Welcome to the Beijing Hour, live from the Chinese capital.

Coming up on the program this morning...

Chinese President Xi Jinping calling for reform and innovation as China prepares to enter its 13th 5-year Plan period...

China rolling out new measures to encourage the positive development of urbanization in the country...

And 5 persons are dead after a gunman opened fire at a US security traning center in the Jordianian capital...

In Business....Australia's sentate passes legislation related to the China-Australia FTA...

In Sports..... A new report reccomending that Russia be banned from the Olympics due to an institutionalized culture of doping...

And in Entertainment.... Pop star Jolin Tsai performing the final Taipei show of her "Play World Tour".

Top NewsChinese President Stresses Reform, InnovationChinese President Xi Jinping has called for more reform and innovation as China prepares to enter its 13th 5-year Plan period from 2016 to 2020.

He made the remarks during the 18th meeting of the central leading group for comprehensively deepening reform on Monday.

President Xi stressed that the spirit of reform and innovation must be strengthened and the country's governance system should be modernized.

The leading group has emphasized that the market should be allowed to play a decisive role in allocating resources, and China shall open its service sector wider.

Innovation was urged in processing trade so that China can gain a new edge in international competition while maintaining its traditional advantages.

Earlier last week, China's ruling party released a comprehensive proposal for the country's development over the next 5 years.

5 development ideas are stressed including innovation, coordination, green development, opening up and sharing.

China to Further Develop Urbanization with More Registered Permanent Residents: OfficialAnchorChina plans to further develop urbanization by linking the pace of progress with land allocation for consturction purposes and transfer payments that local governments can gain.

CRI's Xie Cheng reports.

ReporterYang Weimin, vice minister of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economic Affairs, says that some one third of permanent residents in urban areas are not able to enjoy certain rights because they are unregistered.

"Though China's urbanization rate has reached a comparatively high level of 55 percent, its quality is not that high. The major reflection is that among the 750 million permanent residents living in urban areas, some 250 million are not registered residents. Thus they can not enjoy the corresponding public services nor related citizen rights in the urban areas."Yang made the remarks when discussing a proposal for China's development plan in the next 5 years during a press conference held on Monday by the Information Office of the China's Cabinent.

He stressed that the current urbanization mode does not provide a good chance for migrant workers from rural areas to settle down and become permanent urban residents, and gives prominence to the problem of a shrinking working-age population in urban areas as well.

"Many of the migrant workers will leave the cities at around 40 years old, because they can't settle down in the cities and have to return to their rural hometowns. That means their working life will be around 20 years shorter than those in the urban labor forces."Yang said the fundamental resolution is to improve the quality and rate of urbanization and turn those migrant workers into real city dwellers with registered households.

To achieve that, the central government will take incentive measures to encourage local governments absorb more rural residents.

"For one thing, the amount of incremental construction land that a city is to receive will be correlated with the number of incremental registered population it has. More generally, it means the more registered permanent population a city receives, the more land it is to gain, for building houses for the population."Yang also mentioned the importance of the fiscal transfer payments a city will gain, since the government will spend more on services such as education and health if the city holds more registered permanent residents, meaning fiscal transfer payments will be significant for balancing the interests of different sectors of Chinese society.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.

Chinese Foreign Minister to Visit the PhilippinesChinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will pay a working visit to the Philippines on Tuesday at the invitation of his Philippine counterpart Albert Del Rosario.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular news briefing on Monday that Wang will meet with Del Rosario and Philippine leaders in Manila on the sideline of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Meeting next week.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the summit after wrapping up the 10th Group of 20 meeting in Turkey next Monday.

China- Philippines relationship has been strained amid severe difficulties caused by disputes in the South China Sea over recent years.

Hong Lei said China is committed to resolving relevant issues with the Philippines through consultation and negotiation.

1st Lancang-Mekong River Cooperation FMs' Meeting to be Held in ChinaThe first Lancang-Mekong River cooperation foreign ministers' meeting will be held on Thursday in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said leaders from across south-east Asia will attend the meeting.

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and his Thai counterpart Don Pra-mud-win-ai will co-chair the meeting.

It is the first meeting of the six foreign ministers and they are expected to announce the establishment of a Mekong-Lancang cooperation mechanism.

The mechanism was proposed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in November 2014 when he attended the 17th China-ASEAN leaders' meeting in Myanmar.

Coal Burning Causes Northeast China's Air PollutionExperts said coal burning is the main cause behind the hazardous air pollution in northeast China over the past few days.

Local authorities in Liaoning province said the air pollution will continue until at least Saturday.

