Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese Capital.

Coming up on our program this morning...

Final preparations are underway for the massive events in Beijing tomorrow commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of the War.

Chinese authorities are suggesting manufacturing growth is still solid, despite the latest PMI figures.

Thai authorities have arrested another suspect in connection with last month's deadly bombing in Bangkok.

In Business... the IMF is warning other emerging economies to keep an eye on what's happening in China.

In Sports... China's last player in the women's singles through to round-2 at the US Open.

In entertainment.... the Terminator is looming large at the Chinese box office.

Top NewsPresident Xi to deliver speech at V-Day paradeChinese President Xi Jinping is set to deliver a speech on Thursday before ahead of this Thursday's commemorations marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the War.

Xi Jinping will be joined by several world leaders on the rostrum overseeing the display.

China Radio International will be providing live coverage of the military parade in-front of Tian'anmen, starting at 10am.

Soldiers Ready for ParadeAnchorTomorrow's parade along Chang'an Avenue in-front of Tian'anmen will be the culmination of months of work by soldiers from China and various other countries taking part.

CRI's Liu Yuanhui reports.

ReporterAsk virutally any soldier taking part in Thursday's formations, and they'll tell you they're ready.

"After all of our training, our formations are clean, crisp and steady. All we've been doing at this point is just fine-tuning our steps to every second and every meter. We're going to keep this level going through the parade."Among the highlights of this Thursday's parade is a fly-by of China's naval patrol aircraft.

Zhang Zhicheng is the Commander of the naval patrol craft.

He says they've been practicing so that even the slightest error will be prevented.

"It is the first time we've put large aircraft in a parade. Admittedly, it was difficult at first to train our pilots to fly less than 7-meters apart at the beginning. But thanks to new software, which has been developed in China, we've been able to make things almost perfect."More than 500 pieces of China's newest military hardware will be on-display.

All have been domestically-produced.

At least 4 out of 5 have never been seen before by the public.

The display, much larger than any of the previous parades put on in China, will also be first to involve foreign troops.

Around a thousand troops from 17 other countries will be among the some 12-thousand soldiers striding in-front of Tian'anmen.

"It's a rare opportunity for us as Cubans to take part in a parade here in China. People from all over the world will witness this historical moment. We have been well prepared and we appreciate the help given by our Chinese counterparts."Of the foreign troops involved, Mexico has included some of its female soldiers.

Dianna Espinosa, one of the Mexican soldiers taking part in Thursday's parade, says the only difference between them and their male counterparts will be the clothes.

"Our formation is made up of military school students from the three services of our army. We have women in our troop. And we have to live up to the same standards as our male counterparts. The only difference between male and female soldiers is our uniforms."The foreign contingents themselves will be rolled-out in alphabetical order - with one exception.

Russian troops will appear at the end of the foreign processions.

This is a reciprocal gesture for Russia allowing the Chinese honor guard to take the end of the foreign procession in Red Square to mark their 70th Anniversary celebrations in May.

For CRI, I'm Liu Yuanhui.

V-Day Parade Casts Influence WorldwideAnchorWith the V-Day parade just around the corner, China's role in World War II has become a topic of discussion around the world.

CRI's Qi Zhi reports.

ReporterRolando Lopez Almo worked as Cuba's ambassador to China some 30-years ago.

He says the Cuban people are well-aware of the contributions made by the Chinese people during the war.

"The Chinese people did quite good according to their possibilities. And it should be remembered that the main suffering in Asia was done to the Chinese people, and the resistance of the Chinese people, they are resilient, their will to defeat foreign aggression, must always be remembered."Mikhail Delyagin, a Russian scholar who has been studying China since the 1990s, says the role of Chinese troops was invaluable.

"At that time, the Chinese army held back most of the Japanese forces. China was a main battlefield, and Chinese forces fought the war aggressively. The Chinese soldiers fought persistently not only on domestic territory, but also in certain territories in Southeast Asia. Without China, the War against Axis forces would never have succeeded."The parade this Thursday to mark the 70th anniversary of the Chinese People's War Against Japanese Aggression is a first-of-its-kind in China.

An estimated 35-million Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed in Japan's occupation of China.

Svetlana Zhurova, deputy chief of the Russian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, says the parade is a reminder of history.

"We have the responsibility to remember history, so that the wrong side of history will not be repeated, especially when there are some people trying to do that. The complicated international situation leads to misunderstanding and conflicts. Both Russia and China are among the most influential powers in the world. It is imperative that by the military parade, we remind people of history and past sacrifice, which are undeniable facts."Some 30 heads of state will attend the commemorations, including the parade in Tian'anmen Square.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye will be among those on the rostrum at Tian'anmen.

