to those extreme challenges in the extreme environment.
I never slack.
I know that only when I did everything with perfectness can I honor my commitment to the space mission.
I believe in one word.
The more efforts I make, the luckier I will be to be part of the glorious space mission of our motherland.
That's the luck on me bestowed by this era.
So I have to pay back to that luck.
I will never fail this era and my motherland.
Hello, everyone.
I am Zhang Hongzhang, a techonaut.
I'm honored to be the Shenzhou 21 crew member.
When I was young, I had a dream.
Just like the older generation of scientists, like Qian Xuesen, I hope to change my destiny with knowledge and empower my nation with technologies.
And then I fulfilled my commitment to be a researcher.
I studied new materials and new energy.
I deeply feel the charm of scientific exploration.
And I am more convinced about my glorious dream of returning to the motherland with technologies.
Years ago, when I heard about the news of selecting the new member, I was lighted up by that call.
Becoming an expert in this field not only means that my dream of scientific exploration will be in match with the space mission.
It also means that we will echo the call of this era.
The crew will take two female and two male mice into orbit.
Zheng Jingbo from the China Manned Space Agency introduces other major tasks.
This mission marks the sixth crewed flight during the application and development phase of China's space station and the 37th flight under the country's manned space program.
The main objectives are to complete an in-orbit crew rotation with the Shenzhou 20 crew, stay in orbit for about six months, carry out space science and application experiments, conduct extravehicular activities and cargo transfer operations, as well as install space protection devices and perform the installation and retrieval of payloads and facilities outside the station.
After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-21 crewed spacecraft will adopt an autonomous rapid rendezvous and docking procedure, docking with the forward port of the core module approximately six and a half hours after liftoff.
China's Manned Space Agency also announced that two Pakistani astronauts will train alongside their Chinese counterparts and one will join a short space flight as a payload specialist.
Guangzhou staged a lightened drone show on Wednesday to mark the 10-day countdown to the national games in the Greater Bay Area.
Fourteen cities in Guangdong Province on the mainland, along with Hong Kong and Macau, will host the sports gathering starting from November 9th.
The two special administrative regions are hosting the event for the first time as part of their efforts for integrated development.
The Greater Bay Area in southern China will be a gateway for opening up and an engine for development under the 15th Five-Year Plan.
Do Hongyu spoke with Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
First, how does the one country, two systems policy create unique advantages for the development of the Greater Bay Area?
Well, i think that's a one country, two system is a kind of promises that we have given the world, our promises for at least 50 years.
I think it's a pretty long time for us to have a better expectation about the market.
One country means that all the sovereignty are based on just the one country.
We are the huge market so we can integrate our resources in different regions and if the investors come to here to invest in the great bay areas, they can benefit from these potentials of the great market in china.
And the two systems are are very important flexibilities for trying to touch and explore different directions.
That's how hong kong they are really are as a capital intensive and they are also knowledge intensive place.
As for macau, they are really good at some technology.
So if we are trying to extend their arenas in different directions, that will have a lot of benefits for the different investors in different sectors when they are coming here in the Greater Bay Area.
So the one country, two systems are giving us sustainability and also the innovative ways of doing businesses in the coming years.
And how can the Greater Bay Area strengthen its role as a key growth engine to support China's transition toward high-quality development?
Well, we know that Guangdong is actually one of the frontier for the opening for China.
In Guangdong, many cities are really famous.
They are really famous because they are the pioneers for the opening and the discovery of the new practices.
Like for this area, I think it's a really interesting thing for us to look at the future.
When we are seeing, the world is under some change.
The change hasn't happened for so many years, foreseeing a lot of impact from artificial intelligence.
We are foreseeing many of the change on the multilateral system and the rules.
Actually, the Great Bay Area is a kind of a place that we can discuss about the possibilities so they are able to support the this kind of change by its supply chain and industrial chains, and also the people there are really are open-minded.
So the collaboration between the different resources, including the capital, the land and also the knowledge of the people, are really are have a better place for integrated.
So I think that Great Bay Area is also a good place for us to discuss about the regional integration.
For these nine cities and the two special administration regions.
They are trying to connect not only for infrastructure, they're also trying to have a better software links and this kind of practices can be borrowed in other areas of china to promote the regional integration and have a better, higher quality of development in the future.
I was Joe Mi with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
Coming up.
Hurricane Melissa has killed at least 25 people in Haiti.
