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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.
Hello with you.
On this friday, september the 12th 2025.
You're listening to the beijing hour coming to you live from the chinese capital.
On today's program, China welcomes home the remains of 30 People's Volunteers, martyrs who died on the Korean Peninsula in the 1950s.
The China International Fair for Trading Services enters its third day.
And the United Nations Security Council has unanimously condemned Israel's strikes on Qatar.
In business.
China's finance minister says the country's fiscal policy has ample room for future action.
In sports, Wang Shuqing is into the quarterfinals of the WTT champions Macau.
In culture and entertainment, the second Golden Panda Awards.
Now checking today's top stories.
China has welcomed home the remains of 30 Chinese people's volunteers, martyrs who lost their lives during the war to resist US aggression and aid Korea more than seven decades ago.
A handover ceremony was held Friday morning to transfer the remains and belongings upon their arrival at Shenyang Airport in the northeastern province of Liaoning.
Zhou Yixing reports from Shenyang.
A solemn ceremony has been held to welcome the remains of 30 martyrs.
They were soldiers of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army who died in a war to resist US aggression and aid Korea.
And earlier this morning China and the Republic of Korea had finished the handover of the remains, and then a special flight carried them back to the Chinese soil.
The special flight consisted of the Y-20 aircraft and four J-20 fighter jets.
And also here I also want to introduce a little bit of the historical background.
In the war to resist US aggression and aid Korea, nearly 200000 Chinese soldiers gave their lives and many were buried in foreign lands, but their motherland has never forgotten them.
So, since China and South Korea reached an agreement in 2014, 1011 martyrs have been brought back home.
And this time it is actually the 12th. such repatriation since 2014.
And at today's ceremony we saw that the honor guards carried caskets covered with China's national flag and welcoming the heroes back home with the highest tribute.
And also over a thousand representatives, including officials soldiers, veterans and students, all stood in tribute.
And after the ceremony, the motorcade departed for the Martyrs' Cemetery in Shenyang.
And tomorrow morning, there will be a solemn burial ceremony held there.
And also I want to add that in recent years China has been carrying out extensive DNA testing to identify those martyrs.
And this year eight martyrs were identified, and their family members are also here today to greet them home.
So it is really a moment of grief and deep respect and reminding us of these martyrs' sacrifices and the peace that they defended for us.
That was Zhou Yixing in northeast China.
As the heroes return home.
Today we look back on the war to resist US aggression and aid Korea, honoring more than 197000 Chinese soldiers who gave their lives on the Korean battlefield.
Gao Yiming has more.
October 19 1950, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, led by General Peng Dehuai, crossed the Yalu River at the request of the DPRK to help it fight against US-led UN forces.
The Korean Peninsula was split into the north and south after World War II.
After the Korean War began, the U.S.-led UN forces soon joined the warfare in support of the South.
The so-called UN command sent ground troops there, while dispatching air forces to bombard the northeastern Chinese city of Dandong on the border with the DPRK.
The U.S. naval forces also went into the Taiwan Strait at the order of President Truman.
China considered the move a serious violation of its territorial integrity.
As the DPRK requested China's help, the newly founded People's Republic decided to send the People's Volunteer Army to defend national security and help its neighbor.
Starting October 1950 to June 1951, the Chinese forces fought five large campaigns.
The People's Volunteer Army, along with the DPRK, launched counterattacks in multiple areas, including Anzhan Ansan Pakchon, interrupting the Hong Bai Christmas Offensive led by American General Douglas MacArthur in 1950, through which the US-led UN forces aimed to completely conquer the North by the holiday.
The battles forced the UN forces to retreat from the Yalu River, the border between the DPRK and China, to the 38th parallel, at the cost of nearly 163000 Chinese lives.
After the five major campaigns, both sides found themselves locked in a stalemate roughly along the 38th parallel.
On July 10 1951, as fighting continued on the ground, Ceasefire negotiations got underway in Kaesong, a nation capital on the Korean Peninsula, which was then controlled by the DPRK.
The two sides discussed various issues, ranging from determining the military demarcation line, establishing demilitarized zones, to repatriating prisoners of war.
But the case law negotiations were soon suspended as the parties couldn't reach a deal.
Amid constant artillery fire and airstrikes.
More talks went on and off for two years, with both sides suffering huge losses.
It was not until july 27, 1953 that the parties reached a consensus.
An armistice agreement was signed which marked an end to three years of fighting.
More than a hundred ninety thousand chinese lost their lives on the korean peninsula.
The dprk lost five hundred and twenty thousand.
American casualties totaled more than 36000.
And South Korean fatalities reached over 137,000.
Although decades have passed since the war, the Chinese volunteer soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifices are not forgotten, as the nation holds commemorations every year.
That was Gao Yiming reporting.
Coming up, the China International Fair for Trading Services enters its third day.
What if the next global threat isn't on Earth, but in space?
China is gearing up to smash a spacecraft into an asteroid and change its orbit, something only the US has tested so far.