The air quality monitoring data from the provincial meteorological center shows that the PM2.5 pollutant level in Shenyang reached over 1,000 micro-grams per cubic meter over the weekend.

The amount of air pollutant in Shenyang increased since Oct. 31 when the city began its heating supply.

The coal-fired central heating system, emissions from industrial plants and the increasing use of cars are believed to be the major causes of air pollution in the region.

Li Jian, assistant manager of Shenyang Hunnan Heat Supplying Co, said they are trying to tackle the problem by upgrading their equipment.

"To meet the requirements of the environmental department, we have got rid of the equipment built in 2008. According to the new standards, sulfur dioxide density is reduced from 900 milligram per cubic meter to 200 milligram per cubic meter while dust density is reduced from 200 milligram per cubic meter to 30 milligram per cubic meter."Although it has been suggested that the region move from coal-powered heating to clean energy, that transition might take years.

China Expects Balanced Climate Agreement in Paris Conference: Vice PremierChinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli says China would like to work with all parties to push for the signing of a new universal and well-balanced agreement at the Paris climate change conference.

Zhang said the agreement is expected to become a milestone for global climate governance.

He promised China will actively promote international communication in the area and work to meet its international obligations.

Zhang added China will reinforce the "battles against pollution of air, water and soil," carrying out a series of protection and restoration projects concerning the rivers, mountains, forests and lakes.

UNEP Report Acknowledges Beijing Air Quality ImprovementsA report evaluating Beijing's control measures on coal-burning and vehicle emissions said progress has been made in improving the city's air quality over the past 15 years.

The report was jointly released by the United Nations Environment Programmme and the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau on Monday.

Former Chairman of the Board from the International Council on Clean Transportation, Michael Walsh, acknowledged the positive effects of the measures.

"They introduced clean fuels, lead-free gasoline, low-sulphur diesel fuel, state of the art vehicle technologies. They've gone from virtually very weak standards in the late 90s to Euro-five-equivalent standards now here in Beijing, faster than any other part of China."The UNEP report said Beijing has switched from coal to gas for electricity, eliminated old-model cars and implemented a lottery registration system for allocating car license plates.

Despite this progress, experts also concurred that there remain several issues to be resolved to improve the city's air quality, especially that of PM 2.5.

He Kebin, the dean of Tsinghua University's Department of Environment said Beijing's current average level of PM 2.5 particles is at 80 plus micrograms per cubic meter, which is still above the national standard of 35 micrograms per cubic meter.

He said the city should reach the national standard in 10 to 15 years.

Chinese Team Wins Breakthrough Prize for Neutrino ResearchAnchorA group of Chinese scientists has been awarded the 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for their contribution of neutrino oscillation.

CRI's Victor Ning reports.

ReporterWang Yifang, from the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, attended the award ceremony of the 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics at the NASA Ames Research Centre.

He is the director of the team behind China's Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment.

"I attribute this prize to the joint and relentless efforts of our team members. And a lot of hard work has been done in the past 30 years for China's high-energy physics to have today's achievements."Established in 2006, the Daya Bay team discovered the value of the angle theta one-three, the last of three long-sought neutrino mixing angles, in 2012.

The groundbreaking achievement is based on analysis and measurements of how the oscillation process varies with neutrino energy by some 200 scientists from six countries and regions around the world.

Wang Yifang says the discovery is of great importance to neutrino research:

"This result laid a solid foundation for further research on cosmology and particle physics and provided a direction for further research on neutrino."This is the first time that Chinese scientists have won the prize.

The prize is one of three awarded by the Breakthrough Foundation for outstanding contributions in life sciences, fundamental physics, and mathematics.

Russian entrepreneur and physicist Yuri Milner founded the Breakthrough Foundation.

He also awarded a three million U.S. dollars prize to the five winning teams.

Milner explains the rationale behind the sum of money offered as a prize by the foundation.

"It is a big enough number to send the message to the world that science is important. We need to keep in mind that the kind of scientists that are getting those prizes, they don't have the ability to use any intellectual property, because discovery belongs to everyone, from the time it's been discovered. So we made it so that everything that the scientists discover belongs to everyone, that's why they usually don't make a lot of money. "The other four teams honored are KamLand, K2K/T2K, and Super-Kamiokande from Japan, as well as the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory from Canada.

For CRI, I'm Victor Ning.

China-developed Stealth Fighter FC-31 Makes Debut at Dubai AirshowAnchorA new Chinese-made stealth fighter, the FC-31, has made its international debut at the 14th Dubai Airshow.

CRI's XYee reports.

ReporterLin Peng, FC-31's chief designer, says the fighter can be customized according to users' demands.