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We're at 22 minutes past the hour.
Hurricane Melissa has killed at least 25 people in Haiti.
Officials said the majority of the victims were from a southern coastal town where the storm destroyed 80 homes.
One resident lost all four of his children, with the youngest being only a month old.
The Bahamas is next in Melissa's path.
Residents who evacuated from the southern islands have arrived in the capital now.
The hurricane earlier tore through Jamaica and Cuba as one of the strongest on record.
People in eastern Cuba have begun clearing debris and assessing the damage after officials reported collapsed houses and blocked mountain roads.
Luis Chirino has more about the response.
Hurricane Melissa made landfall on the southeastern coast near Santiago de Cuba, the country's second largest city, in the early hours of Wednesday, after ravaging Jamaica as a Category 5 storm.
Cubans who have experience facing hurricanes, activated safety and prevention steps, including the evacuation of more than 700000 citizens to safe places.
Given a couple of days to prepare.
Cuban authorities alerted the island about the huge threat posed by the major storm and asked people to seek shelter.
It's a hurricane considered to be the strongest to have hit our national territory.
We have taken all precautionary measures and there is considerable experience in our country to face this phenomenon and later to start the recovery from the damage inflicted.
According to initial local media reports, the storm, which hit Cuba as a Category 2 hurricane, flooded agricultural areas, knocked out the power grid and telephone infrastructure, as well as destroyed homes, although the total damage will be assessed over the next few days.
Heavy rains have caused flash flooding in many locations.
The storm weakened as it churned across Cuba and headed toward the Bahamas and Bermuda, but not before inflicting a lot of damage.
In a televised address, President Díaz-Canel said there would be a lot of work to do.
On an island already coping with severe economic crisis.
That was Luis Chirino on the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa in Cuba.
A tropical cyclones expert says global warming is making storm surges more dangerous.
Michael Bell explains the heat is the main source of power for hurricanes.
Hurricanes form by extracting heat from the ocean and converting that into strong winds and rain, basically like an engine of a car.
In the same way that when wind blows by you, it can take heat off of your body through evaporation, the same thing happens over the ocean.
And then they can concentrate that energy into the swirling winds that then expand and grow as they travel across the ocean.
Bell said global warming has made storms stronger and more frequent.
With global warming, we're putting a tremendous amount of heat into the oceans, which is the fuel that powers hurricanes.
So one of the impacts that we see with increased global warming is sea level rise.
That can contribute to enhanced storm surge from hurricanes.
We also have seen in recent years a trend for more storms that are rapidly intensifying than in prior years.
The scale for storms ranges from category 1 to 5 and it's based on wind speed.
But scientists warn that even lower category storms can still cause catastrophic flooding and storm surge.
The leader of a Dutch centre-left alliance has quit in response to an exit poll in the Netherlands election.
Frans Timmermans said it was time for him to step back as head of the GroenLinks PVDA.
As the poll predicted, the party will lose five seats to hold 20 in the 150-seat House of Representatives.
The D66 party is narrowly ahead of Geert Wilders' party, which is projected to lose 12 seats to finish at 25.
William Denslow is following the developments at The Hague potential sea change in the Dutch political landscape.
It was two years ago that Geert Wilders' PVB party surged in the polls, securing a historic win for his anti-Islam, anti-immigration party.
Two years on, and after the collapse of a coalition that Wilders featured in prominently.
Well, this time around, it seems that Geert Wilders' PVB has lost in the polls dramatically.
They've lost, it seems, the number one spot.
According to exit polls, the replacement the D66 Liberal Party.
They now have the first opportunity to try and join and form a coalition of government.
The real question is will that be a centre-left coalition coalition, or will that then be to fall to the center-right?
This group here, the bvd, the party, the center-right party that used to be, of course, synonymous with mark ruta, the nato secretary general, who served as prime minister for 14 years more than any other Dutch leader in the past, they are still optimistic, and those here are very optimistic, that a centre-right coalition can be formed.
It was an incredibly tight election.
Issues that dominated the minds of voters the cost of living, the housing crisis here in the country and again, immigration.
Now the huge test remains whether there is the political capital from any of these parties to come together and form a coalition.
They'll be absolutely vital.
I was William Denslow on preliminary election results in the Netherlands.
A French prosecutor says police have arrested five new suspects over the Louvre theft.
Authorities haven't released details on the new suspects, but prosecutor Laure Bakuya says two men already in custody have partially admitted their participation.