Srikanth Kondapalli, an Indian professor of Chinese Studies, says the parade holds a dual-purpose.

"This parade is going to be keenly watched in the international community, partly because there are these revivals of these memories, Number One. Number two, this also indicates the influence of China in the international system"At the same time, Sino-Indian researcher Jagannath Panda says the rest of the world shouldn't view the parade as a threat.

"Behind this big event, China wants to pass a message that China is a big power today, that the military has already been a powerful military today, the army has become a strong army today. But it's not for all those negative reasons. The PLA wants to participate in the peace-loving, peacemaking efforts. And that is the positive signal it wants to give the world using the 70th commemoration parade."Commemoration activities are scheduled to start at 10am tomorrow.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to deliver a speech before the military parade begins.

For CRI, I'm Qi Zhi.

Xi meets more foreign leaders ahead of V-Day celebrationsChinese President Xi Jinping has met with more foreign leaders in Beijing set to attend the V-Day celebrations tomorrow.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is one of the latest world leaders to arrive.

Xi Jinping has told Maduro China hopes to help Venezuela improve its industrial capacity.

The Chinese President has also welcomed Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir.

Xi Jinping has revealed China and Sudan are moving to establish a formal strategic partnership.

He says this will include increased cooperation in areas such as petroleum, infrastructure, agriculture and renewable energy.

The Chinese president has also held talks with leaders from Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.

Xi meets with former KMT chairmanXi Jinping, in his capacity as general secretary of the Communist Party of China, is calling for people from both the mainland and Taiwan to remember history and safeguard peace.

His comments have been made while meeting with Lien Chan, former chair of Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang Party.

A delegation from Taiwan is in Beijing to attend this week's commemoration marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the War.

Xi Jinping has taken time laud both the contributions of the CPC and the KMT during the war, saying the victory over Japanese forces was a struggle among everyone in the nation, regardless of their political affiliations.

VJ Day Series: Part V – To Record and Reflect on HistoryAnchorToday we conclude our series connected to the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

In our final report, CRI's Xiao Yi takes us through the nuances involved in determining what exactly happened during the turbulent times before, during and after the war.

Reporter:

Did Japan "invade" China in the 1930's and 40's or their troops merely "entered" China? Did the Nanjing Massacre really happen, followed by rampant rapes? Did Japan colonize some countries they occupied or just liberate them from colonial rule? Did they force women to be "sex slaves" for their troops? Did the Japanese army conduct germ warfare in World War Two?

There's a long list of questions like these, and almost each of them has a so-called "neutralized term", such as "enter" instead of "invade" and "comfort women" versus "military sex slaves", all with hidden intent.

Hence the counter measures to collect ironclad evidence; a tough job.

Shanghai Jiaotong University has just published evidence from the Tokyo Trial held by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East nearly 70 years ago. This collection, including 50 volumes in Japanese and 3 volumes of indexes in Chinese, serves as proof of Japan's WWII atrocities. The book is the second published by the University after its previous work on the proceedings of the Tokyo Trial published two years ago. Both of them are regarded as precious basic files detailing Japan's war crimes.The Tokyo Trial from 1946 to 1948 charged 28 Japanese military and political leaders with Class A war crimes.

Professor Liu Tong, from the Center for the Tokyo Trial Studies of Jiaotong University, says it's a meticulous work that requires a high degree of specificity.

"In order to fight against Japanese right-wing groups, you have to present something more convincing to refute them. Those academic results must derive from original historical data."In July, over 1000 privately-owned historical documents recording Japanese war crimes went on display in Beijing. These include books, newspapers, military currencies, wartime savings bonds, photos and archives, mostly in Japanese language. They are part of personal collections from Hsu Po Yih, a Taiwan artist and philanthropist.

The donation is also a response to All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, which started soliciting evidence from around the world since last year.

Federation Vice Chairman, Qiao Wei says those collections are of great significance.

"Through these documents, we could see that Chinese mainland and Taiwan are working together fighting against Japanese aggression. This means that we could overcome any problems as long as we unite together."Down south in Fujian Province, a recent exhibition features coastal defence in Fujian and Taiwan. One item is a pictorial made by Japanese Intelligence Department during the war, recording Japanese troops' killing, looting and raping in detail.