"The users can designate domestic or International suppliers to provide communications equipment, sensors and guided weapons. The FC-31 is expected to make its first flight in 2019. It will reach its initial operating capability in 2022. And by 2024, the FC-31 will have full operational capability."The twin-engine, radar-evading stealth fighter was developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, or AVIC.

Deputy general manager Li Yuhai says the FC-31 is equal to other types of fighters of the same class in terms of its platform and systems performance, and is also cost effective.

"No matter if it's in terms of the cost of a single fighter or in terms of the cost throughout a fighter's whole life cycle, the FC-31 is better than any other fighter of the same class."Named Shenyang J-31 in Chinese, the fighter made its maiden flight in late 2012 and was displayed to the public for the first time in late 2014 during China's International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition.

The fighter's debut at Dubai Airshow marks the first time that China has introduced a domestically-built fighter jet on the international stage. In the past, China's roles have mainly involved production or supportive services.

The biennial Dubai Airshow, the biggest in the Middle East and Africa, was first held in 1989 and is considered to be one of the fastest growing air shows in the world. At the 2013 show, deals reached more than 20.6 billion U.S. dollars in total.

This year's event runs through Nov 12 and is expected to draw around 65,000 visitors from around the world.

For CRI, I'm XYee.

Kissinger in China Elaborates on World OrderAnchorWell-known American politician Henry Kissenger, who made tremendous efforts to open communications with China, has traveled to Beijing to promote the Chinese edition of his new book, World Order.

CRI's Xu Fei reports.

ReporterHenry Kissinger is a well-known name in China. He is widely thought as an old, sincere friend of the Chinese people.

Dating back to 1971, Henry Kissinger, who was Nixon's National Security Advisor, flew to Beijing, where his meetings with then Chinese leaders produced an agreement that President Nixon would visit China. That's the first-ever visit by a US president in history.

As an experienced senior diplomat, Kissinger has many precious moments to recall, but he set his vision further away in the future in his book, World Order, as he himself explains:

"Somebody said to me, you really should write a book about the biggest problem in the world today. Don't write about history; write about the future. And so I wrote it. In all human history, there has never been a world order. In this sense,the whole world participated in creating an international system."Henry Kissinger wrote the book World Order in September 2014.

Within a year, the Chinese edition of World Order was published by CITIC Press Group.

According to the publisher, 200,000 books have been sold within the very first three months since it became available in China.

Fu Ying is the chairperson of Foreign Affairs Committee, National People's Congress.

"Kissinger's book in good sale in China reflects Chinese people's admiration for his rich knowledge and also experiences as a famous diplomat. His book would guide readers to travel along the route of history. The book vividly shows us those historical scenes which include confrontation, conflicts and the real stories on initiating world peace, breaking it and re-seeking peace and stability."Under Kissinger's observation, there has never been a true "world order". Each country considers itself the center of the world and envisions its distinct principles as universally relevant.

China and the US, as the two important players in international politics, should first properly tackle their bilateral ties.

Kissinger offers compelling insights into the future of U.S.–China relations in this book.

"When the American and Chinese leaders meet, they have to learn not only their own interest, but the interests of the world. And they are making a serious effort; that statements of American president and Chinese presidents have been very positive about long-range objectives and they found ways of dealing with short range objectives. But now we have to work on middle range objectives since five years ahead. We haven't fully resolved that yet."In addition to U.S.–China relations, World Order also examines lessons from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and analyzes nuclear negotiations with Iran and tensions with Russia over Ukraine.

Back anchor:

CRI's Xu Fei reporting.

Gunman Kills Five in US Training Facility in JordanA gunman shot and killed five people at a US-funded security training facility near Jordan's capital Amman on Monday. The Jordanian government says the five include two US contractors, a South African trainer and two Jordanians. The shooter was then shot dead.

The gunman was identified as Anwar Bani Abdu, and served as a senior co-trainer with the rank of captain.

The gunman's uncle Suleiman Al Saad cast doubts over the incident.

"I imagine that he was placed in a certain position, he was forced into a position which made him act this way."Al Saad added the family is now demanding a full investigation into the shooting.

U.S. President Barack Obama said he was treating the incident very seriously and that a full investigation was under way.

The gunman's motive was not immediately known. Jordan is a member of the US-led campaign against Islamic State militants in neighboring Syria and Iraq. Security sources said several earlier militant plots to attack the training center were foiled.

NLD Estimated to Win Sweeping Victory in Myanmar's Historic ElectionPreliminary results show that Myanmar's opposition party National League for Democracy or NLD has landed a sweeping victory in the country's first general election in 25 years.