She says the two face preliminary charges of theft committed by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy.
The suspects are being presented before the examining magistrates with a view to being charged with multiple counts of theft in an organized group, crimes that carry a penalty of 15 years of criminal imprisonment and a heavy fine.
Similarly, the charge of criminal conspiracy has been retained, an offense that carries a penalty of 10 years of imprisonment.
She said the stolen jewels worth over $100 million remain missing.
Police arrested the first two suspects over the weekend, including one stopped at an airport as he was trying to leave France.
At 29 past the hour, Beijing's cloudy overnight, down to 5 degrees, sunny and 16 for Friday.
Nancheng will see a light rainfall in 15 overnight, then cloudy in 22.
Chungcheong will see heavy rainfall in 22 tonight, moderate rainfall in 26 on Friday.
Also in Asia, Islamabad's down to 15, then sunny in 27.
The NTN will see a light rainfall in 23 overnight.
The rain picks up to moderate with a high of 30 tomorrow.
Phnom Penh will see a light rain in 24 overnight, then moderate in 30.
In Africa, Nairobi is getting a light rain and 24 degrees on Friday.
Kampala will see some rainfall in 18 overnight.
The rain continues tomorrow with a high of 23.
Juba will see a moderate rainfall in 22 this evening, followed by light rain and 31 degrees.
It's time for a short break.
So far this hour, the Chinese and US presidents have met in South Korea and agreed that better relations will benefit both countries and the world.
China's targeting Friday for the launch of the Shenzhou 21 mission to the Tiangong space station.
And Hurricane Melissa has killed at least 25 people in Haiti, as it carved a path of destruction on the island.
Shane Begum with you.
Stay with us here on The Beijing Hour.
Shh, 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 beast, a 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.
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We'll see you there.
Examining the events that impact and shape China and the rest of the world.
This is the Beijing Hour, one hour of news and information brought to you every weekday.
Now here's your host.
Shane Biggum with you on this Thursday.
Still to come in business.
The annual Financial Street Forum in Beijing is released as research findings and achievements in sports League Cup results for European football and culture and entertainment.
Immersive entertainment at the Wujian Theatre Festival.
To contact us, you can email radio at cgtn.com or follow our ex-account at cgtnradio.
But now with the check of the day's headlines, here's Tianyu.
Thank you, Shane.
Chinese President Xi Jinping says China and the United States are fully able to help each other succeed and prosper together.
President Xi met U.S.
President Donald Trump in Busan, South Korea, ahead of the AIPAC Economic Leaders Meeting.
President Xi said China's development and revitalization goes hand-in-hand with President Trump's vision to make America great again.
He said China and the United States should be partners and friends.
The Chinese president also said he's ready to continue working with Trump to build a solid foundation for China-US relations and create a sound atmosphere for the development of both countries.
The Chinese Commerce Ministry has unveiled the outcomes of the China-US economic and trade talks in Kuala Lumpur.
The US will cancel the 10 so-called fentanyl tariffs and suspend the 24 reciprocal tariffs levied on Chinese goods for an additional year.
China will make corresponding adjustments to its countermeasures against the US tariffs, noting that both sides have agreed to continue extending certain tariff exclusion measures.
The two sides will also suspend the implantation of their export restriction measures for one year.
The US side will suspend the implantation of measures under its Section 301 investigation targeting China's maritime logistics and shipbuilding industries for one year.
China will suspend the implantation of its countermeasures against the US side.
The two sides also reached consensus on issues including anti-drug cooperation on fentanyl, expanding agricultural product trade and the handling of individual cases involving enterprises.
A report says economic growth in the APAC region will reach 31 this year, slightly higher than earlier estimates.
The APAC regional trends analysis cited resilient trade and strong demand for high-tech goods in making the upgraded forecast.
However, the report warned that growth could ease to 29 next year as public debt rises and temporary drivers fade.
Voting has ended in the Netherlands, and the country's central-left alliance is facing a setback.
Growing Links.
Pavetta leader Frans Timmermans announced his resignation.
As the Pope predicted, the party would lose five seats to hold 20 of the 150 in the House of Representatives.
It's also clear that for whatever reason, I haven't been able to convince people to vote for us.
So it's time for me to step back and hand over the leadership to our movement, to the next generation.
The exit poll showed that centre-left party D66 would win 27 seats, an 18-seat gain from the 2023 election, while far-right leader Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom would fall to 25 seats, losing 12.