Fujian has also released an original video footage about the invasion of the province. The footage, shot by Japanese war correspondents back in 1941, encloses details of the attacks on Zhejiang and Fujian provinces and the Japanese troops' atrocities, such as raping and looting after they took the city of Fuzhou. It also reveals how Japanese troops looted fortunes in the two provinces to cut off the channel of assistance given by overseas Chinese.

The exhibition's co-organizer Jiang Binjian says the collections present irrefutable facts of history.

"Since Japanese right wing forces have been denying their history of invasion, I try to gather evidence of Japanese troops' atrocities especially coming from Japanese side, so as to truly unveil the historical facts, by using their own historical records."Japanese fighter jets bombed Fujian in more than 3100 sorties. 2.5 million people were displaced, that's nearly 20 percent of the then provincial population.

But Japanese right-ring politicians continue their denial of their history of war and atrocities, such as sex slaves of the army, the Nanjing Massacre and germ warfare.

In October last year, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga rejected his predecessor, Yohei Kono's admission of coercion of "comfort women" during the war.

Lyu Yaodong, an expert with the Japanese Studies Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, explains Japan's motivations.

"He's making attempt to set up a so-called 'correct view of history' via his own explanations on the international community. Such a 'view of history' is actually full of historical revisionism, meaning the denial of their history of aggression."Back in 1993, Kono made a statement acknowledging Japan's forceful recruitment of over 200 thousand young women from China, the Korean Peninsula and Southeast Asia and forced them to serve in military brothels during the War.

As counter measures against denial, China's State Archives Administration has publicized a series of 31 hand-written confessions from Japanese war criminals, about what they did in China. Up north, the City of Harbin has opened a new museum, exhibiting more than 5,000 pieces of evidence of Japan's secret chemical and biological warfare research conducted by its Army Unit 731. Between 1939 and 1943, the unit produced about 640 kilograms of bacteria, enough to destroy the entire human race if used.

New findings and new research results are on display in many other cities, including Nanjing. The message –China's willing to look forward and foster partnership with old adversaries, as in the case of Germany and its former enemies, but only when history is truly reflected upon as a mirror.

Back Anchor:

CRI's Xiao Yi with our final report in our series on the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

China Hopes Japanese Gov't Listen to Citizens' Righteous Calls on Security BillsThe Chinese government is weighing-in on the latest demonstrations outside the Japanese parliament this past weekend.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying says its time for Abe administration to hear what people are saying.

"We hope the Japanese government can listen to the righteous calls from their residents seriously, draw lessons from the history earnestly, adhere to peaceful development path, act prudently in military security sector, and do more things that are beneficial to regional peace and stability."Some 120-thousand people rallied outside the parliament building in Tokyo on Sunday, demanding Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rescind the controversial security bills.

The bills, if passed, will enable Japan's military to become an offensive force, allowing it to engage in armed conflicts overseas in defense of its allies.

At the same time, the Chinese side is rejecting Japanese objections to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's attendance at tomorrow's V-Day celebrations in Beijing.

The foreign ministry notes 30 different heads-of-state and government leaders are attending the military parade on Thursday.

China's Manufacturing Contracts, Inspiring Pro-growth PoliciesAnchorDespite the latest stats showing contraction in China's manufacturing sector, Chinese authorities say they are still seeing positive signs out of the current economy.

CRI's Luo Wen has more.

ReporterManufacturing PMI, the official gauge of factory activity in China, slipped into contraction territory for the third time this year in August.

The official reading has come in at 49.7, down from an even-50 for July.

50 is the line between contraction and expansion.

Ning Jizhe, vice-Chair of the National Development and Reform Commission, says despite the shift into contraction, the PMI is still showing signs it will improve in the future.

"Yes, I have seen the data on the manufacturing PMI, and it has gone from 50 to 49 and something. But this is a small margin of fluctuation. The PMI index is composed of many categories. But we think there are many signs that it will improve in the future. It will improve in the future."Observers are attributing the declining PMI mostly to the phasing-out of traditional manufacturing, as well as bad weather, the air pollution controls put in around Beijing ahead of the parade, as well as low commodity prices.

Meanwhile, the service sector is also showing signs of cooling.

However, the PMI for the non-manufacturing sector still remains well above the 50-level, even though it dipped half-a-percent to 53.4 in August from 53.9 in July.

He Weiwen with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University says part of the slight decline can be put on the volatility of the Chinese stock markets.

"I think the important factor is the performance of the financial sector. The stock market performance in the first half of this year was exceptionally well so this upgraded the growth rate of GDP by half a percentage point for the first half of this year. But since the stock market bust in the previous two months, the non-manufacturing sector thus performed badly."The Chinese stock market began their decline in mid-June after a bullish first-half.