The election commission indicates that the NLD led by Aung San Suu Kyi has won 25 seats in the lower house of parliament out of 28 seats declared.

NLD spokesman Win Htein on the victory.

"Rule of law. We need rule of law. We need peace because we want democratization and development of our country. We need peace. So we do our best for peace. Other time, acceptance of this thing depends on the government not military. One day they must erase the 25 percent. One day. Because they are not, undemocratic."The ruling Union Solidarity for Development Party's acting chairman U Htay Oo has conceded defeat and pledged to respect the results.

"Nationally, we have won some seats, but we also lost some seats. And generally speaking, USDP lost more seats than it won. The results are determined by the people. And as a party, USDP should serve the people and their interests. The final results have not been declared. But USDP will respect and accept the final results."A final vote count will be announced on Tuesday at the earliest.

EU Considers Setting up Balkan Processing Centers to Screen Asylum Claims: OfficialThe European Union is considering setting up processing centers in non-EU Balkan states to screen asylum claims by migrants heading north from Greece.

Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn made the announcement after EU interior ministers reviewed efforts to handle migrant related issues.

Asselborn noted that the numbers of migrants arriving on Greek islands was more than Athens could cope with, prompting the proposal for further facilities along the transit route from Greece through the Balkans.

"The concept must be explored further and defined, but such processing centres the length of the route could welcome migrants and begin either the asylum seeker process or, if it's the case, the return procedure. The idea is to be able to slow the flow in the case of situations where there is an enormous flow, as we are currently seeing."Last month, EU leaders agreed with Balkan countries, including Serbia and Macedonia, to ensure accommodation for 50,000 people in transit between Greece and the rest of the bloc.

Global Warming Favors English Wine ProductionAnchorGlobal warming has produced some unexpected results in England. The country's wineries are flourishing, thanks to a warmer climate.

Here's CRI's Qian Shanming with more.

ReporterTraditionally, England's damp and chilly climate has proved a hindrance to local vineyards, as grapes need abundant sunlight to fully develop. But that is changing.

Professor Richard Selley, from Imperial College's department of Earth Science and Engineering, explains the northward movement of warmer climates is reshaping Europe's wine production.

"The effect of climate change is being seen across Europe. Vineyards in southern France and from Spain across to Italy and across to Greece are being abandoned because they are too hot. The ones on the lowland and are being replanted higher up where it is cooler. And so we are actually seeing this northward migration of viticulture."Varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pino Noir and Chardonnay now abound in England, a phenomenon that is quite unthinkable in the years past.

"We can see quite clearly how places like Denbies which was planted 30 years ago was planted originally with very cool climate Germanic grape varieties. These are largely being replaced with French warmer climate varieties notably the holy trinity of pinot noir, pinot Meunier and Chardonnay for the sparkling white wines."The Queen has served English sparkling wine to distinguished guests at state banquets, including Chinese President Xi Jinping during his recent state visit to Britain and US President Barack Obama.

Sales of English sparkling wines have enjoyed a steady rise. Along with it, experts are also praising the improving taste of them.

Wine author and expert Tom Stevenson predicts a very rosy future for English sparkling wines.

"English sparkling wines, some people ask me 'is it an emerging sparkling wine region'? And I have to say: 'No it's emerged. It's already here. It's one of the top scoring sparkling wine regions there are in the world. And all of this has been achieved on very young vineyards as if you go back to 2000 there were hardly any chardonnay, pinot noir vineyards in the country and virtually no reserved stocks so if they managed to achieve that on young vineyards and no reserved stocks the future should be even better."England's 470 vineyards and 135 commercial wineries produced more than 6 million bottles last year, two thirds of which were sparkling wine. The industry association English Wine Producers says that amount is set to double in the coming decade or so.

The association says only 10% of England's production is exported; however, that number is expected to rise as producers hope to export as much as half of their wine.

Top export destinations include Asia, the Americas and parts of Europe, particularly Scandinavia.

Meanwhile, Professor Selley predicts a warmer global climate will keep pushing grape production northward, to places as far as Scotland.

For CRI, I'm Qian Shanming.

Global Temperatures to Surpass 1 Degree Celsius above Pre-industrial LevelsGlobal mean temperature at the Earth's surface is set to reach one degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels this year.

The data was released by Britain's Met Office on Monday.

Director of the Met Office Hadley Center, Stephen Belcher, said there were similar natural events in the past, but it's clear that this time it is human influence driving the climate into such uncharted territory.

Early indications suggest 2016 will be similarly warm and it is expected that warming will continue in the longer term.