The Christian Democratic Appeal emerged as one of the biggest winners, likely gaining 14 seats to reach 19.
Brazilian police say the number of deaths during a raid on a drug gang in Rio de Janeiro has risen to 119, including four policemen.
The operation, involving 2500 police and soldiers, sparked clashes into low-income neighborhoods of the city.
Rio's state government said those who were killed had resisted police.
A UN human rights spokesperson said the long list of operations resulting in many deaths raises questions about the way such raids are conducted.
And finally, Hamas has reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire agreement with Israel.
Hamas says Israel's recent attacks in Gaza reveal its intention to undermine the ceasefire agreement and impose new realities by force.
The statement comes as Israel and Hamas have been trading blame for ceasefire violations in recent days.
On Tuesday.
Israel said the remains delivered by Hamas on Monday night were body parts belonging to a hostage whose body had already been recovered by the Israeli army around two years ago.
Later, a Hamas source said Israel rejected the entry of teams from the International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian factions into eastern Gaza City to search for the remains of Israeli captives.
Thank you very much.
That was Tianyu with Headlines.
Coming up in business.
The annual Financial Street Forum in Beijing has released its research findings and achievements.
The Beijing Hour, your window on China and the rest of the world.
36 past the hour.
With Business Now, here's Dou Hongyu.
Thank you, Shane.
Stock markets on the Chinese mainland closed lower on Thursday.
The Shanghai composite was down over 0.7%. the Shenzhen component lost nearly 1.2%.
Forestry and energy metal shares led the gainers.
Elsewhere in China, the Hong Kong stock market ended lower, with the Hing Sing down nearly 0.2%.
Meantime, stocks in Japan remained almost flat.
The just-concluded Financial Street Forum 2025 in Beijing has released a series of cutting-edge research findings and achievements in the financial sector.
The Financial Street Development Report provides analysis of Beijing Financial Street's development in the past five years.
During the 14th five-year plan period.
The report says the financial street has increasingly demonstrated its core functions as the national financial management center.
The development of Beijing Financial Street as a global hub for asset management has accelerated.
Assets under management by financial institutions in the area have exceeded 21 trillion yuan, or around 3 trillion US dollars.
For more, Olivia He spoke with Zhang Wan, a senior economist from Bank of China Insurance Company.
Zhang shared her analysis on building a more resilient financial ecosystem and her outlook for what's next.
Which keyword or discussions around it are you most focused on and why?
Well, actually this is a tricky choice, because each keyword is very critical for understanding the trends shaping today's global economy, but I will go for innovation as my first choice.
And let me quickly explain why.
Firstly, innovation brings certainty in an uncertain world.
Now we are facing the headwinds of the globalization. the global economy is slowing down.
So, for an individual economy, innovation brings productivity and cultivates new growth momentum and, more importantly, from the global side.
Innovation brings new market, new demand and new form of collaboration, and I believe this is very important to break the growth stagnation and promote global cooperation.
And second, the speed of innovation is thrilling.
I mean when Wei talks about rewriting global rules.
It can go round and round and it's very difficult to put everyone on the same page.
But innovation is different.
Innovation is for no one.
If you still remember, at the beginning of this year we saw robots dancing at the Spring Festival Gala.
We were amazed by China's AI breakthrough moment.
But within a year, less than a year our AI and robot technology have already gone through multiple iterations and I feel very excited about this.
And finally, innovation always brings talks about new risk, new challenge.
So this is also the reason why we need to get ahead of the game and to make sure the benefits, the achievements of innovation, can benefit the whole society.
And on rate-shaping global finance, where do you see China having the most influence right now?
Well, of course, I believe China can have a big say in reshaping global financial rules, but to me, the most important one is I believe China can provide a new option for global financial infrastructure.
Today US dollar dominates global financial order.
But US dollar is not just an international currency for trade settlement or financial lending.
It is also the pillar of global financial infrastructure.
But now, due to the concern of dollar weaponization and US own trade and physical policies, the international market are questioning the safety and the stability of the current system.
And I believe these discussions have shown that China can offer the world, especially developing market, a credible alternative which is secure, efficient and inclusive, and I also believe that we have the full capacity to deliver on it, and the reasons are very straightforward.
Firstly, we have a large and stable economy and financial market, which is very crucial for being a global public good.