Shanghai has plunged nearly 40-percent since the volatility first began.

To shore up the market, China's central bank last week cut its benchmark interest rates for the fifth time since November.

In the latest move, the government is encouraging listed companies to merge and restructure, pay cash dividends, and buy back their own shares in an effort to encourage investors to hold stocks for the long term.

He Weiwen says more stimulus measures may still be needed to promote structural reforms, rather than simply bailing out the markets in the short-term.

"All the measures regarding the fiscal and monetary are not enough, as has been proved in the past few months. So the government will continue to push up the real economy the development, to encourage the mass innovation and to encourage the development of the hi-tech industry and so on."China's GDP expanded 7-percent year on year in the first half of this year.

This is still in-line with the Chinese government's full-year target of 'around' 7-percent.

Both the IMF and Goldman Sachs are predicting full-year growth in China to come in at around 6.8-percent.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

A main suspect of deadly Thai bombing nabbedAnchorThai police have announced the arrest of a 2nd foreign suspect in connection last month's deadly bombing in Bangkok which left 20 dead, including 7 Chinese nationals.

CRI's Poornima Weerasekara has more.

ReporterThe male suspect was arrested at a border-crossing with Cambodia while trying to cross the border.

Thai Police spokesperson Prawuth Thavornsiri is describing the man as "a main suspect.""At this early stage all evidence confirms that he is a main suspect in the same gang as the suspect we arrested earlier. And he is also one of the people who brought the bomb to the target sites; both sites."Another foreign national is currently being held after being arrested in Bangkok on Saturday.

Both are considered suspects in the blast at the popular Erawan Hindu shrine in Bangkok just over 2-weeks ago that left 20 people dead, including 7 Chinese nationals.

Thai authorities have been interrogating the suspect arrested this past weekend, describing him only as a 28-year-old man.

They have yet to release his name or nationality.

Thai authorities say bomb-making materials and over 200 forged passports were found at the apartment where he was detained in the outskirts of Bangkok.

But, at this point, it is unclear whether either of the two arrested men is the suspect seen on a close circuit security camera leaving a backpack at the shrine just minutes before the blast on August 17th.

Police also raided another apartment in the outskirts of Bangkok on Sunday where they found more bomb-making materials.

Thai Military spokesperson Pareya Netrawichien says Thai authorities have now issued a total of seven arrest warrants.

"The court has issued arrest warrants for the four suspects namely, one, a man in yellow shirt who may have been involved in the Ratchaprasong incident; two, a man in blue shirt who may be related to the incident at Sathorn pier; three, a man as seen in the sketch who has been seen to have stayed in a rental room in Minburi area. The officials have found explosive components and equipment in his room. Four, Miss Wanna Suansan, who signed rental contracts for several rooms in Minburi area, the man in the sketch has stayed in one of those rooms."But a female suspect who identified herself as a 26-year-old Thai Muslim woman Wanna Suansan had since contacted Thai authorities to give a statement.

Also on Tuesday, Thai police transferred 16 men - including senior officers - from their posts in Bangkok districts amid accusations of negligence.

The immigration chief and five others have also been transferred from their posts in Sa Kaeo, near the Cambodian border, where Tuesday's arrest took place.

The motive behind the August 17th bombing - unprecedented in its scale in Thai history - is still unknown.

For CRI I'm Poornima WeerasekaraRussian FM: talks planned on UkraineRussian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has revealed tentative plans for a meeting with his European and Ukrainian counterparts in the coming days to discuss the situation in eastern Ukraine.

Lavrov's comments follow on the heels of clashes among nationalist protesters and police outside the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev on Monday.

"During a phone conversation between our president and Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko, and later with the president of France, Francois Hollande, and Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, we suggested holding a meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany in the Normandy format in the next 10-12 days in order to bring attention to the problem of negotiability among all the participants of the Minsk agreements and find ways to overcome the obstacles that have risen on their way."Monday's violence saw 3 national guards killed and more than 140 others injured.

The protesters were demanding lawmakers reject amendments to the country's constitution, which is giving more autonomy the eastern regions of Ukraine, where rebels have been waging an insurgency over the past year.

The decentralization of power is a condition demanded by Russia for the Minsk Accords signed in February.

Ukrainian nationalists say they believe the move to give more autonomy to eastern Ukraine will threaten the country's sovereignty and independence.

S. Africa: Zuma impeachment bid fails in parliamentAn opposition bid to have South African President Jacob Zuma impeached has failed.