Peter Stott, who leads the Climate Monitoring and Attribution team in the Met Office, said people will see more and more years passing the one degree marker and that eventually it will become the norm.

Limiting the rise in Earth's temperatures to below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels is the core goal of the United Nations' upcoming climate summit in Paris.

One Dead after NYC Train Station ShootingThree people were shot on Monday morning near New York City's Penn Station and one has died.

The shooting happened at about 6 am local time, near a subway entrance one block away from the busy train station.

NYC's Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce commented on the condition of the victims.

"One individual was shot one time in the head and he was pronounced DOA at the scene. Two other individuals were shot as well. One male shot twice in the torso. He is expected to survive. We have not spoken to him yet because he's intubating. The third individual was shot in the leg we are speaking to him now and he's giving us a narrative of events as we go forward."No suspects were immediately arrested.

Police say the shooting happened during a dispute, and that all three victims had long records of mostly drug-related arrests.

WeatherBeijing will have smog with a high of 8 degrees Celsius.

Overnight temperatures should drop down to 4.

Shanghai will be cloudy with a high of 16 and a low of 12.

In Chongqing, look out for slight rain with a high of 19 and lows of 16.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad will see slight rain with a high of 22.

Kabul will be rainy with a high of 6.

Over to North America,New York will be rainy with a high of 18 degrees.

Washington DC, slight rain with a high of 19 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 28.

Toronto will be rainy with a high of 7 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires, slight rain with a high of 28.

And Rio de Janeiro, slight rain with a high of 30 degrees Celsius.

Headline NewsChinese President Stresses Reform, InnovationChinese President Xi Jinping has called for more reform and innovation as China prepares to enter its 13th 5-year Plan period from 2016 to 2020.

He made the remarks during the 18th meeting of the central leading group for comprehensively deepening reform on Monday.

President Xi stressed that the spirit of reform and innovation must be strengthened and the country's governance system should be modernized.

The leading group has emphasized that the market should be allowed to play a decisive role in allocating resources, and China shall open its service sector wider.

Innovation was urged in processing trade so that China can gain a new edge in international competition while maintaining its traditional advantages.

China-Africa Trade Approaches 300 Billion Dollars in 2015The total value of China's trade with African states is expected to hit 300 billion U.S. dollars this year.

Yang Fuchang, a former deputy foreign minister, made the remarks at the Fourth China-Africa Industrial Forum on Monday in Beijing.

China's trade with Africa was recorded at 10 billion U.S. dollars in 2000. Last year, the figure grew to 220 billion dollars.

Yang says China is seeking to raise the amount to 400 billion dollars by 2020.

Yang adds that the timing is just right for the two sides to engage in all-round economic cooperation.

In the first week of December this year, China and South Africa will jointly sponsor the China-Africa Cooperation Forum Summit Meeting in Johannesburg, the second after the first was held in Beijing in 2006.

16 Students Injured in Stampede in NanjingA total of 16 students have been injured, five of them severely, following a stampede in Nanjing, the capital city of Jiangsu Province.

Local education authorities say all of the injured are in stable condition.

An elementary school organized first and second grade students for the outing on Monday at arcade. The arcade was located on the third floor of a shopping mall.

The stampede took place at around 10 a.m. after a group of students were lining up to ride the escalator.

An investigation is underway.

Dozens Missing after Brazil MudslideFirefighters and rescue workers continue to search for 28 people still missing, after the failure of two dams flooded a village in southeastern Brazil.

One person has been confirmed dead, while 15 village residents and 13 mine workers are missing.

Governor of the State of Minas Gerais Fernando Pimentel said it was unlikely that they would be found alive.

It is unclear what triggered the failure of dams at the Samarco iron ore mine.

Biz ReportsMarket PreviewTurning onto business news. First, a quick look at the closing numbers across North America and Europe as well as a recap on the Chinese market.

U.S. stocks dropped Monday, as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development shaved its 2015 global growth forecast to 2.9 percent.

At close, all three U.S. indices lost one percent.

The S&P 500 suffered its worst loss in six weeks on Monday as Wall Street braced for an interest-rate hike and fretted about weak Chinese trade data.

Nine of the 10 major S&P sectors ended lower, led by consumer discretionary and energy stocks.

The Dow slipped back into negative territory for the year, with only two of its 30 components higher on the day.

In other markets, Oil prices fall on ample supplies, and gold edged up on a weaker U.S. dollar.

Meanwhile in EuropeLondon's FTSE 100 decreased by 0.9 percent.

France's CAC 40 lost 1.5 percent.

Germany's DAX went down by 1.6 percent.