Why does this matter?
What risks and opportunities does it bring?
And beyond science, how could this mission reshape China's growing space economy and global role?
Join us on this week's Chat Lounge as we break down the mission, the science, the stakes and the money behind it.
Tune in on your favorite podcast app and on CGTN Radio.
Now it's 8 minutes past the hour.
It's day 3 of the China International Fair for Trading Services underway in western Beijing.
At this year's event, 84 environmental services companies are showcasing their innovations, including 21 from the Fortune Global 500.
The exhibition highlights key areas such as new energy services, ecological and environmental solutions and green, low-carbon digital technologies.
We now go live to Cui Xingyu for more.
So what caught your attention in the environmental services sector at this year's fair?
Well, what stood out to me is the various kinds of cutting-edge technologies that are on display, and also a strong message of chinese wisdom and beijing solutions to drive low-carbon development.
For example, three chinese leading energy companies that are here to showcase their achievements in low carbon technology solutions, such as hydrogen energy and CCUS, which stands for carbon capture, utilization and storage.
It's a set of technologies that are designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from industries and power plants.
And also there is a huge section featuring Beijing's water system, which is Beijing's water system has officially entered the smart water 20 era.
And in recent years, the city has made major progress in intelligent water management.
It has launched landmark projects such as intelligent dams, smart water plants and also digital twins of physical water systems across the city.
And I was told that water management used to rely heavily on human experience, but nowadays it's becoming more data driven.
In fact, Beijing has already built a data foundation of more than 14 billion entries from around 6000 monitoring stations, and they can support everything from flood control to water resource management across the city.
And overall, the fair really shows how technology is helping the city and also the country to move toward smarter and more sustainable environmental management.
And we know China has been pushing the circular economy across industries.
So which specific initiatives or best practices is Beijing highlighting this year?
At this year's SIFTES and at the venue I spoke with the chairman of Beijing Chaoyang Environment Group.
It's a leading company in China that is putting the circular economy into practice.
The company has built an industrial park in Chaoyang District which focuses on treating all kinds of urban waste, from household trash, food waste to construction debris, and turn them into valuable resources such as green power, renewable gas, crude oil, building materials, etc.
And it is capable of handling over 8,000 tons of urban waste every day.
And each year the park produces 5 million kilowatts of green electricity and also 5000 tons of crude oil which can be made into biodiesel.
And what's more amazing is that it's operating at near zero carbon emissions.
And at this year's CFTIS, the chairman was very excited to tell me that they're showcasing their latest AI-powered waste incineration system, which was put into operation last November.
And I was told that it's performing quite well.
It can reduce material use.
It can lower labor intensity and also improve power generation efficiency.
And it can also cut emissions.
What's more interesting is that it's constantly learning from veteran operators.
So the function, the performance just keeps improving.
And I can see in the future this model hopefully can be applied to other cities and countries across the world.
Back to you, Tianlu.
Thank you very much.
That was Cui Xinyu at the ongoing China International Fair for Trade in Services.
At this year's SIFTES, Australia takes centre stage as the guest country of honour, bringing its largest delegation yet.
Nearly 60 organisations and companies are here, from ANZ Bank and the University of Adelaide to Tourism Australia.
Guo Yan takes us to the Australia Pavilion for a closer look.
The Australia pavilion is buzzing with visitors eager to sample immersive displays that bring the sights and flavors of Australia to Beijing.
One of the most popular stops, the ice cream counter.
That's where Yanis Patton, Commercial counselor at the Australian Embassy in China, explains why Siftis is such a valuable platform.
This year we have close to 60 exhibitors, which is three times the size we had last year.
And we also tripled the size of the platform, which is 360 square meters.
We think it's a great platform for Australian companies to show their capability, to showcase their capability for Australian companies to meet with Chinese companies and just for people to meet.
We know that the Australia-China relationship is also built on people-to-people link and people exchanges, so that's why we've built this pavilion so that people could meet each other and people could experience Australia as if they were there.
China is Australia's largest trading partner, and services are among the fastest-growing areas of cooperation, especially in education and tourism.
Sean Tohakaraina from the West Australian Institute of Further Studies says the fair shares China's growth opportunities and helps the world explore new paths forward.
What we're doing is we've developed a program that builds on china national curriculum but internationalizes it with australian accounts finance units, which allows students the ability to go straight to australia to do second year bachelors, and 72 percent of the students that have started have actually completed masters in australia.
The program was created with Jiangsu Union Technical Institute and Nanjing Vocational College of Finance and Economics.
We have teacher training in both directions.
So each year we have trainers or teachers from Nanjing flying to Australia and next year we'll have a cohort of teachers from Australia coming to Nanjing so we can share ideas, we can build on a solid foundation across two platforms to actually really internationalise what we're doing.
This year's safety has drawn nearly 2,000 companies over its 11 editions.
The fair has showcased the rapid rise of China's service industry and the growing importance of global trade and services.