Opposition parties in the country's parliament had attempted to set up a committee to investigate Zuma's involvement in allowing Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to leave the country after the courts in South Africa order he be held on War Crimes.

Democratic Alliance Party leader Mmusi Maimane led the charge against Zuma in parliament.

"This government has officially abandoned Nelson Mandela's commitment to a human rights-based foreign policy on the 15th of June. That was the day Omar Al Bashir was smuggled away from South African soil in defiance of an order of the North Gauteng High Court. It was an escape aided and abetted by President Jacob Zuma himself."The parliament, controlled by members of Zuma's African National Congress, easily shot down the call for impeachment.

WeatherBeijing will be cloudy with a high of 29 degrees Celsius.

Overnight temperatures should drop down to 18.

Shanghai will see showers with a high of 30 and a low of 24.

In Chongqing, it will be cloudy during the daytime with a high of 35 and lows of 25.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad will be sunny with a high of 35.

Kabul will be cloudy with a high of 27.

Over to North America,New York will have slight rain with a high of 31 degrees.

Washington, slight rain with a high of 32 degrees.

Honolulu, cloudy, 28.

Toronto will see slight rain with a high of 31 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will be overcast with a high of 14.

And Rio de Janeiro will be cloudy with a high of 21 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsPresident Xi to deliver speech at V-Day paradeChinese President Xi Jinping is set to deliver a speech on Thursday before the commemorations marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the war against Japanese aggression.

Xi Jinping will be joined by several world leaders on the rostrum of Tian'anmen overseeing a parade.

China Radio International will be providing live coverage of the military parade in-front of Tian'anmen, starting at 10am.

Xi meets more foreign leaders ahead of V-Day celebrationsChinese President Xi Jinping has met with more foreign leaders in Beijing set to attend the V-Day celebrations tomorrow.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is one of the latest world leaders to arrive.

Xi Jinping has told Maduro China hopes to help Venezuela improve its industrial capacity.

The Chinese President has also welcomed Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir.

Xi Jinping has revealed China and Sudan are moving to establish a formal strategic partnership.

The Chinese president has also held talks with leaders from Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.

Thai police arrest key suspect in Bangkok bombingThai police are now questioning an important suspect believed to be connected with the deadly Bangkok bombing.

A police spokesman says the suspect was arrested in Sa Kaeo province while he was trying to cross the border to Cambodia.

The suspect's nationality has yet to be determined.

The bombing attack at Erawan Shrine in downtown Bangkok killed 20 people and injured more than 120 others on August 17.

China launches special fund for China-L Latin America production capacity cooperationChina has announced the operation of a special fund for promoting China-Latin America cooperation in production capacity starting from Tuesday.

The special fund has a 10-billion U.S. dollar scale in its first phase.

It is set to invest in a number of fields ranging from manufacturing, high-tech industries to infrastructure finance.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced plans to establish the special fund during his visit to Latin America in May.

Li Keqiang also proposed the joint construction of 3 passages for logistics, electric power and information infrastructure.

Chemical plant blast kills 5 in east ChinaThe death toll from an explosion at a chemical plant in Shandong this week has risen to 5.

A facility which produces chemical adhesives exploded around midnight on Monday.

It's located on the outskirts of the city of Dongying near the mouth of the Yellow River in Shandong.

Authorities have not said whether or not there are environmental concerns.

The subsequent fire was put out in around 5-hours.

So far it's unclear what sparked the explosion.

It's being reported 6 officials with the company are currently being held in connection with the incident.

The Dongying area of Shandong is home to the Shengli Oil Field, which is one of the largest in China.

Biz ReportsAnchorA check on the closing numbers across North America and Europe as well as a recap on the Chinese market.

ReporterUS markets took a hit to close out Tuesday's trading earlier this morning to mark the end of what has been a global sell-off.

New York collectively shed close to 3-percent on the day.

The Dow ended down over 2.8-percent.

The Nasdaq and the S&P500 shed some 2.9-percent in value.

The sell-off in the US has been exacerbated by new US manufacturing data, which has seen the country's PMI reading come in at 51.1.

This is down significantly from July's reading of 52.7.

At the same time, oil prices also took a major hit on Tuesday, down some 8-percent on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Earlier in the day in Europe,Markets there did not react well to the latest manufacturing data from China.

The UK's FTSE 100 dipped 3 percent.

Both Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 dropped 2.4 percent.

Here in China,New PMI figures released yesterday morning for Chinese manufacturing show the sector has slipped into contraction, with August's figures coming in at 49.7.

This is down from the even-50 seen in July.