Latest data show German foreign trade rebounded in September as both exports and imports recovered from slumps in the previous month.

Finally here in China, advanced on Monday after the securities regulator decided to restart IPOs.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.6 percent, while the smaller Shenzhen index gained 1.5 percent.

Australian Senate Passes China-Australia FTA LegislationsThe Australian Senate on Monday passed legislation surrounding the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, clearing the final hurdle for enacting the agreement.

The agreement was passed after the opposition Labor party and the government struck a deal to boost safeguards for Australian jobs last month.

The agreement will take effect by the end of this year.

It marks another important free trade agreement for China in the Asia Pacific region after the China-South Korea Free Trade Agreement was signed this June.

For more on this, we are joined by Gao Shang, commodity analyst with Guantong Futures.

Talking points1, What kind of benefits will this deal bring to Chinese consumers?

2, What kind of investment opportunities will this deal bring to investors of both countries?

3, China has signed 14 free trade agreements with 22 countries and regions. What do you think of their significance, especially in light of the "one belt, one road initiative?"Back anchorThank you very much, Gao Shang, analyst with Guantong futures.

Cross-border RMB Flows, Capital Market Connectivity between China, S'pore to StrengthenMonetary Authority of Singapore on Monday announced key initiatives to further expand channels for cross-border RMB flows.

The move is one of the key outcomes in financial co-operation arising from Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent state visit to Singapore.

In addition, Singapore's quota under the RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor scheme will be doubled from 50 RMB billion to 100 billion RMB.

The increase is in response to the strong interest by Singapore-based asset managers and investors to invest in China.

This larger quota will allow more fund managers in Singapore to offer investors a wider range of RMB fund products.

China to Start direct trading between RMB, Swiss FrancChina announced Monday that it will allow direct trading between the Chinese yuan and Swiss Franc in the inter-bank foreign exchange market starting from Tuesday.

The move will lower trading costs for China and Switzerland, facilitating use of the two currencies in bilateral trade and investment.

China Foreign Exchange Trade System says this will boost economic and financial cooperation between the two countries.

The central parity rate between Renminbi and Swiss Franc will be decided according to the average quotation of direct trading market makers before the market opens each working day.

The Swiss Franc is the 12th foreign currency that can be directly traded with the Chinese yuan in the inter-bank foreign exchange market.

Unisplendour to Form Joint Venture with Western DigitalUnisplendour and Western Digital today announced an agreement to form a joint venture.

Under the agreement, Western Digital will sell its current data center storage systems in China to Unis and to develop data center storage solutions for the Chinese market in the future.

As a leading information technology company in China, Unis will own 51% shares of the joint venture and its subsidiary, Unissoft, which located in South China's Wuxi.

The remaining 49% will be owned by U.S. firm Western Digital.

The venture will combine Unis' knowledge of the Chinese market with Western Digital's storage solutions portfolio.

The transaction has been approved by the boards of each company, and the joint venture is expected to become operational by the second quarter of 2016.

The joint venture will be based in China.

Chinese Insurer Anbang to Buy Fidelity & Guaranty for 1.57 Bln USDChina's leading comprehensive insurance company Anbang announced Monday that it will acquire U.S. life insurance provider Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company for nearly 1.6 billion U.S. dollars.

Fidelity & Guaranty Life is an U.S. insurance holding company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, helps middle-income Americans prepare for retirement.

The transaction will make Anbang one of the largest insurers by market share in fixed annuity products in the United States.

It is expected to close in the second quarter of 2016.

China's Online Retail Sales to Reach 1.6 Trillion Dollars in Five Years: ReportA recent study shows China's online retail sales are expected to rise to 10 trillion yuan, or some 1.6 trillion U.S. dollars in 2020.

According to the report unveiled on Monday by Bain&Company and Alibaba, the penetration rate of online retail sales is expected to double from the 2014 level to 22 percent.

The report said that mobile Internet commerce and trans-border Internet commerce will be the main growth engines.

It also points out Chinese consumers' awareness of brands has been growing in the last several years.

China's Rural Areas to Benefit More from E-commerceA new guideline says that Chinese rural areas will benefit from e-commerce as online businesses combine with brick-and-mortar stores in rural areas.

China's Cabinent on Monday released a guideline on the development of e-commerce in rural areas until 2020 to promote rural entrepreneurship, expand rural consumption and bring poor rural residents out of poverty.

An online rural shopping platform will also enable rural areas to access e-commerce.

The government will promote Internet technology in agriculture, and use big data analysis to guide production.

Better broadband access and better roads will raise the logistics capacity of rural areas.