For Australia, being the guest country of honour is more than a showcase.
It's a chance to deepen cooperation in education, tourism, finance and beyond.
For visitors to the pavilion.
It's also a reminder that behind every trade deal or program are real people testing, talking and building bridges.
For the Beijing Hour, this is Guo Yan.
Now it's time again for our special series, Xinjiang in 70 Years, Progress and Prosperity.
Together we revisit the northwestern Chinese region's transformation across industry culture, ecology and livelihoods.
Keping County is known as China's home of camels.
With a long history of camel breeding, the place has leveraged its unique resources, promoting local economic development and improving the incomes of farmers and herders.
We spoke with local business insiders to find out more.
In a bid to develop the camel industry, Köppen County has actively encouraged breeding facilities in different towns to upgrade their operations.
That's by implementing the government's enterprise-based farmer development model and providing subsidy support to farmers to build enclosures, guarantee camel milk purchases and subsidize insurance costs.
The aim is to guide farmers towards intensive farming and to stimulate the camel breeding industry across the county.
They are not only a testament to Keping County's thousand-year-old camel breeding culture.
They are helping to improve the livelihoods of local farming communities.
At the beginning of 2024, with the support of the party and government policies, I started raising camels.
I bought 70 camels and the local government provided me with significant support by giving a subsidy of 3500 yuan for each camel.
Now the camel milk is sent to the camel milk factory and the daily production is 200 kilograms.
My income last year was about 700,000 yuan.
In the beginning I lacked knowledge about raising camels, but later the government sent experts to guide me.
Now I have 180 camels in my factory, and the daily milk production has reached about 400 kilograms.
Keping County has strengthened policy support, improved the business environment and services for camel breeding enterprises.
It wants to connect and support local farmers and promote technological innovation.
Our company is primarily engaged in the production, research and development and sales of camel milk products.
Our main products include pure camel milk powder, a children's series of initial stage camel milk powder, as well as pasteurized camel milk, sterilized camel milk and camel milk tablets.
Currently, we have 56 000 camels in capping county, who producing about 40 tons of milk daily.
After passing our entrance inspection, the camel milk is processed into different products using various technologies and equipment.
We also have our unique camel milk protein peptides.
Our sales revenue for 2024 was 180 million and we expect our sales revenue to be around 280 million this year.
The RD team at Xintuo Dairy, together with Xinjiang Technology Aid personnel and the Zhejiang Chinese Medical University team, have successfully extracted polypeptide components from camel milk to extend its use to high-value added products.
Keping County is also introducing online audiences across China to the local camel breeding environment through live streaming.
Our new camel products mainly include liquid milk series, milk powder and camel milk peptides, as well as camel milk daily chemical products.
Up to now.
We primarily sell through offline physical stores and our public sales platforms such as Douyin Tmall and JDcom.
This year, we are also developing our private domain platform, and sales are doing very well.
Keping County's camel industry is maturing with the use of modern production lines and new breeding facilities.
In 2021, The number of camels raised in Kupin County was about 8,000.
This year, the number had surpassed 55,000.
It has also supported industrial upgrade from what's known as basically unprocessed to deep processing.
That was a look at the burgeoning camel industry in Xinjiang.
Coming up, the United Nations Security Council has unanimously condemned Israel's strikes on Qatar.
Decades on, Xinjiang has completely transformed.
It's the last place you'd expect to find an ocean harvest, and yet it's happening.
Technology is redefining cultivation.
I never imagined such breathtaking lavender fields transform the very structure of the soil beneath our feet.
It's difficult to get a full appreciation of the sheer scale of this facility almost solar panels as far as the eye can see.
Xinjiang isn't just a region where cultures meet, it's where they mix, evolve and come alive.
Modernization has also given this land a canvas for the future.
And I'm really looking forward to finding out why.
That's 21 minutes past the hour.
The United Nations Security Council has unanimously condemned Israel's strikes on Doha.
Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani, has accused Israel of trying to derail Gaza's ceasefire talks.
He is visiting the U.S. to discuss the Israeli strike.
Nick Harper reports from Washington.
So a war of words around the horseshoe table in the UN Security Council.
I think interesting to note that this is a meeting that was due to take place on Wednesday afternoon but was postponed for 24 hours because the Qatari prime minister wanted to attend the meeting, and attend it in person.
That says a lot about how strong his feelings were to be able to present his case before other UN members and to be able to tell the Security Council that what took place was a violation of Qatari sovereignty.
Our efforts have proven that cooperation with the United States and Egypt has led to tangible results.
It led to the release of 148 hostages.
It has led to providing humanitarian aid to Gaza.
It was a glimmer of hope, a rare glimmer of hope in this Gaza.
However, attacking our territories while we were busy with negotiations has uncovered Israel's intention.
It is trying to undermine any prospect of peace.
But at the same time, we also heard from Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon.
He said that really it was the right of Israel to be able to attack Hamas wherever they were.