And second, China is a leading player in digital technology, which means our RMB financial infrastructure will be going to be highly efficient and user-friendly.
And certainly our financial policies are very supportive and in this forum we can also see more financial opening up policies.
That was senior economist Zhang Wan talking about her major takeaways from the just concluded Financial Street Forum.
China has allocated 500 billion yuan, or about 70 billion US dollars, through a new policy-based financial instrument.
Multiple major policy banks, including the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China, Each allocated several hundred billion yuan to support the construction of projects in key areas.
The financial instrument prioritizes projects in technological innovation and foreign trade stabilization, while also supporting initiatives in private investment projects.
The move is expected to stimulate over 7 trillion yuan in investment.
Industry experts say the financing will boost tangible output in the fourth quarter and promote the stable and healthy development of the country's economy.
China's foreign exchange regulator has introduced a package of measures to enhance foreign exchange services.
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange says the measures broaden settlement options for loans and service fees.
They also target rapidly growing trade models, such as cross-border e-commerce.
For trading services.
The measures simplify procedures for advanced payment businesses, allowing the direct handling of monetary payments for transportation and storage, as well as maintenance fees and banks.
They also permit engineering enterprises to manage overseas funds centrally for projects across multiple countries or regions, improving flexibility of fund allocation.
The U.S.
Federal Reserve has decided to lower interest rates by 25 basis points, dropping them between 375 to 4.
Available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace.
The Federal Open Market Committee says job gains have slowed and the unemployment rate has edged up but remained low through August.
The committee says it seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at 2% over the longer run.
But the Fed lowered the rate without timely data.
That's largely dried up due to the government shutdown.
Owen Fairclough reports.
The U.S.
Federal Reserve's job is to keep inflation low and employment high by adjusting its main interest rate.
And it needs timely data to do that.
But the central bank's decision on Wednesday to cut that rate down to between 375 and 4 was made without the latest employment figures because the shutdown means they aren't being published.
We get some data in inflation, some data in economic activity.
And we'll have a picture of what's going on.
We also will have the Beige Book again.
I would say we're not going to be able to have the detailed feel of things.
But I think if there were a significant or a material change in the economy one way or another, I think we'd pick that up through this.
And the cloudiness of the employment picture is compounded by a chorus of increasingly urgent warnings about artificial intelligence wiping out jobs, as hiring slows down, even if stocks are hitting record highs, partly because investors see companies like Amazon saving money by eliminating thousands of jobs.
Cutting that main interest rate is aimed at boosting employment, because it should lower the cost of hiring and investing for employers.
But at the risk of driving up prices already rising to 3 on an annual basis, according to September's inflation figures that were published despite the shutdown.
The Fed thinks much of the inflation is being driven specifically by President Trump's tariffs raising the cost of imports.
The thing about tariff inflation is the base case is that it will come And it probably will increase further, but it is that it will be a one-time increase.
And you know, we've been very focused for all of this year at making sure that that's the case and thinking carefully about what are the pathways through which it could become something else troublesome inflation.
These are 52 and then these are 48.
And even some of Trump's own Republican lawmakers appear to acknowledge this, joining Democrats on Tuesday in voting to block tariffs on Brazil.
I agree with my colleagues that terrorists should be more targeted to avoid harm to Americans.
And as the US enters the holiday season, the Fed will have to consider how a rate cut that typically encourages consumption with lower credit costs will impact an overall economic picture for now obscured by the lack of data.
That was Owen Fairclough reporting.
Thank you very much.
That's Do Hong Yu with Business.
Coming up in sports, League Cup results for European football.
Sideline Story brings you all things sports related.
The hottest topics, latest events, juiciest stories, all with a very personal take.
Subscribe to Sideline Story Podcast for heated sports discussions covering events that are happening in China and around the world.
46 past now and turning to sports.
Here's Yang Guang.
Thank you, Shane.
We start with football.
Liverpool's second-string side suffered a 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the League Cup, with Ismail Assar scoring twice to send the London club into the quarterfinals.
The Reds have now lost 6 of 7 games across all competitions under manager Arn Slot.
The first goal came in the 41st minute, when Joe Gomez is clearing set-up Saad, who fired past Freddie Woodman.
Seconds before half-time saw a doubled lead from a reverse pass by Jeremy Pino, who later added a third in the 88th minute.
Liverpool finished with 10 men after Amara Nalo's red card.
Onslaught says it's hard to explain why they've been on a losing streak.