In 2014, online retail sales rose nearly half a percent to some 2.8 trillion yuan, or 440 billion U.S. dollars, compared with a 12 percent growth for total retail sales of consumer goods.

Lenovo Launches New Tablet-laptop Hybrids to Revive PC MarketThe world's largest PC maker, Chinese company Lenovo launched two convertible laptops and a tablet under its Yoga line on Monday.

Launched in 2012, Lenovo's Yoga line of laptops were designed to work both as PC and tablets as the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets have contributed to a slowdown in PC sales.

Monday's release includes two laptops with keyboard that can be either folded or detached and a Yoga tablet.

Lenovo's CEO Yang Yuanqing said that the PC market, valued at 200 billion U.S. dollars, still has potential for growth as some of its essential features cannot be replaced by tablets and smartphones.

Yang said though Lenovo is already the world's largest PC maker, it still wants to grow its market share.

SportsWADA Finds Evidence of Doping, Cover-ups by Russian AthletesRussia's track and field athletes could all be banned for next year's Rio Olympic Games as the World Anti-Doping Agency is accusing them of doping and cover-ups.

A WADA commission found a deeply rooted culture of cheating in Russian athletes, prompted by a documentary by German journalist Hajo Seppelt.

Chair of the commission Dick Pound says they hope Russia can step up and turn the situation around, while recommending that its Athletic Federation be suspended.

"In fact one of our hopes is that they will volunteer that so they can undertake the remedial work in time to make sure that Russian athletes can compete under a new framework if you like. If they don't, it has to play itself out and the outcome may be that there are no Russian track and field athletes in Rio. I hope that they recognise that it is time to change and make those changes."A report released by the commission suggested evidences of a state-supported doping in that the intelligence service was involved.

The IAAF has responded by saying it will consider Pound's recommendation.

Its former president Lamine Diack is already under investigation for accepting bribes to cover-up Russia's doping cases.

The International Olympic Committee's Ethics Commission is recommending the provincial suspension of Diack as an IOC honorary member.

Current IAAF president Sebastian Coe calls these dark days for his sport. He is giving Russia until the end of the week to respond to the accusations.

"The report is shocking, I don't think we can be coy or naive about that. And if the allegations that are also pending, other than the subject of a criminal investigation, clearly this is a devastating position to be in."Russian sports minister Vitlay Mutko said there was no evidence for the accusations against the Federation.

German Football Association Head Steps DownPresident of the German Football Association Wolfgang Niersbach has stepped down over a FIFA payment that has resulted in a tax evasion probe.

Niersbach said after an emergency meeting that he was taking "political responsibility" for the affair, although he denied any personal wrongdoing.

Nierbach claims that there were things that happened without his knowledge and promises to clear things up.

"Things have happened that were partly only revealed in recent days which made me resign as a bearer of political responsibility. The office of the president of the DFB can not be burdened, it is also about my personal reputation but the office is above the person. That's the reason for the decision today which was extremely hard."Frankfurt prosecutors are investigating a payment of 6.7 million euros the federation made to FIFA in connection with the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Then president of the bidding committee for the world cup Franz Beckenbauer admitted they had made some mistakes but insists there is no corruption during the bidding process.

CSL Award Ceremony to be Held in ChangshaThe award ceremony for last season's Chinese Super League will be held in the central Chinese city of Changsha this evening.

Wu Lei will receive the best local scorer award for the third successive year. He had a total of 14 goals for Shanghai SIPG.

The golden boot award will go to Shandong Luneng striker Aloisio as the season's top scorer with 22 goals.

Other awards will be revealed at the ceremony.

The night's climax will be the result of the Player of the Year. Guangzhou Evergrande's Riccardo Goulart is the favorite for this award.

Other candidates include his Evergrande teammate Zheng Zhi and SIPG's Dario Conca.

China's national team head coach Alain Perrin is invited to award the winner.

Zheg Zhi Shortlisted for Asian Football of the Year AwardGuangzhou Evergrande and China's national team captain Zheng Zhi has also made the three-person shortlist for Asian Footballer of the Year.

The other candidates are Ahmed Khalil from United Arab Emirates club Al Ahli, and Mohammad Safiq Bin Rahim from Malaysia club JDT.

An Evergrande title at the AFC Champions League will make Zheng the hot favorite for the award.

Guangzhou Evergrande were crowned Chinese Super League champions for the five successive year. They held Al Ahli to a goalless draw in the first leg of the AFC Champions League finals.

Zheng and Evergrande will play the return leg at home on November 21.

Zheng and China's national squad take on Bhutan in the World Cup qualifiers on Thursday.