This strike sends a message that should echo across this chamber.
There is no sanctuary for terrorists, not in Gaza. not in Tehran, not in Doha.
There is no immunity for terrorists.
Well, it was interesting because what we saw today unfolding in the UN Security Council is unanimous condemnation.
It is not usual in this day and age for all members of the Security Council all 15 of them to agree on any given subject, but today they were able to put out a unanimous statement that they all agreed to.
In that statement, they said that they were underscoring the importance of de-escalation and underlining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar.
We heard from China's permanent representative to the United Nations, who was laying out the idea that there is now a fear of escalation.
This kind of act that lacks integrity, irresponsibility and deliberate sabotage of talks is egregious.
China is deeply concerned that the attack may lead to further escalation of tensions in the region.
It must be pointed out that the occurrence of this incident is related to the long-term unbalanced stance of certain extraterritorial countries on the middle east issues.
We urge certain major countries to prioritize regional peace and stability, uphold a just and responsible attitude and work with the international community to play a constructive role in promoting a ceasefire, ending the fighting and escalating regional tensions.
It's also worth noting what the United States had to say because, in a rare instance, they decided not to defend or shield their ally Israel, instead joining with the other Security Council members to condemn the action and sign on to that unanimous statement, also making it clear the us saying that it was israel's decision, it was unilateral action, the us didn't take part and it was counterproductive to peace talks.
Unilateral bombing inside qatar, a sovereign nation working very hard and bravely, taking risks alongside the united states to broker peace, does not advance Israel's or America's goals.
The fact though, that the Security Council came together and found that unanimous voice is very rare, and I think we haven't seen it very often during the course of this conflict in Gaza and the wider Middle East region.
That was Nick Harper in Washington.
In the United States, the FBI has released photos of a person of interest linked to the assassination of conservative activist and Trump ally, Charlie Kirk.
Authorities are offering a $100,000 reward for information that could lead to an arrest.
Kirk's murder is the latest in the growing wave of political violence in America.
James Bellman has more from Washington DC.
This is a fast-moving investigation and the FBI has released these photos of the suspected gunmen.
These are taken from video surveillance.
They say the gunman appears to be a college-age male and investigators believe he shot Kirk from the roof of a building about 130 meters away.
Listen.
We have recovered what we believe is.
The weapon that was used in yesterday's shooting is a high-powered bolt-action rifle.
That rifle was recovered in a wooded area where the shooter had fled.
The FBI laboratory will be analyzing this weapon.
Investigators have also collected footwear impression, a palm print and forearm imprints for analysis.
There's $100,000 reward for information leading to the shooter.
Charlie Kirk was an influential voice in the conservative movement and an ardent supporter of President Trump.
When he was just 18 years old, he founded Turning Point USA, an organization that focused on getting young voters to support conservative candidates.
He was known for holding debates and taking questions from liberals who opposed his point of view.
This is exactly what he was doing on the campus of Utah Valley University when he was shot and killed.
There certainly have been some conservatives who are blaming liberals and Democrats for what happened, but there's also been a widespread condemnation of the shooting from across the political spectrum, including from former President Barack Obama and other prominent Democrats.
President Trump immediately ordered flags flown at half staff and says he will posthumously award Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Listen.
Let me express the horror and grief so many Americans, at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk, have felt.
Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people.
Kirk's murder comes amid a wave of troubling political violence in the United States.
President Trump faced two assassination attempts as a candidate last year.
The official residence of the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania was firebombed in April and two state lawmakers in Minnesota were shot in August.
One of those lawmakers, along with her husband, died.
That was James Bellman in Washington.
Security officers have shot and injured a midshipman at the U.S.
Naval Academy in Maryland while clearing a building after reports of suspicious activity.
The victim reportedly mistook a law enforcement officer for a threat and struck him with a parade rifle used for training.
The officer then fired back, injuring the student.
Maryland State Police here lifted the midshipman to a hospital and doctors said he's in stable condition.
Officials confirmed that no active shooter was on campus.
Now it's 29 minutes past 8 hour checking the forecast for the day.
Beijing will be cloudy with a low of 19 on Friday evening, then overcast and 29.
Luzhou will see rainstorms with a low of 22 tonight.
Tomorrow will be cloudy with a high of 33.
Nanchang will be cloudy with a low of 27 tonight, then thundershower and 34.
Lijiang will see heavy rain with a low of 15 tonight, then light rain and 22.
Elsewhere in Asia, Islamabad will see light rain with a low of 25 this evening.
Saturday will have light rain and 34 degrees Celsius.
It's time for a short break.
So far, the sour.
China welcomes home the remains of 30 people's volunteers, martyrs who died on the Korean Peninsula in the 1950s.
The China International Fair for Trading Services enters its third day.
Tian Lu with you, stay with us here on the Beijing Hour.
Listen up.
Can you hear the heartbeat of our world?
It's vibrant and pulsating with the essence of life itself.
