Chinese President Xi Jinping is now in Astana for his first state visit to Kazakhstan, after attending a Group of 20 (G20) summit in the Russian city of St. Petersburg.

During the visit, Xi Jinping is scheduled to hold talks with his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev and witness the signing of a series of cooperation documents.

 

G20 livecast promo

Chinese President Xi Jinping is going to deliver a keynote speech in Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan Saturday noon Beijing Time. 

CRI English service will bring you a live broadcast of the speech via AM 846 in Beijing, FM90.5 in Perth, Australia, FM88 in Canberra, Australia, FM104.2 in Auckland, New Zealand, FM102 in Kabul, Afghanistan, FM102 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, FM98 in Islamabad, Pakistan, and FM98 in Karachi, Pakistan. 

You can also listen to the show online by logging onto crienglish.com.

 

Update (BJH heads) Xi Jinping meets with Obama, Merkel

Chinese President Xi Jinping has met with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Russia's St. Petersburg.

Xi Jinping says relations between the two sides should maintain a "sound momentum".

On the issue of Syria, Xi Jinping reiterates that the crisis should be resolved through political as opposed to a military strike.

Obama states that he remains committed to keeping communication with the Chinese side on the issue.

It is the second meeting between Xi Jinping and Obama in three months.

Also holding talks with President Xi at the G20 was German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.

Xi Jinping praised the German government's support on a series of trade disputes between China and the European Union.

 

Chinese president urges G20 members to fight against protectionism 

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged world's leading developed and developing economies to fight against trade protectionism.

Addressing a meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) leaders, Xi Jinping said that the global multilateral trade system now faces many challenges amid rising protectionism and stalled Doha talks, which hurts both the world's economic recovery and the interests of all countries. 

He urged the G20 major economies, which account for 80 percent of world trade, to have a sense of crisis and assume the responsibility to advance a new round of global trade expansion.

 

China is strategic partner to Russia: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has described China as his country's strategic partner both in trade and cooperation. 

Addressing the press at the end of the two-day G20 summit in St. Petersburg, Putin said: China is Russia's strategic partner. This is evident not only in the volume of its trade. China is the No.1 trading partner for the Russian Federation.

Putin noted, China-Russia relationship is not confined in trade alone. The two countries have expanded their cooperation into many other areas including high-technology. 

While elaborating on Russia-China cooperation, Putin said the two countries have agreed to work together in areas such as agriculture, nuclear energy and high-technology.

 

Putin vows to help Syria in case of military attack 

Russian President Vladimir Putin says it will help Syria in case of an external military attack.

He's told reportes that Moscow has been fulfilling its arms contract with Damascus, adding it will strengthen cooperation with Syria in humanitarian sector, supply humanitarian aid to civilians who were in grave conditions. 

According to the Russian president, the allegation of chemical weapons use in Syria is provocation of militants hoping for external support. 

Putin reiterated that the use of force against a sovereign state is possible only for the purpose of self-defense or under a UN Security Council sanction.

 

'No decision' in Egypt on dissolving Muslim Brotherhood

The Egyptian government has denied state media reports that it has to dissolve the Muslim Brotherhood, which had been registered as an NGO since March of this year.

The interim government in Cairo has been cracking down on the Brotherhood since the ousting of President Mohammed Morsi in early July.

 

South Korea bans seafood from Japan

South Korea is to ban fishery products from eight Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima, from next Monday, indefinitely.

The move comes after concerns about radiation contamination from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.

 

Shanghai FTZ to enjoy free convertibility of RMB

China will allow unfettered exchange of the RMB in the soon-to-be inaugurated first free trade zone in Shanghai.

The move is the latest measure to reform the world's second largest economy.

According to a draft plan, the zone goes beyond greater liberalization of trade to take in investment and financial services, including free convertibility of the yuan.