It's always a blow to lose a game of football, especially if it leads to going out of a competition.
But it's the same selection I did tonight as I did last season in rounds like this.
There are many reasons maybe why we've lost five out of six or six out of seven.
None of them are good enough to accept losing so many.
So I can come up with arguments or reasons, but none of them will be enough.
And Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner says they could have been more clinical in the game.
I'm not pleased with the first 15 minutes.
I told the players it looked like we were still in the hotel beds.
But then, yes, we did much better.
We controlled the game, scored very nice goals in the first half.
But on the other side, I think we could have decided the game earlier.
We had many situations.
That looked threatening.
But then the last pass was not really good enough or the finish was not good enough.
The decision was not good enough.
But overall, of course, when you win 3-0 at Anfield, it's a very good night for us.
It's a very positive night, and qualifying for the quarter-final is, of course, what we wanted.
Elsewhere Holden.
Newcastle beat the Spurs 2-0, Arsenal defeated Brighton 2-0, Manchester City came from behind to win 3-1 at Swansea and Chelsea edged Wolves 4-3 in other fourth-round ties.
Staying in football.
Harry Kane scored twice as Bayern Munich came from behind to beat Cologne 4-1 in the German Cup second round, extending their perfect start to 14 wins across all competitions.
Cologne took the lead in the 31st minute through Ragnar Ekchi but Bayern struck back quickly.
Luis Diaz equalized five minutes later and Kane curled a brilliant left-footed shot into the top corner to complete the turnaround.
Kane added a header in the 64th minute, marking his 22nd goal in 14 games this season, and Michael Alisi tapped in the fourth in the 72nd minute.
Wayne said, spying up confident play ahead of next week's Champions League clash with defending champion Paris Saint-Germain.
In Serie A, Hakan Çalhanoğlu scored twice, as Inter Milan secured a 3-0 win over Fiorentina, keeping pace with league leaders Napoli and Roma.
Inter dominated much of the match, but Fiorentina goalkeeper David De Gea kept them at bay with a series of impressive saves.
The breakthrough came in the 66th minute, when Chatanoglu fired a right-footed shot into the bottom corner.
Five minutes later, Peter Suchic weaved through the Fiorentina defence to double the lead.
Fiorentina's struggles deepened when Mattia Vitti received a second yellow card in the 86th minute and Chattanooga converted the resulting penalty to complete Inter's 3-0 victory, leaving the struggling visitors still searching for their first league win of the season.
Inbasable rookie Trey Yesavage dominated the Los Angeles Dodgers with 12 strikeouts, as the Toronto Blue Jays cruised to a 6-1 victory in Game 5 of the World Series.
Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning, setting the tone for Toronto's offense.
Yesavage allowed just one round on three hits over seven innings, becoming the first pitcher in World Series history to record at least 12 strikeouts without walks in the game.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider hailed Yesavage's performance as historic.
He was pretty good historic stuff.
You know what I mean when you talk about that stage and his numbers getting ahead of a lot of hitters, tons of swing and miss.
You know it's it's one thing to be in the zone and it's another thing to be in the zone and get some swing and miss.
So The win gives Toronto a 3-2 series lead and puts them one victory away from their first championship in 32 years.
Los Angeles has struggled defensively scoring just four rounds over their last 29 innings.
Blue Jays receivers Serenity Dominguez and Jeff Hoffman closed out the win, keeping Toronto in control.
Heading home for Game 6 Saturday morning, Beijing time.
And finally in the NBA, Austin Reeves sank a clutch jumper at the buzzer to lift the Los Angeles Lakers past the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-115 in Minneapolis.
Reeves posted 28 points and 16 assists to carry the shorthanded Lakers who were without LeBron James and Luka Doncic.
The Timberwolves were up by one before Reeves took an inbounds pass, slipped past two defenders and drilled the game-winner from the free-throw line.
In other action, Brandon Williams scored 20, with the bench pouring in 64, and rookie Cooper Fleck locked a double-double to lift the Dallas Mavericks past Indiana Pacers 107 to 105.
Drew Holiday dropped 27 points and hit four clutch free throws to push the Portland Trailblazers over the Utah Jazz 136-134.
All right, thank you very much.
That's Yang Guang with sports.
Coming up in culture and entertainment.
Immersive entertainment at the Wujian Theater Festival.
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.
At 53 past the hour.