From the stem of trees to the gurgle of rivers, from the silent strength of mountains to the icy whispers of glaciers.
Even the solid ground beneath our feet, right there in the midst of all, beats the heart of humanity.
What if those other heartbeats were to stop?
Would ours keep on ticking?
Every week to find out what's real with China Africa Talk.
Find us on your favorite podcast.
We'll see you there.
Examining the events that impact and shape China and the rest of the world.
This is the Beijing Hour, one hour of news and information brought to you every weekday.
Now here's your host.
Tianlu with you on this Friday, still to come.
In business.
China's finance minister says the country's physical policy has ample room for future action.
In sports, Wang Shuqing is into the quarterfinals of the WTT champions Macau.
In culture and entertainment, the second Golden Panda Awards.
To contact us, you can email radio at cgtn.com or follow our ex-account at cgtnradio.
But first, checking today's headline news.
Here's Tianyu.
Thank you, Tianlu.
A Chinese Navy spokesperson says the country's third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, sailed through Taiwan Strait to conduct scientific experiments and training tasks in the South China Sea.
The spokesperson says the training is a regular arrangement in the process of building an aircraft carrier and it does not aim at any specific target.
The 25th China International Fair for Investment and Trade has wrapped up with agreements signed for more than 1100 projects.
Altogether, these deals are worth over 640 billion yuan, or around 90 billion US dollars, in planned investments.
As China's only national-level exhibition dedicated to investment promotion.
This year's fair took place in Xiamen from Monday to Thursday, featuring more than 100 investment-related activities.
Highlights included dialogues with multinational corporations, as well as exchanges between leading private enterprises and Fortune 500 companies.
The event in southeastern China drew attendees from over 120 countries and regions.
More than 300 South Korean workers have returned home after detention and a US immigration raid last week.
A chartered plane carrying the workers and 14 foreigners arrived at Incheon International Airport on Friday afternoon.
Their arrival came around a week after U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided the construction site of an electric vehicle battery plant.
Direct flights between the Pakistani and Iranian capitals have resumed after a six-decade hiatus.
Iran Air will operate the route between Islamabad and Tehran once a week on Tuesday.
The restoration of this route marks a significant step in enhancing connectivity and strengthening ties between the two neighboring countries.
Iranian Foreign Minister, Saeed Abbas Aranchi, says the country's nuclear materials remain buried beneath the facilities bombed in recent attacks.
Speaking in Cairo.
He said the country's Atomic Energy Organization is still assessing whether the materials can be recovered and in what condition.
The findings will be reported to the Supreme National Security Council, which will decide on next steps.
Aranchi noted that, under Iran's new agreement with the IAEA, signed earlier this week, no inspections have taken place, nor has any been agreed to.
He said cooperation will continue only under new conditions shaped by Iran's security concerns and parliamentary law.
Tehran earlier suspended cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog after Israeli and US strikes on its facilities and the killing of Iranian nuclear scientists in June.
And finally, three former FBI officials have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, accusing it of unlawfully firing them last month for political reasons.
The lawsuit filed in the District of Columbia alleges the administration carried out a campaign of retribution against officials who did not show enough loyalty to President Donald Trump and refused to politicize the FBI.
One plaintiff, Brian Jane Driscoll, briefly served as acting FBI director earlier this year.
According to the lawsuit, he was pressured in January to hand over a list of about 6000 FBI personnel linked to the January 6 Capitol riot investigation.
The complaint says, FBI Director Cash Patel later vowed to remove all employees who worked on cases against Trump.
The three former officials argue their dismissal harmed US national security by removing some of the institution's most experienced leaders in counterterrorism and violent crime prevention.
The FBI has investigated Trump in several cases, including Russian interference in the 2016 election and the 2022 Mar-a-Lago classified document case.
Trump has repeatedly dismissed these probes as politically motivated witch hunts.
Thank you very much.
That was Tianyu with Headline News.
Coming up in business.
China's finance minister says the country's fiscal policy has ample room for future action.
You're listening to The Beijing Hour 60 minutes of comprehensive news, your window on China and the world.
That's 36 minutes past the hour.
Turning to business, here's Wang Zihang.
Thank you, Tianlu.
We start with news from China's equity market.
Major indices on the mainland closed lower on Friday.
Timothy Pope has more details.
Wasn't a bad Friday for the Chinese mainland markets.
The Shanghai Composite Index touched another decade high this morning.
Before the index eased back a little bit, the index actually closed fractionally lower.
Investors do seem a little bit hesitant to push it too quickly towards 3900 points and then perhaps on to 4000.
But the A share markets are ending the week with gains in the region of 2, marking a pretty strong recovery from last week's sell-off.
Analysts say we're looking at a bit of a consolidation period at the moment, a bit of profit-taking and a bit more of a wait-and-see mentality ahead of some perhaps more clear signs on the economic and policy front.
One thing that investors really are now awaiting the outcome of is perhaps a fresh round of trade talks, which are reported to be taking place next week in Madrid between China and the US.