Despite this, the markets in China were relatively calm, comparative to the recent volatility.

The Shanghai Composite Index did close down 1.2 percent.

The Shenzhen Component Index had a more difficult session, shedding some 3.7 percent.

IMF warns emerging economies must be vigilant on China's slowdownIMF managing director Christine Lagarde has issued a new warning to the world's emerging economies, suggesting they need to pay close attention to the economic situation taking place in China.

The International Monetary Fund is suggesting a number of emerging markets, including Indonesia and Brazil, have begun to feel the effects of China's economic restructuring.

Lagarde says these countries need to adjust their economic modeling accordingly.

"As the Chinese economy is adjusting to a new growth model, growth is slowing down. We don't believe that growth is slowing sharply, as is often indicated in various journals or by various commentators, but it will slow down. We don't believe that it is unexpected."At the same time, the IMF is warning global growth this year will be "likely weaker" than previously anticipated.

China to set up 60-bln-yuan fund to support SMEsChinese authorities are setting up a 60-billion-yuan fund to support small and medium businesses.

The central government will provide one-quarter, or 15-billion yuan, into the fund.

The rest will be seeded by private firms, state-owned enterprises, financial institutions and local governments.

At the same time, the State Council has decided to lower the threshold for investment in the transportation sector.

China cuts retail fuel pricesRetail fuel prices here in China have been moved down as of today.

The price of both regular gasoline and diesel are down 0.1-yuan per-litre respectively.

This follows the recent downturn in global oil prices.

Under the rules, the National Development and Reform Commission is obligated to adjust fuel prices based on the price of oil every 10-working days.

Global tech battle comes to Berlin's IFA tech fairAnchorChinese firm Huawei, as well as Sony, are due to unveil new smartphone models this week at a trade show in Berlin.

At the same time, Samsung is unveiling a new smartwatch at this year's IFA event, which observers suggest is the company's latest shot at Apple's dominance.

CRI's Guo Yan has more.

ReporterIFA - Berlin's annual consumer electronics trade fair, opens to the public on the 4th September, but on the 2nd of September, companies like Sony and Huawei will hold major events to debut their latest flagship smartphones.

Amir Tamannai is the lead editor of tech news website GIGA.

He previews some interesting highlights of the upcoming event.

"Well, first of all Huawei will go and throw some interesting new devices and competitively priced devices again to European and International markets. That will be, maybe, the most interesting thing to see at IFA. Sony will present their line-up of new smartphones consisting of the Xperia Z5 and the Xperia Z5 compact, also two very interesting smartphones."In total, almost 1,500 companies from around 50 countries will fill this exhibition space over the course of a week.

In previous years, Samsung has used the event to unveil the latest edition of its smartphone-tablet, or phablet, range.

But this year, the South Korean electronics giant opted for a separate event a month earlier in New York this August.

Tamannai explains that the South Korean giant did this to have a good standing against Apple.

"Samsung decided this year to come out early with their phablets and by this to gain market advantage because this way their device is not only presented, but also on sale even before Apple has launched their own phablet."According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) which tracks worldwide smartphone sales, Samsung recently saw its share of the worldwide smartphone market shrink from 30 percent in the first quarter of 2014 to 24 percent in the first quarter of 2015 while Apple increased its share from 15 percent to 18percent.

Volker Briegleb, news editor of technology news website Heise Online says it's not just Apple the South Korean tech maker should be wary of.

"Apple is not so much the real threat to Samsung, they have always had their own niche. Samsung clearly has to watch the young Chinese android manufacturers like Oppo or One Plus or Xiaomi."While Samsung isn't expected to unveil a new smartphone at this year's IFA event, the company will officially launch its latest Smartwatch at a major event on September 3.

Some features of the device have already been leaked.

Shu On Kwok, senior editor of technology news website AndroidPit says it appears Samsung is aiming to rival Apple's wearable smartwatch.

"The Gear S2 will deliver the design of a normal watch, Samsung will not use Google's Android wear platform - their software - they are using their own Tizen OS."He notes that some features of the product look like Apple watch, adding that they are not giving up in competing with Apple.

The IFA consumer electronics trade show runs from September 4th to 9th.

For CRI, I'm Guo Yan.

China to launch direct flights to New ZealandAir China has announced plans to begin direct flights between Beijing and Auckland, New Zealand starting in December.

The flights from Beijing will run every 2nd day, after returning from Auckland.

It's Air China's first to New Zealand and the only direct flight between the mainland and New Zealand.

Alibaba seeking to boost Latin America presenceAlibaba is moving to increase its presence in Latin America.