In culture and entertainment for more than a decade, the Wujian Theatre Festival is stood as one of China's most dynamic stages for artistic exchange and creative experimentation.
This year's edition features Anthropolis Marathon a nine-hour immersive production pushing the limits of modern performance.
Wang Yan has more.
The annual Wuzhen Theatre Festival in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province has long been known for its large-scale stage epics.
Each year's opening production is a showpiece and now, in its 12th year, the City of Humanity section has been devoted to the Anthropolis Marathon by the German troupe Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg, based on five Greek mythological tales Dionysus Laius Oedipus, Ioxyte and Antigone.
Each run spanned three days, totaling around nine hours.
More surprisingly, the production was staged twice during the festival, giving more Chinese spectators a chance to experience it, while pushing the performers' stamina to the limit.
According to the festival committee, preparations for the Wuzhen performances started more than two years ago.
The technical team made six trips to Germany to coordinate the massive project.
This year's Wuzhen Theatre Festival features a stellar lineup of performances and activities that includes 25 plays from 10 countries and regions and 18 entries in the Emerging Theatre Artists Competition.
While the plays and performers are the focus, there are also workshops, raiding sessions and outdoor carnivals.
Every corner of Wuzhen comes alive each year during the festival.
My original thought of opening a window for China to see the world through theater and then for the world to see China through theater.
I think that second part of that sentence is still lacking.
The groups that come, they experience Wuzhen, they experience China.
We experience the camaraderie between the artists and everything.
That's great.
But what about the theatergoers?
So I really hope.
My vision is that during the festival, the streets of Wuzhen are packed half with foreigners.
It's a natural born vehicle for the West, for the world to see China.
Looking ahead, it was announced during the closing ceremony of the 12th Wuzhen Theatre Festival that the 13th edition is set to take place next year from October 15th to 25th with the theme Serene Transcendence.
Each edition has built upon the last, creating a rich tapestry of artistic achievement that has significantly influenced the development of contemporary Chinese theatre, while maintaining the unique charm of its Watertown setting.
That was Ong Yan reporting from Zhejiang Province.
The chinese musical nan kong has made its overseas debut in singapore with two performances at the esplanade theaters on the bay.
Inspired by kong ju, a 53rd generation descendant of confucius who dedicated his life to promoting confucian culture, the show fuse fuses traditional values and modern stagecraft.
The two-hour performance earned a standing ovation for its striking visuals and emotional storytelling.
Tommy Hsu is a teacher at the Shelton College International in Singapore.
Both the performers and the stage design clearly demonstrate that this is a major Chinese production aimed to reach a global audience, bringing a visual and auditory feast to our Singaporean audience.
Ahead of the show, cast members held a flash mob at Singapore's Merlion Park, drawing crowds with live music.
Since premiering in 2023, Nankong has staged more than 140 times in over 40 Chinese cities.
The troupe has now taken the production to Kuala Lumpur as part of a regional tour.
We're at 57 past the hour.
Checking the forecast before we go, and Beijing's getting cloudy skies overnight a low of 5 degrees.
Friday is sunny and 16.
Nanchang will see a light rainfall in 15 overnight, then cloudy in 22.
Shenzhen will see heavy rainfall tonight, 22 degrees, moderate rain and 26 tomorrow.
Elsewhere in Asia, Islamabad's down to 15, then sunny and 27 on Friday.
Vientiane will see a light rainfall and 23 tonight, then moderate rainfall and a high of 30.
Phnom Penh will see light rainfall, 24 this evening, then moderate rain in 30.
In Africa, Nairobi is getting some rain in 24 on Friday.
Kampala will see some rain in 18 overnight, then more rain in 23 degrees.
Juba will see moderate rainfall and 22 degrees tonight, light rain in 31 for Friday.
And that's it for this edition of the Beijing Hour.
Making news today, the Chinese and US presidents have met in South Korea and agreed that better relations will benefit both countries and the world.
And China's targeting Friday for the launch of the Shenzhou 21 mission to the Tiangong space station.
On behalf of the staff.
This is Shane Biggum in the Chinese capital, hoping you'll join us for the next edition of the Beijing Hour and open a window to the world together.
Find The Beijing Hour at precisely 6pm Beijing time.
We meet you on podcast and on air every weekday.
The Beijing Hour, your window on China and the rest of the world.
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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?
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From 2021 to 2024.
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Talk to the herders farmers boatmen, fishermen and eco-activists who share a close bond with the river.
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