If they do go ahead, we can expect more than just trade to be on the agenda as well.
Probably a wide range of economic and security issues are likely to come up there.
And hopes on that front gave a boost to Chinese rare earth stocks.
They were among the best performing sectors.
And the sub-index indeed tracking those stocks gained 2.7% in Shanghai.
And AI, there were a lot of chip sector stocks doing very well on Shanghai's star market.
That was Timothy Pope reporting.
Meantime, the Hong Kong stock market ended higher on this trading day.
The Hang Seng was up over 1.1%.
In Japan, the Nikkei gained about 0.9%.
China's finance minister says the country's economy has achieved an average annual growth rate of 55 over the past four years, contributing around 30 to global economic growth.
Lanfu An also says China's government debt ratio is within a reasonable range and risks are manageable and under control.
By the end of 2024, China's government debt ratio stood at 68.7%.
The finance minister also says China's fiscal policy will continue to balance risk prevention and growth promotion, retaining ample room for future measures.
The ongoing China International Fair for Trade in Services is highlighting technology-driven progress and world premieres.
Over 100 companies are presenting nearly 200 new products and achievements, showcasing the latest in global services trade.
The fair in Beijing is hosting 85 countries and international organizations.
The event will also feature 10 major forums and 60 matchmaking events.
Tourism is an important pillar for trade in services.
Participants are highlighting the importance of digital intelligent technology to inject new momentum and create new opportunities for the sector.
China is very probably the leader in terms of technology, the leader in terms of infrastructure.
So roads rail, all of those things.
So I think China is that they've done a great job of developing services and infrastructure to support tourism.
The visa-free policy is very important.
In the modern world many many tourists make decisions on this basis.
Second one is the connectivity.
You have more and more direct flights from the different parts of the globe, and not only from the biggest cities or the bigger countries, and not only to Beijing or Shanghai, but many Chinese cities.
The services trade fair will run through this weekend.
The gaming industry is a key highlight at this year's Siftis, with growing momentum in China-Arab cooperation.
Beijing's Xicheng District hosted an event aimed at creating a platform for exchange and collaboration between leading enterprises in the Chinese capital and the Middle East.
Pu Guannan is the founder of Starscape, a Beijing-based gaming company participating in the meeting.
He says the fair provides a lot of opportunities.
This is my third time in this event.
I think safety is very important for a small startup.
It provides very wide opportunities to reach a global market and also the global audience, which means a lot.
The goal to talk with Saudi Arabia is to have a potential collaboration in the global market and also the domestic market.
As we know that China's domestic market for gaming is booming after the Black Miss Wukong.
And we have around 100 million gamers inside China.
And that number is growing very fast by 50 million every year.
To capture that kind of market you need some capital to make high-quality games, especially graphics-wise.
And I think to work with Saudi Arabia on the funding part is very crucial.
That was Puguan An, the founder of Beijing-based gaming company, sharing his thoughts on the ongoing service trade fair in Beijing.
China says it will open up more sectors for digital trade, including telecommunications, the internet and culture.
Commerce officials say China will encourage foreign investors to increase investment in the digital sector.
It will also make it easier for foreign-invested digital trade firms to operate and support cross-border data flow.
Other efforts include a plan to create national demonstration zones to boost innovation.
China aims to develop leading digital companies with global reach and help small firms to grow internationally.
Another goal is to help shape global digital trade rules under the framework of the World Trade Organization, the G20 and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
Preparations for the fourth Global Digital Trade Expo are underway.
The event in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou will start in two weeks' time.
Over 1,700 exhibitors will take part, covering an area equal to 20 football fields.
More than 20% are international companies, including 70 Fortune Global 500 firms.
The event will feature national pavilions from the UAE and Indonesia, along with 30 international organizations.
It will highlight AI integration and new digital trade reports and host matchmaking events to boost global cooperation.
Chinese carmakers are making a big push into Europe.
They have greatly increased their presence at the 2025 IAA mobility event in Munich.
This comes despite looming tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
Over 100 Chinese companies are there, including BYD, XPeng and Leap Motor.
They are showing off new cars and strategies for the European market.
Leap Motor founder Zhu Jingming says they are increasing investment in hybrid technology.
Looking at the future of electrification, I believe it will follow two main paths fully electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles.
Alongside EVs, we also plan to increase our investment in hybrids, so we can capture a solid share of the European market.
Stella Lee is executive vice president of BYD.
She says they are adapting by building local factories.
Tariff is not a benefit for anybody.
We're hurting European consumer.
But for BYD as a global leader, as a technology leader, we have global mindset.
So we're already in the process to localize ourselves.
So our Hungary facility will start operating by end of this year.
Analysts noted a 40% increase in Chinese exhibitors at this year's IAA mobility compared to 2023.
The central banks of China and Indonesia have launched a local currency settlement framework and cross-border QR code interconnection initiative.