The winner of the Asian Footballer of the Year award will be announced towards the end of this month in New Dehli.

Cristiano Ronaldo Releases FilmCristiano Ronaldo has launched his biopic "Ronaldo."The film charts Ronaldo's life between Real Madrid's European cup triumph in 2014 and his third Ballon d'Or last January.

Ronaldo talked openly about his early life and relationship with his son but declined to disclose the identity of the mother.

Ronaldo says he may have let people in on too much about himself but he is enjoying it.

"Well I avoided nothing. In the beginning it was a little bit rare (sic) because when I spoke with the guys from Universal they planned to do 3 days of filming but I was just feeling so comfortable and good chemistry with the director and Antony and Paul that thing were coming in a natural way. In the movie you are going to have the opportunity to see that we have very intense moments, very private moments, because I was enjoying the filming. I think the last result is great, I think you are going to have the opportunity to see it was unbelievable."The film is due to have its official premiere in London while being simulcast to over 300 cinemas around the world.

The 30-year-old Portugal international has won La Liga, Spanish Cup and the Champions League at Real Madrid. He has just become the club's record goal-scorer last month with 326 goals.

EntertainmentJolin Tsai Finishes the Final Taipei Show of "Play World Tour"Pop star Jolin Tsai has performed the final Taipei show of her "Play World Tour".

Since launching the tour in Taiwan in May, the singer has been to Beijing, Shanghai, and Singapore before returning to Taipei for four more dates.

The pop star says in the earlier gigs, the concert received an overwhelmingly positive reaction and it has helped her feel more relaxed for the final shows.

"When I did the show (in Taipei) previously, the response was great.　So we were waiting for the availability of the stadium and finally we got it.　I'm very　happy to have the opportunity to be with you all.　So no pressure at all, except when I'm very exhausted."Tsai welcomed surprise guests onto the stage during her last show including singer Sandy Lam from Hong Kong and rock band "May Day" from Taiwan.

The singer is calling on fans who come to her shows to get creative with their outfits. The payoff could even be joining Tsai on the stage.

"If they give me something to work with, I want to return the favor.　So I encourage everyone to let yourself shine and get my attention so I'll want to have you on stage. I'll sing the song you want to hear.　We can sing together and have fun.　Turn the show into a mini meet and greet."Remaining stops on the "Play World Tour" include HangZhou, Hong Kong and ShenZhen.

Junior Version of 'Project Runway' to Premier on ThursdayAmerican fashion reality show 'Project Runway' is finally in for a kids version after 14 seasons.

In this new season, contestants are aged between 13 and 17, and its judges will also be completely different from the grown-up version.

However, one thing that 'Project Runway Junior' kept in consistence is the presence of mentor and co-host Tim Gunn.

Gunn says though he has given guidance to adults for quite a long time, he is still nervous about stepping into the new show as the mentor.

"And I thought, 'Oh, what is this going to be like? Will I have to soft-pedal all my critiques? Is it all going to be watered down? Are they going to be emotional wrecks, and very fragile?' And, I have to tell you, I have never worked with a more professional group of individuals, and, regardless of age. Professional, respectful, lovely to each other, lovely qualities of character, which I attribute to their parents."Celebrities including Kelly Osbourne and Christian Siriano are sitting on the judging panel for the new season.

Gunn also indicates the toughest challenge faced by the judges was to eliminate junior contestants as the show went on.

"They were so extremely difficult for me and for the judges, and the designers were professional, and stoic, and thanked the judges for the feedback, and the opportunity."Super model Hannah Davis has co-hosted the show with Gunn.

'Project Runway Junior'is scheduled to premier on this Thursday, November 12th.

Hilary Swank among Stars Celebrating Leading Scientists and MathematiciansStars including Hilary Swank and Lily Collins have joined the celebration of leading scientists and mathematicians at the Breakthrough Prize ceremony held in Silicon Valley, California.

The Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank highlights the importance of this event.

"Last year I portrayed an ALS patient. It's a disease people don't know what causes it. It's becoming more prevalent so I think all of us coming together and talking like this in this type of community just raises awareness and gives us the opportunity to really learn more."Kumail Nanjiani of HBO's 'Silcon Valley' is also among the celebrity award presenters.

That's it for this edition of the Beijing Hour.

Recapping our top stories this morning...

Chinese President Xi Jinping calling for reform and innovation as China prepares to enter its 13th 5-year Plan period...

China rolling out new measures to encourage the positive development of urbanization in the country...

And 5 persons are dead after a gunman opened fire at a US security traning center in the Jordianian capital...

On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, Spencer Musick in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together.