The Chinese e-commerce firm has launched versions of its site in Spanish and Portuguese to better cater to customers in Argentina and Brazil.

Ali Express is already one of the top international e-commerce sites in Brazil.

Apple leans on Cisco to sell more to companiesApple is teaming up with Cisco Systems in its latest attempt to sell more iPhones and iPads to its corporate customers.

As part of the new deal, Cisco has agreed to help Apple develop ways for iPhones to interact more smoothly with workers' office phones.

Financial terms of the partnership have not been disclosed.

This is the second time in two years that Apple has teamed up with a major technology company that focuses on business customers.

Apple joined forces with IBM last year to build and sell business applications for its products.

SportsChina's Wang Qiang Advances at US OpenIn tennis action,The only Chinese representation left in the Women's singles event, Wang Qiang, has reached the second round of the US Open.

The 23-year old cruised past Greece's Maria Sakkari in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2.

She'll be up against Barbara Strycova of the Czech Republic in round-2.

In other action,Second seed Simona Halep of Romania is through after her opponent, a qualifier from New Zealand, retired due to injury.

"So here I came very confident, of course, because I feel the game, I feel pretty well the game, but still I have no expectations. I play better when I don't think about results. I play better when I feel a little bit of pressure, because I'm very focused always. Now it's in the middle. I feel pressure, but still I have no expectations. So I feel great, and I just want to take match by match."--------------Meanwhile, 6th seeded Lucie Safarova is the latest seed to be given an early exit from the US Open, losing to 37th-ranked Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko 6-4, 6-1.

"I mean it's very disappointing because obviously I wanted to be 100-percent for the US Open, for the Grand Slam and it's very unfortunate that it happened at the last minute like that. But that's sport. It happens. Injuries come and go. It's just a bad timing. And Lesia played very well today and even though I tried very hard, if you are not 100-percent you just cannot, cannot win these days."-------------Over to the men's side,Five-time champion Roger Federer has advanced to the second round, beating Argentina's Leonardo Mayer in straight-sets.

Marin Cilic has started the defence of his US Open title with a straight-sets victory against the 94th-ranked qualifier Guido Pella.

Other competitors like American John Isner, Dominic Thiem from Austria and Andrey Rublev of Russia have also progressed.

China wins 5-straight at Volleyball World CupIn Women's Volleyball action,China's women's has earned its 5th straight win at this year's World Cup in Japan, cruising past Argentina in straight-sets.

Head coach Lang Ping.

"As a whole, we played very consistently in the first two sets. They did create a lot of challenges for us in the first pass. So at one of the breaks, I told the players to calm down, even when we were down. I think we need to be patient and find solutions when confronted with a strong defense."China now tied for 2nd with 21 points in the standings, 1 point behind team USA.

Next up for the Chinese squad is the Dominican Republic on Friday.

They went down to South Korea last night 3-1.

Following this, the challenges get much more difficult for the Chinese women.

They're opponents after the Dominicans are the Russians and the Japanese.

In other action from last night.

Russia blanked Peru 3-nil.

Kenya hammered Algeria 3-nil.

The United States dumped Cuba 3-nil.

It was Serbia over Japan 3-2.

Twelve teams are playing a round robin format in this World Cup, with the top two finishers qualifying for Rio next year.

China Loses to Japan 56-57 in Asian Women's ChampionshipIn basketball action from the Asian Women's Championship in Wuhan,It was Japan handing the Chinese women their first loss of the tournament, narrowly getting by the hosts 57-56.

Japan remains undefeated.

It's the mainland women against Taiwan later on tonight.

The Chinese Taipei squad is coming into tonight's match off the heels of a 76-58 loss to South Korea last night.

The only other match of the night had Thailand edging India 65-63.

China to Face Hong Kong in World Cup QualifierIn football,Qualifying for the 2018 World Cup will resume tomorrow, with the men's team from the mainland taking on Hong Kong.

The mainland side comes into the match-up on the heels of a 6-0 thumping of Bhutan to kick off their qualifying campaign.

Hong Kong is also undefeated, beating both Bhutan and the Maldives.

In other action tomorrow,Japan take on Cambodia.

Perennial World Cup qualifiers South Korea will face Laos.

And it's Asian champions Australia taking on Bangladesh.

Arizona Diamondbacks Beat Colorado 6-4In Major League Baseball,One game in the books this morning.

It was a battle of the NL West basement, which saw the Arizona Diamondbacks get past Colorado 6-4.