This deal marks a big step in financial cooperation between the two countries.
The cross-border QR code interconnection project is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year.
The project will use local currency settlement, representing a major achievement in bilateral payment integration.
Despite being America's largest state economy, California continues to struggle with poverty.
New census data shows nearly 7 million residents about 18 of the population couldn't meet basic needs in 2024, one of the highest rates in the United States.
Children and seniors were hit hardest.
Child poverty has more than doubled since 2021, rising to nearly 19 after pandemic tax credits ended.
More than one in five older Californians lives in poverty, the highest rate of any age group.
Experts say high housing costs are the main driver.
The average two-bedroom rent tops $2,200 last month, far above the national medium of $1,400.
Renters, especially black and Latino households, face the most severe hardship, with poverty rates above 30.
And finally, a new industry report names Beijing one of the world's top tourism cities.
The Chinese capital ranks seventh in the World Tourism Cities Development Report, moving up one spot from last year.
Shanghai and Hong Kong also made the top 11.
New York, Tokyo and Paris took the top three spots.
Five Chinese cities are in the global top 10 for smart tourism development.
Beijing also ranks fifth in tourism potential, scoring high in culture, safety and sustainability.
Experts praise the city's mix of ancient culture and modern technology, as well as its growing role as a global tourism hub.
Sideline Story brings you all things sports related.
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That's 47 minutes past the hour.
Turning to sports, here's Yang Guang.
Thank you, Tianlu.
We begin with table tennis.
Wang Chuqin is into the quarterfinals of the WTT Champions Macau after coming from a game down to defeat Jonathan Graff in men's singles.
Wang, who picked up the title in 2022 and 23, dropped opener 11-7.
He then eased past the growth in the next three games to set up a quarter-final clash with Chinese Taipei's Lin Junzhu.
I think he made it a tough game for me in terms of his pace and serves.
Even though I trailed 6-2 in the second.
But I told myself to win two more points and see if I can battle back from there on.
I think winning the second game was crucial for me to adjust my mindset and for my victory.
In other action, Xue Fei beat Tomokazu Harumoto to reach the last 16.
Japan's Harumoto has 24 career titles and is seeded third for this event, so it was a surprise win for Xue.
On the women's side, Chen Yi secured a hard-fought win over Kim Na-young to book her place in the round of 16.
There was a shock on Thursday when Puerto Rico's Adriana Diaz defeated China's Wang Yidi, who entered the event seeded 5th.
We now switch to field hockey.
From the Women's Asia Cup in Hangzhou.
China defeated India 4-1 to get their second win of the Super Force, following an earlier 2-0 victory over Japan.
Zhou Meirong scored her 10th goal of the tournament in the match.
Head coach Alison Arnon says keeping things simple helped China beat India.
In the first half we were I call it playing like millionaires, looking for the millionaire pass and not playing to our principles.
And in the team meeting before the game, I said we played a jib on down and we keep it simple.
And we didn't do that in the first half.
We were trying the most difficult passes.
We weren't connected because of that.
And in the second half, we changed that.
I think that we played quite structurally quite well.
In their final Super 4 matches, China will meet South Korea while India faces Japan.
Both are on Saturday.
Up next, we have action from the IWSF World Cup in Ningbo.
Home favourite Sheng Lihao claimed silver in the men's 10m air rifle, with Danilo Solazo delivering a stunning performance to capture gold and a new world record.
Olympic champion Sheng topped qualifying with 637.1 points, 3.6 ahead of second-placed Sollozo.
But in the final, it was the 22-year-old Italian who seized control from the start.
Sollozo sealed his first international title of the year with 255 points, half a point above Sheng's previous world record from 2024.
Sheng says he is aiming to maintain good form before the world championships.
I enjoy the competition very much, and I think I performed well enough.
There is some time away from the world championships, now I need to work hard on my daily training.
Sheng also paired with Peng Xinlu for silver in the mixed team event on Tuesday.
And women's 25-meter pistol reigning Olympic champion Yang Jieun of South Korea prevailed with 39 hits to secure the gold.
In track and field, star athletes are gathering in Tokyo for the World Championships which will start on Saturday.
Pole vault world record holder, Amandou Plantis, is bidding for a third world title, after wins in Eugene in 2022 and then Budapest in 2023.
The Swede's biggest aim in Tokyo this time is to better his own world record for 14th time.
The 25-year-old cleared 6.29 meters in Budapest last month, setting his 13th world record.
Duplantis says he feels pole vaulting has become his second nature.
I think it's just confidence.
And I think it's something that you kind of build throughout the years of just doing a lot of jumps and doing a lot of jumping.
And I think that that's how you get yourself into a state where you're probably not thinking so much and you're kind of in this flow autopilot state.
You need that kind of confidence where you don't have to overthink things."
Olympic champions Noah Lyles and Julian Alfreid will take to the track in Tokyo for the men's and women's 100 meters.
Alfred aims to claim another global title after crossing the line first in Paris to win St.
Lucie as a first-ever gold at the Olympic Games.
New Zealand's two-time Olympic shot put.
Gold medalist Valerie Adams will serve as a World Athletics official during this edition.
The 41-year-old looks forward to watching old rival Gong Lijiao compete again.
China's 36-year-old two-time world champion is set to make her 10th appearance at these events.
We finish with UEFA's announcement of the host cities for the 2027 Men's and Women's Champions League finals.
The men's showpiece will return to the home ground of La Liga club Atletico Madrid in Spain, which is the same venue where Liverpool defeated Spurs in the 2019 final.
Meanwhile, Warsaw will stage the women's title match, which marks Poland's first time hosting the competition.
The 2026 finals had already been awarded to Budapest for the men and Oslo for the women, with next year's UEFA Super Cup set for the Austrian city of Salzburg.
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.
It's 52 minutes past the hour turning to culture and entertainment.
The second Golden Panda Awards have kicked off in Chengdu, celebrating global cinematic talent and cultural exchange.
With 27 awards across five categories.
This year's competition in the southwestern Chinese city saw over 5000 submissions from 126 countries and regions.
The festival features three main events an international cultural forum, parallel sessions and the awards gala.
Alongside awards, activities include a face-to-face with pandas exhibition and a global short video contest attracting over 65000 entries.
The festival will also bring films to over 20,000 communities across Sichuan province.
The southeastern Chinese city of Fuzhou will host the 12th edition of the Silk Road International Film Festival later this month.
The festival from September 22 to 26 has three award categories the main competition, documentaries and animation.
It has received 3,500 film submissions from 135 countries and regions.
Around 100 movies from 44 countries and regions, including Russia France, Italy and Iran, were screened in 17 cinemas in Fujian province during the festival.
The National Museum of China is holding an exhibition commemorating the international friends who supported China during the War of Resistance against Japanese aggression.
With over 700 photographs and physical objects, the exhibition revisits those war-torn years and highlights the profound international friendships forged with blood and life.
Li Cheng reports.
The exhibition is organized into four thematic sections, each showcasing the humanity that shone across racial and national boundaries during the war.
Many of the exhibits and photos are being displayed to the public for the first time.
Our first artifact is Edgar Snow's suitcase.
Even before the full-scale war of resistance had begun, Snow had already sensed the force that was rising.
Through objects like this, along with photographs and archival materials, we aim to show the audience how and why Red Star over China came to be and how that Red Star shone over China.
Among those honored are international medical personnel who saved lives with their scalpels, as well as foreign war correspondents who braved artillery fire in the pursuit of justice.
The exhibition also pays tribute to Soviet Red Army heroes who cemented the foundation of Sino-Russian friendship, and American Flying Tigers members who fearlessly opened the perilous air route.
This exhibition is distinguished by its extensive collection of archival materials and the museum's rich collection, which together vividly portray the presence and contribution of international friends on China's battlefield.
The victory in China's war of resistance against Japanese aggression was not only a triumph for the Chinese people, but also a victory for all people around the world in the struggle against fascism.
That was Li Cheng reporting.
An exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of Steven Spielberg's classic film Jaws will open at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Sunday.
The exhibition runs through July.
It features more than 200 pieces from the culture-changing blockbuster.
The exhibit takes visitors chronologically through the film's three acts, with some relic or recreation from virtually every scene.
Now it's 57 minutes past the hour.
Checking the forecast before we go beijing will be cloudy, with a low of 19 on friday evening.
Saturday will be overcast, with a high of 29.
Luzhou will see rainstorm with a low of 22 tonight.
Tomorrow will be cloudy with a high of 33.
Nanchang will be cloudy and 27 tonight.
Tomorrow will see thundershower with a high of 34.
Lijiang will see heavy rain with a low of 15 tonight, then light rain and 22.
Elsewhere in Asia, Islamabad will see light rain with a low of 25 this evening.
Saturday will have light rain and 34.
Vientiane will see moderate rain with a low of 24 overnight, then moderate rain with a high of 32.
Phnom Penh will see heavy rain with a low of 24 overnight, then moderate rain and 31 degrees Celsius.
That's it for this edition of the Beijing Hour Making News Today.
China welcomes home the remains of 30 people's volunteers, martyrs who died on the Korean peninsula in the 1950s.
In business.
China's finance minister says the country's fiscal policy has ample room for the future action.
On behalf of the staff.
This is Tianlu, in the Chinese capital, hoping you'll join us for the next edition of the Beijing Hour and open the window to the world together.
Find the Beijing Hour at precisely 6 p.m.
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The Beijing Hour, your window on China and the rest of the world.
He can't live without the Yellow River in his eyes.
The Yellow River is so noble and elegant.
Both my grandpa and dad made the living from the river.
Would you like to move away from the Yellow River?
I don't think I will.
I love it so much.
The Yellow River, the second longest river in China, is regarded as a shaping force in 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.