In action right now, it's the Baltimore looking to snap a 5-game losing skid as they play host to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Tampa comes into the game 3.5-games back of an AL Wild Card spot, and off the heels of a 6-3 win over Taiwan's Chen Wei-Yin yesterday.

"Sometime, before the game, you would think you should throw some good pitches, but once the game starts, you will have no time to think about that. I didn't do a good job today, and I should not find any excuses for my poor performance. I have to admit that I didn't do a good job today."Chen allowed five runs on nine hits over 4 2/3 innings.

Los Angeles chosen as US candidate for 2024 OlympicsThe US Olympic Committee has formally named the city of Los Angeles as its official choice to host the 2024 Olympics.

Los Angeles City Council Paul Koretz.

"Especially with us having so many of the venues in place and having less expense than I think other places would have, I think this will run a surplus and this will be a financial positive for the city."The city is up against Rome, Paris, Hamburg and Hungary's Budapest for the bid.

Los Angeles hosted the Olympics in 1984.

No American city has hosted a Summer Olympics since Atlanta in 1996.

EntertainmentChina Box Office: 'Terminator Genisys' Marches Towards $100M"Terminator Genisys" took the top spot at the Chinese box office over the previous week.

It stormed to the top of the Chinese box office over the past week, grossing almost 83 million US dollars after eight days, just shy of its North American cumulative gross of 89 million US dollars after nine days.

Terminator will have one more week on Chinese screens, before Hollywood releases resume in succession. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation opens in China on Sept. 8, followed by Minions on Sept. 13 and Pixels on Sept. 15.

Coming in second place for the week was The Hundred Regiments Offensive, which has grossed almost 23 million US dollars in three days.

In third place was crime thriller The Dead End, from director Baopin Cho, earning just over 20 million US dollars in four days.

Romantic comedy Go Away Mr. Tumor fell from first place to fourth for the week.

Curtains raised for 72nd Venice Film FestivalThe 72nd Venice Film Festival will raise its curtain today, and runs until September 12th.

British 3D biographical disaster film 'Everest' will be the opening film of the festival.

Chinese director Guan Hu's action comedy film 'Mr.Six' has been announced as the closing night film, in an out-of-competition screening.

US master director and screenwriter Brian De Palma will be honored with a lifetime achievement award.

Twenty-one films have been chosen for the main competition, including '11 Minutes', 'A Bigger Splash', and a China-France collaboration 'Behemoth'.

Trailer of Eddie Redmayne's trans biopic 'The Danish Girl' releasedThe first trailer for Eddie Redmayne's transgender drama "The Danish Girl" has been released online.

Redmayne portrays Danish artist Einar Wegener, later known as Lili Elbe — one of the first people to undergo a sex-change operation — in "The Danish Girl."The film, based on David Ebershoff's novel of the same name, reteams Redmayne with his "Les Miserables" director, Tom Hooper.

Alicia Vikander plays Wegener's wife, Greta, who painted him in drag and later helped him during his transition.

Eddie Redmayne is known for his performance as Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything", for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, the Golden Globe Award and the BAFTA Award.

"The Danish Girl" will debut at the Venice Film Festival this week and hit theaters on Nov. 27.

Obama to tape episode of 'Running Wild With Bear Grylls' during Alaska visitJust when you think American politics cannot get any weirder, the White House announced that Barack Obama will trek through the Alaskan wilderness with Bear Grylls for an upcoming episode of Running Wild with Bear Grylls.

It sounds like an Onion spoof, or perhaps Sarah Palin's worst nightmare, but on Tuesday the US president is due to receive wilderness survival training from the British television adventurer to raise awareness about climate change.

Obama is currently on a three-day visit to Alaska and will team up with Grylls on Exit glacier in the Kenai mountains.

The episode will air on NBC later this year.

Grylls, who originally rose to international fame through his first television series "Man vs. Wild," has used his latest program to teach various celebrities survival skills to get by in the wild.

With Donald Trump dominating headlines, and a Republican-controlled Congress determined to make Obama a lame-duck president, teaming up with Grylls is expected to help the president grab headlines. And maybe teach him how to skin something for dinner.

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

Recapping our top stories this morning...

Final preparations are underway for the massive events in Beijing tomorrow commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of the War.

Chinese authorities are suggesting manufacturing growth is still solid, despite the latest PMI figures.

Thai authorities have arrested another suspect in connection with last month's deadly bombing in Bangkok.

In Business... the IMF is warning other emerging economies to keep an eye on what's happening in China.

In Sports... China's last player in the women's singles through to round-2 at the US Open.

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